Week 12: My Last Week Of Graduate School

Wow, this is my last week of school!

I have been in school for the past 21 years of my life. From pre-school until now, what a long road it has been. I have these incredible nerves racing through me because I am about to embark on a new adventure; adulthood. Some people define adulthood as the day you turn 18 or maybe even 21, or maybe when you get your first "real" job. Some people define it as the moment where you become completely self-sufficient. I have done all of those things and yet there still has been a part of me that feels like I wasn't quite yet an "adult". I define being an adult for me as, finally completing my formal education!! Whoa!

I wanted to take some time to reflect on my education (in and out of the classroom) as a whole and think back to those significant moments along the way.

I apologize for making this appear like I am receiving a Grammy. I just thought what better time than now to really think back and thank those educators who have inspired me, pushed me, redirected me, and encouraged me. There were some significant moments that have changed my life along my road and I am so blessed to have had these individuals be a part of my grand story. If it was not for these folks below, I would not be where I am today.

Jesus Christ
Anthony Miller, my dad
Sherrill Miller, my mom
Chris, Joel, & Kelley, my siblings
my extended family & friends
Central Christian Church
Mr. Rimer, Principal of Greenfield Elementary
Ms. Bentz, 6th grade teacher at Greenfield Elementary
Lou & Shelia Carlucci, basketball coaches 1st - 6th grade
Mrs. Biggs, 7th/8th grade Student Council teacher
Coach Phil Culotta, high school lacrosse coach
Lori Burr, discipleship leader
Gilbert High School Lady Tigers Lacrosse (03-05)
Mr. Salce, Vice- Principal of Gilbert High School
Ms. Seely, 9-12 grade Student Council teacher
Ms. Sumner, 9-12 grade science teacher/ Student Council teacher
Ms. Bell, 11th grade marketing class
Jeff & Dierdre Morhet, business mentor, boss, family friend
Jessica Livingston, owner of Desert StiX Lacrosse
Camp Cayuga staff
Leadership Scholarship Program (class of 05)
Arizona Girls Lacrosse Association, board & coaches
Kelly Ramella, ASU professor of Therapeutic Recreation
Adam Lehe, ASU professor of Sports Management
Russ Olson, owner of Great Western Lacrosse
Monsoon Lacrosse team (08-09)
Corona Del Sol Lacrosse team (07-09)
Curtis Robb, mentor from Richmond veteran's hospital Hospital
Kristen Lessig, mentor from Richmond Sportable
Mark Schreiber, Tiffin University women's lacrosse coach
Wildfire Lacrosse, Monsoon team (2010-11)
Dr. Bonnie Tiell, professor at Tiffin University
Jon Graef, mentor at Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission

For those who have not been mentioned but who have made an impact, I thank you as well!

Thank you to Tiffin University for providing me this opportunity to complete my Masters of Business Administration. I will forever be a Tiffin Dragon! :)

week 10-11: LET'S PLAY! Sports & Fitness Fest

After a week and a half we decided what we are going to do with the open space. I proudly present to you;

LET’S PLAY: Sports & Fitness Fest

Who: Open to all of Pierce County, we invite the whole community: families and individuals, sports clubs and organizations, fitness centers, and vendors!

What: An event for the whole family to celebrate a day dedicated to sports, fitness, and play. Be prepared to play! Dress ready to try out many of the clinics and open participation sessions. Schedule will be posted online soon.

Where: Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center (Exhibition Hall)

When:  Day 1 Event: January 14^th 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

                Day 2 Event: January 15^th 10:00 AM -4:00 PM

                (Exposition set-up will be Friday afternoon, 3 – 6 PM)

Just to give everyone an idea of what my responsibilities are; (ALL IN 60 DAYS)

1) Contacting all clubs to be a part of this event in some way, shape, or form (booth, interactive clinic, competition, etc.)

2) Find vendors to be a part of the exposition component.

3) Find sponsors

4) Find volunteers (communicate, train, schedule) = volunteer management

5) Lots of administrative work

6) Help develop master schedule

7) Support marketing efforts

8) Manage & create entire fitness piece (CrossFit, Yoga, Zumba, kid's fitness, etc.)

There are many other parts of this event. We are going to have a basketball court, sports court, 40 yards of turf, a stage for performances, several classrooms, 3 wrestling mats, fencing strips, an exposition hall, free-standing interactive games/ bounce houses, and a ball room full of men's gymnastics implements. We are planning to partner with the local Children's Museum as it is also their Grand Opening. We also have plans to make this a food drive to support another MLK event put on by the City of Tacoma. We have the Boys& Girls Club, YMCA, Multicare, the Tacoma School District, over 50 club sport organizations, the Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association, and several semi-pro and professional sports teams coming to this.

THIS IS GOING TO BE A HUGE SPRINGBOARD for our organization and for me as a new professional in sports. My skills are skills are being pushed to the max and I am getting even more first-hand experience on many different pieces of what it takes to work in this industry.

Week 9: Events, Events, Events

Here at the commission we are all about events. We acquire these events in three different ways;

 A) Bidding: This process requires us to find a traveling event and then compete against other organizations who are also interested in having this event through what is called the bid process. For example we may find a junior nationals event that brings in 500 athletes from all over the country. In order to bring an event like that to Tacoma we first have to make contact with the event promoter to see if it is even feasible. From there we are required to complete a bid.  Within these bid packets they require us to complete a business plan on how we would accommodate the event promoters needs. Also there is a fee invovled to bid ranging into the thousands. At any given time we are going through 2 or 3 bids for events as far out as 2015.

Examples may include: WIAA State Championships, USA Wrestling Northwest Bigfoot Battle, USA Rugby regional, National Junior Disability Championships, NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships, and more. All of these events (like the Olympics) require a host city to bid for the chance to host.

WIAA 3A/4A Basketball State Championships
Estmated 1.9 million dollar economic impact

b) Creating events from scratch: Just like it sounds, we have an event team that can create large sporting events from scratch. Sometimes a local club will want to create a tournament or invitational event. We can help so long as this event can quantify tourism (hotel night stays). Some examples of events we have helped build in years past are the Twilight Criterium (cycling), the Tacoma City Marathon, Iron Cross (men's gymnastics), the Rainier Dragon Boat Festival, and many more. These events ideally grow to become annual and self sufficient.

2011 Rainier Dragon Boat Festival
Estimated $23,500 economic impact

C) Taking an already existing event and making it bigger: Sometimes if there is an already existing event that is strong and has a great following we will flip it into a 2-day event so that we can meet our goal of increasing tourism. For example, this past month we partnered with a local adaptive sport club and turned their one day wheelchair basketball event into a two day invitational tournament. This event alone brought in more than 50 hotel room nights. We are looking to do this again with an annual wrestling event in hopes of helping the local club make more money while simultaneously increasing the economic impact of the event.

Wheelchair Basketball Fall Classic 11/12-13/11
Economic Impact TBD

No matter how we find and event, create and event, or support an event, we are an event driven organization. In 2011 alone the Tacoma Sports Commission through 26 different events will have had made approximately a 10.5 million dollar impact on the community. That is pretty amazing!

Week 6 - 8: I am Officially an Employee

IT IS OFFICIAL!

The Tacoma Sports Commission Team
Paintballing/ Team building activity 11/4/11
Top Row: Emily (Me), Shellie, Bianca, Tim
Bottom Row: Demetrius & Jon (mentor)

I am the newest employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission. It has been a whirlwind since I started hence the reason I have been unable to post. It is all so overwhelming I don't even know where to being. If you have been reading my posts prior to this one you will notice the commission is going through lots of changes. Their budget has more than doubled in the past year and as a result their staff has tripled as well. With new blood in the office and an increase in funds, we are looking to re-brand which means new logos, a new web site, and possibly even a new name; Tacoma Regional Sports Authority.

My job is entitled the Sports Development Coordinator. It was especially designed for me and includes several different dimensions. 1) I am in charge if creating a club sport development program from scratch. The goal is to create an entity or program that supports any and all local club sport programs. From sailing to Judo, we need a program that can assure club sport management best practices in our county. Why? Our events are only as strong as our club! 2) I am to assist 3 other positions in the office; the Director of marketing, the Sports Development Manager, and the Events and Communications Manager. Pretty much I pickup the overflow of work from those three individuals plus I report directly to our Executive Director. 3) I am being used for my strategic brain. I feel as though I have had a huge impact on the strategic plan and direction the organization is going. I am an idea generator and  someone who thinks outside the box in a progressive business-minded manner.

It is a lot to take in. Especially since I was hired to create something from nothing. My background and accomplishments in developing my youth lacrosse business in Phoenix (Wildfire Lacrosse) is what intrigued the commission to hire me. They were impressed at my knowledge within club sport management and really appreciated my diligence and efforts during my internship. As we continue to transition from a 2 person to a 6 person office and begin to implement our strategic plan, I would not be surprised if my position molds and morphs with the organization. It is key that I continue to be driven, innovative, and flexible to change! Tacoma sports are on the rise!! :)

Week 5: The Bidding Process

One of the main foci's here at the commission is to research and bid on regional and national amateur sporting events. Tacoma is not in the market to bid for international events or large "major" events like FIFA World Cup and the Olympics because we do not have the facilities or hotel space to host such an event. What we focus on are smaller regional events like state championships and regional qualifiers for sports like karate and fencing. In order to bring those events here, our sales staff (Jon, Tim, and Demetrius) put together packets called "bids".

 

 

Each event promoter or national association requires a bid when multiple cities are striving to host the same event. Tacoma may compete with Phoenix AZ, Richmond VA, and Sacramento all for host the same event. In order to sway an event promoter to bring their event to our city, we draft a "bid" which entails the specific criteria,benefits, and financial backings that will portray why they should select Tacoma as their host city.

 

 

First we must meet the tournament evaluation criteria to even be considered for an event. These include location considerations (access to hotel, airport, transportation, restaurants), venue considerations (weather, appropriate space), and personnel considerations (volunteers referees, medical, PR). If the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission can find the right venue and location that meet the needs of the event promoter, then we go ahead and create a bid.

 

 

Within the bid we put our history is promoting similar events, suggested venue information, community information, personnel information, and any other additional financial backings the host city may offer to "sweeten the deal". Once the bid is submitted the event promoter will potentially request a site visit. If they come to the host city they will tour the suggested venue, walk through several hotel options, and will be wined and dined by the bidding organization.

 

Fingers crossed....... we hope they choose us!!

Currently the Tacoma Sports Commission boasts over 28 events. Not all of these were received by completing the bidding process however several required it. Currently our sales team is trying to create a strong pipeline of continuous business and are bidding for several events that won't occur for another 3 to 5 years from now.

 

 

Until we have more hotel rooms and better facilities we are limited in what we can do. Our market is different than that of Seattle's Commission or even Spokane's. We continue to look for appropriate events that fit our city. It is our hope that one day we will have the means to bid on even larger events that increase the total of Direct Spending and overall economic impact in Pierce County.

Week 4: Creating a "Strategic Plan"

The Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission is entering an new phase of business. For the longest time the Sports Commission was a two man show ran by the Executive Director Tim Waer and the Assistant Executive Director Jon Graef. With a recent influx in money, the commission has had to put on their thinking caps and decide what direction they want to take this organization. Whereas before the commission was solely focused on sustaining the events that they had received from their predecessors, now they are looking for bigger and better events to bid on. With all the potential in the world and the financial resources to completing extensive projects, the commission has turned to Dr. Lowell "Duke" Kuehn an expert in organizational development and strategic planning.

Duke's job has been to organize the commission's thoughts and ideas into a strategic plan that will serve as the blueprint for many years to come. So far as a staff we have met with him twice. Just like in the course MGT 622 Strategic Management Duke is running us through a series of exercises that directly parallel the "strategy-making/ strategy-executing process" discussed in our text book entitled "Crafting and Executing Strategy". These meetings have helped the commission define our mission and vision. Duke has emphasized that the organization that does not have a well defined mission does not have a direction. The Sports commission does have a mission; a rather large one at that. in fact these meetings have unveiled to us that in years past we have not been meeting the mission in it's entirety and that now we finally have the capacity to reach every component of it.

Part of the mission we ARE meeting: To promote Tacoma-Pierce County, Washington as a destination for major amateur sporting events.

Part of the mission we are NOT meeting: Assist in the development of amateur athletic programs throughout the region.

From here we discussed creating a stronger more succinct vision, a business plan, and have begun to draft a strategic plan. We are going to begin setting goals and will be creating flow diagrams of all our different work systems. There are so many integral steps in trying to lay out a succinct quality strategic plan that it is going to take months before this plan even takes shape. For now we will continue to meet twice a month and will begin molding the organization into a strong mission driven force that will ultimately optimize it's maximum potential. What an exciting process to be a part of!

Week 3: The Hotel Reception

On September 28th I attended the Commission's annual Hotel Reception. This year it was held at a local spot called Cheers Bar and Grill Downtown. There were three types of guests at this reception; the Tacoma Sports Commission staff, the major executives of the WIAA (Washington Interscholastic Activities Association), and the General Mangers and Marketing Directors for all the local hoteliers. We provided dinner, dessert, games, drink tickets, door prizes, and swag galore! We gave out Seahawks tickets, rounds of golf, autographed baseballs, jackets, gift-cards and more! The purpose of this annual event is two-fold.

The first thing the Commission is trying to accomplish is to thank all the local hoteliers for working with the Commission in 2011 while also inadvertently encouraging them to be oh-so-generous when we begin asking for our free 2012 hotel rooms. The reason we work to get an allotment of free comped nights at our local hotels is because when we are bidding on an event we like to add in as many perks and additional goodies to help pitch our case. Ex: When asking USA gymnastics to come to Tacoma it doesn't hurt to offer free hotel nights, flights, complementary meals, and more. In order to provide these additional benefits it is imperative that we have a surplus of free hotel night-stays at our fingertips.

The other reason the Sports Commission holds this event is to thank the WIAA for picking Pierce County (aka us) as their destination for many of their high school state championships. Tacoma hosts approximately 8 high school state championships annually. These are huge economic drivers that bring money from other parts of the state into Pierce County. In fact, our largest event that generates approximately 3.8 million dollars in direct spending is the WIAA Wrestling State Championships known as the WIAA Mat Classic.

Overall the experience was eye-opening. I was able to network with local hoteliers and WIAA Executives and Athletic Directors. I was able to experience an event based on schmoozing and sales. It was a prime example of how the I-help-you, you-help-me type of business works. I must say, the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission knows how to throw a party and collect and distribute swag when necessary.