Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/774279
USICERINKS.COM JANUARY.FEBRUARY.2017 / 37 "AT THE TIME I WAS A HOUSE PAINTER, WHICH WASN'T SUPER EXCITING, AND I THOUGHT THIS JUST MIGHT BE A MOVE INTO A DIFFERENT CAREER THAT MIGHT BE FUN." DIANE WILSON ADMITS SHE WASN'T LOOKING TO break down any gender barriers. There was no glass ceiling where she was concerned—she just wanted to have her two cents heard in the building and management of the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. What she ended up with was a new career. "I guess I was complaining a lot about the way things were run and they asked me to come in as a consultant for a couple of months and they picked my brain on how I thought things could improve," said Wilson. "At the end of it they just sort of asked: 'why don't you come fix it for us?'" That was roughly 19 years ago. Since then, Wilson has served as general manager of the three-sheet, 1,000 spectator capacity facility in Ann Arbor, Mich., overseeing 40 staff members and all that comes with the facility. And Wilson is just one of many females leading the charge in the rink operations and facility management industry. A naturally male-dominated world, more and more ladies are joining the ranks and finding a passion on the ice and behind the resurfacing machines. 'IT JUST KIND OF HAPPENED' Julie Keck has always been "an organizer of fun" for her and her friends. Most of that fun revolved around some type of sporting event/competition/tournament/ league. Thirteen years ago she saw a new "fun" opportunity in learning to play women's hockey in Bozeman, Mt. Like most, she was hooked on hockey—at the age of 30. Her passion for the game took off and soon Keck found herself at board meetings with Haynes Pavilion management and board members working toward getting a women's hockey tournament at the rink. Her questions about renting ice, managing referees and reserving volunteers led to another option: become general manager of Haynes Pavilion. "For me this job just kind of happened," said Keck, who has served as operations director at Haynes Pavilion for 10 years. "I didn't know anything about rinks when I started this job…it seemed interesting and a there was a great group of people here. "At the time I was a house painter, which wasn't super exciting, and I thought this just might be a move into a different career that might be fun." Similar to Keck, Wilson never had any intention of becoming part of the rink industry. Her daughter was a figure skater in 1995 when the Ann Arbor Ice Cube was being built. Wilson was president of the figure skating club and built up a relationship with the owners as the facility was built. "Unlike many people [in this industry] I came from a figure skating background, not hockey," said Wilson, who was with a company working in community outreach before joining the Ann Arbor Ice Cube staff. "But besides being the president, I had produced ice shows and chaired large competitions, things like that really came in handy in this role." Despite never having any intention of searching for a job in the industry, both are happy it found them. "It's funny the way sometimes things just kind of fall in your lap," said Keck.