Why Directors Should Attend the Leadership Summit

The fourth annual Campus Rec Leadership Summit will take place August 5-7, 2020 at the five-star Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage.

Forty campus rec executives alongside limited sponsors will gather for two days of roundtable discussions, networking and fun.

This year, attendees will dive into five roundtables with the following topics: The Mental Health Crisis, Data/Analytics, Programming: Alternative/Adaptive Recreation, Trending Technology and The Future: Strategic Planning.

Stephanie Smith, the director of Recreation at MIT, attended the Summit in 2019. She shares about it below:

Campus Rec: What was your experience at the Campus Rec Leadership Summit like?

Stephanie Smith: My experience at the Leadership Summit was honestly a little unexpected. I was imagining the networking would end up really being the focus. In reality, the networking was a highlight, but for me, as a newer director, I found the roundtable discussions equally rewarding. I have pages of notes and ideas I took away that I keep with me in my notebook to refer back to for inspiration and goal setting throughout the year.

CR: What were the top three takeaways?

SS: My three top takeaways were strategies to invest in the MIT Recreation professional staff’s personal and professional development, analyzing different funding structures and conversations around the future of our profession.

CR: Did you takeaway anything and implement it? If so, can you share what’s occurred since?

SS: Yes. I’ve developed two different leadership workshop series for professional staff. One is directed toward new leaders and the second is geared toward our entire management team. I pulled the content together by assessing the team, but also applying themes discussed at the Leadership Summit.

CR: Why is it a valuable experience/why would you recommend other directors attend?

SS: There are three reasons I would recommend other directors to attend. One is the smaller group setting. You really can develop some wonderful relationships. The second is the valuable small group breakout sessions. The third is the fun and engaging networking events — I learned how to make a heck of a good homemade salsa.

Limited attendee spots remain. If you’re interested in attending, email heather@peakemedia.com for additional info while spots last.