Rink

The 18th Annual North American Rink Conference & Expo (NARCE) has come and gone, but the event will leave a lasting memory for me. This was my 17th year participating in the event, and 11th as Chief Operating Officer. I must admit that I was a little concerned that NARCE might not be the same this year following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, but the energy and enthusiasm of our participants and everyone involved with putting on the event made it feel like we hadn't missed a step. I just can't believe how much NARCE has grown since our inaugural event in 2003 and it's truly become the premier event for the ice rink industry. NARCE is now the only time during the year where ice rink professionals from around the country, representatives from prominent regional rink associations (MIAMA, NEISMA, RMRA, WIAMA), representatives from ice sport national governing bodies (U.S. Figure Skating, USA Hockey, US Speedskating) and representatives from the National Hockey League all get together to network, learn, and share ideas with each other. There were over 565 individuals in attendance this year from 40 U.S. states, six Canadian provinces, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, and Sweden. As you can imagine, there is a lot of work that goes into a national conference and trade show, and the work to put forth a successful event cannot be done by our staff alone. I would like to recognize and thank our Board of Directors and committees, our volunteers, instructors, exhibitors, sponsors, keynote speaker Ross Bernstein, and all our members for their support and efforts in making the 18th Annual NARCE event a memorable experience! We won't be resting on our laurels; we are looking forward to taking the feedback we received from attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors this year to make our 2023 NARCE even better. I hope you take the opportunity to join us next June 13-16 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Buffalo, N.Y. I hope you have a great summer, — Jeff Theiler, Chief Operating Officer, United States Ice Rink Association Opening ADDRESS Welcome from Jeff Theiler THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE UNITED STATES ICE RINK ASSOCIATION JULY/AUGUST 2022 // VOL. 25, NO. 4 USICERINKS.COM // INFO@USICERINKS.COM C E O Laura McEwen C H A I R M A N Steve Farbman P R E S I D E N T James McEwen S E N I O R V I C E P R E S I D E N T David Jensen C O N T R O L L E R Mike Schwarz C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R Rob Johnson A RT D I R E C T O R Mike DeArmond S E N I O R D E S I G N E R Brandon Favre D E S I G N E R Theresa Shim A D S A L E S Bryan Nelson M A R K E T I N G & AC C O U N T M A NAG E R Jessica Disch E D I T O R Aaron Paitich L E A D W R I T E R Kelsey Hanson C O N T E N T M A NAG E R Elizabeth Boger A D C O O R D I NAT O R Samantha Cady RINK Magazine is the definitive business publication for professionals in the ice rink industry and is the leading source for information on facility management, operations and programming. PUBLISHING PARTNER 1601 Utica Avenue South, Suite 110, Minneapolis, MN 55416 P H : (763) 595-0808 FA X : (763) 595-0016 E - M A I L : info@touchpointmedia.com W E B S I T E : touchpointmedia.com Mission: "To advance the ice rink industry through membership, world-class education, training, resources and events." C H I E F O P E R AT I N G O F F I C E R Jeff Theiler D I R E C T O R , E D U CAT I O N John Monteleone O F F I C E A S S I S T A N T Tom Wacker P H : ( 719) 538-1149 FA X : (719) 538-7838 E - M A I L : info@usicerinks.com W E B S I T E : usicerinks.com A P A R T N E R W I T H E D I T O R Aaron Paitich C O N T R I B U T I N G W R I T E R S Paul Golomski, Kelsey Hanson, Don Moffatt, John Monteleone, Jeff Theiler E D I T O R I A L B OA R D T.C. Lewis, John Monteleone, Craig Petersen, Jeff Theiler D E S I G N E R S Mike DeArmond, Brandon Favre, Theresa Shim 14 / JULY.AUGUST.2022 USICERINKS.COM Beating Expectations More than 565 individuals attended NARCE this year from 40 U.S. states, six Canadian provinces, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, and Sweden. NARCE returns to Buffalo with a bang

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