Rink

54 / SEPTEMBER.OCTOBER.2017 USICERINKS.COM CEnter ice Q&A with a rink professional // How long have you been working in the ice rink industry? What initiated your involvement? I have been involved, in one way or another, with the industry for 13 years. My older daughter, who is now 21, was invited to a birthday party at our local rink. She fell in love with skating and showed some natural ability. That led from being at the rink two hours per week to being there approximately 16 to 20 hours per week. Naturally, I got involved with our figure skating club and ended up being president for eight years. That is when I began taking classes through STAR (as you were known at the time). My almost constant presence at the rink led to formal employment in our pro shop. Then, when our administrative hockey director moved out of the area I was asked to take over that position. At the moment, I am a part-time instructor for the Human Resource Management class offered through the U. S. Ice Rink Association. I also have a couple of interesting opportunities in the pipeline—we'll just have to wait and see what happens next. // What is your favorite aspect of being part of this particular industry? I would have to say it's the people. The ice rink family is a relatively small one. Whether it's the figure skating parents or the hockey parents, the rink management staff or the operations staff, I absolutely cherish the relationships I have developed over the years. I have made some lifelong friends. From the perspective of both tak- ing and teaching classes, I not only enjoy seeing the familiar faces, I love meeting new ones. // As a new instructor, what excites you most about teaching? I think what excites me the most about teaching is having the opportunity to provide insights from my personal experi- ences in support of the class curriculum that the participants can relate to, and potentially take back to implement in their facilities. It is incredibly interesting to find out how one specific objective can be achieved in so many different ways from facility to facility. It leads to some great classroom discussion! // What do you hope students take away from your courses? Ideas! It's true that a lot of the information presented in the HRM class is relatively black and white. There is no wiggle room with completing tax forms properly and dealing with compliance to government regulations. There is, however, a lot of room for creativity when it comes to things like goal-setting and performance evaluation. What works in one facility, may not work in another, but you can always count on walking out of this class with potential alternative solutions. // Who is/was your biggest influence and why? I am not sure I can narrow this down to one person. Different people have influenced me in different ways. My core values, honesty, integrity, work ethic, etc., were most influenced by my parents, of course. I have worked for a couple of people over the years that taught me a lot about management styles in a corporate work environment. I believe that no mat- ter where you work, or whom you work for, there is always something to learn from the experience. Suzanne Fitzgerald PROFILE Name: Suzanne Fitzgerald Job Title: Human Resource Management Instructor Years in the Ice Rink Industry:13 U.S. Ice Rinks Professional Designations Achieved: CIRM Frederick, Md. "WHAT WORKS IN ONE FACILITY, MAY NOT WORK IN ANOTHER, BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON WALKING OUT OF THIS [HRM] CLASS WITH POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS."

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