Rink

nother North American Rink Conference & Expo (NARCE) has come and gone, and once again NARCE 2010 proved to be the premier ice rink industry event of the year. Despite a down economy, 2010 attendance exceeded 2009, and people traveled from as far as Japan to participate in this year's event. This was my seventh time attend- ing NARCE, but my first as a STAR staff member. Even though it was much dif- ferent for me this time around, I was reminded again why I enjoy the work I do. Our industry is made up of great people who take great pride in making a difference in the lives of their customers. Rink professionals are willing to sac- rifice quality time away from their families and friends to work long hours at their rinks. I really admire these creative, resourceful, dedicated and passionate individuals who will do whatever it takes to keep the doors open at their rinks. With that said, on behalf of the STAR Board of Directors and staff, I would like to thank everyone who attended courses and the expo at NARCE this year. I would also like to give special thanks to the exhibitors and sponsors for their continued support of this important industry event. In this issue we are unveiling the new RINK Magazine logo. We dis- played six possible logos at NARCE, and attendees voted for their favorite. Thank you to everyone who voted, and hopefully you, our valued readers, like our new look. Summer was always a strange time of year for me as a rink manager. I knew that I was supposed to take a vaca- tion — if I didn't I would lose the time — and I knew that there was no way in "H-E-double hockey sticks" that I could take a vacation during the fall/winter season. I also knew that if I didn't take a vacation to recharge my batteries, I would be burned out by Thanksgiving! However, I always felt torn about tak- ing some time off in the summer. I had only a few short months to wrap up our fall/winter program planning and maintenance and/or capital improve- ment projects before our customers came back to the rink from their vacations. Please don't make the same mistake that I often did by skipping my summer vacation. Operating an ice rink is important for many reasons, and we all get great satisfaction from doing a good job, but in order to perform our jobs to the best of our abilities, we need to have balance in our lives. Have a great summer! — Jeff Theiler, STAR COO Opening address 6 R INK MAGAZ INE july/august 2010 A Greg Anzelc Don Farrell, Dave Gyger, Bruce Lyndes, John Monteleone, Rink Ninko, Eric Pringle, Cory Portner, Susi Werhli-McLaughlin, Dave Wescott Dave Gyger, T.C. Lewis Don Moffatt, John Monteleone Mike DeArmond Dave Jensen Bryan Nelson rinkmagazine.com info@rinkmagazine.com Editor: Contributing Writers: Editorial Board: Design & Production: Sales & Marketing: Advertising: Web Site: E-mail: PUBLISHING PARTNER 505 North Highway 169, Suite 465, Minneapolis, MN 55441 phone: (763) 595-0808, fax: (763) 595-0016, touchpointsports.com | info@touchpointsports.com S T A R www.starrinks.com • www.rinkmagazine.com • www.narce.com Mission of STAR: "To be the premier national organization designed to foster the development, growth and success of ice skating rinks and in-line facilities in the United States." STAR is a program of USA Hockey and US Figure Skating. Volume 13 • Number 4 Jeff Theiler Dave Wescott Cory Portner 719-538-1149 719-538-1160 info@starrinks.com Chief Operating Officer: Director, Facility Programs: Director, Membership Development: phone: fax: email: 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. CEO: Ste ve Farbman President: James McEwen Senior Vice President: David Jensen Vice President: Greg Anzelc Controller: Linda Allison Production: Mike DeArmond Advertising Sales: Bryan Nelson Production and Sales Coordinator: Gina Krusemark Looking Back While Moving Forward RINK Magazine's new logo.

• Cover