Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/501801
54 / MAY.JUNE.2015 RINKMAGAZINE.COM CEnter ice Q&A with a rink professional PHOTOS: COURTESY OF STAR // How did you get into the industry? I started as a part-time volunteer IR driver at my favorite place to play hockey. It felt like a good way to give back to the skating community, which has given me so much. // What do you like best about your job on a daily basis? Finding out what my customers broke while I was eating supper. Just kidding. Seeing the dedication and joy of our customers is one of the best parts of my workday. // What kitchen utensil best describes your work ethic? Why? I'm a food processor — always ready to go at a moment's notice. I produce all manner of results from whatever raw ingredients are at hand. There is often a fair amount of cleanup, though the product is delicious. // Who are your heroes? Frank Fools Crow and Monty Python's Flying Circus. // Any funny stories from your career? A few years ago, I decided to recertify all of the volunteer IR drivers at my facility. One driver, in particular, seemed to be in a huge rush every time. On our initial ride-along, he was showing how coachable he was by slowing down and making the start of a nice sheet of ice. And then … driving up the center of the ice to begin the looping pattern, he accelerated to the maximum speed of the machine. As his speed increased, so did my, let's say, excite- ment. Apparently I conveyed this excite- ment effectively to the driver. He froze up and crashed the IR head-on into the end boards, blasting open the door. He told me he had just retired from the Air Force as a colonel and F-16 pilot. I learned that day how to get pilots to slow down. // Why do you feel belonging to an industry organization is important? I find the perceptions of user groups and the general public toward the ice arena industry to be largely unrealistic/roman- ticized in some way. Having membership in a professional organization helps with a sense of community, of support, and is invaluable for problem solving. // If there's a speed of sound and a speed of light, is there a speed of smell? There is. I once had a sharpening custom- er whose skates you could smell as soon as she opened the front door. // Best tip or trick you picked up at a STAR training course: Circulate the water in the snow pit to accelerate melting. // When sign makers go on strike, is anything written on their signs? No. The lack of a message strengthens their message. // Tell me in no more than two words what you think we in the ice industry do? Incubate joy. // Anyone to thank along the way? The gentleman who got me into this industry is a fine human being. He lured me in with a trade: He would teach me to drive an IR in exchange for me teaching him how to sharpen skates. It turns out he had no intention of ever sharpening skates. He patiently, thoroughly and passionately taught me not only about resurfacing, but also about the rink itself. He recognized my inner nerd and helped me capitalize on it. I can't thank Ken Millette enough. I dream of being as good of human as Ken. David S. Patton PROFILE Name: David S. Patton Facility: McFarland Community Ice Arena, McFarland, Wis. Years in the Industry: 8 STAR Designation: CIRM STAR Courses Taken: 1. SIRO 2011 - Hartland, WI 2. IMEO 2012 - Grand Rapids, MN 3. IMPT 2013 - West Bend, WI 4. BR 2013 - (NARCE) Dearborn, MI 5. PMP 2014 - (NARCE) Columbus, OH 6. HRM 2014 - Stevens Point, WI 7. ORM 2014 - Las Vegas, NV McFarland, Wis. , CIRM