To our incredible ISHA members,
As we move on from an incredibly educational and entertaining conference in Santa Clara and look forward to 2019, I first want to thank all of you for your commitment to ISHA. I can assure you that the board of directors is constantly striving to provide you with great value for that commitment.
The annual conference provides outstanding educational and networking opportunities – two things our member surveys show to be of the most value. The organization also gives back through its grant program to help members with special projects and to attend the conference.
Those grants would not be possible without the Founders Fund. I want to thank Lance Van Auken, Jan Ogurcak and the World of Little League Museum for committing to donate half of its visitor donations (up to $1,500) to the Founders Fund for this year. Lance challenged other member institutions to also step up. The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame immediately followed suit and met the donation challenge, and Leila Dunbar Appraisals and Consulting followed with a generous donation. Also, our annual campaign letter was recently sent to all members. Any contribution you can make to help fellow members is appreciated.
Moving forward, 2019 conference planning is officially underway. Mark your calendar and plan to be in Wichita, Kan., in October. Jordan Poland and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame are excited to be this year’s host. Looking ahead to 2020, ISHA will be heading to scenic Newport, R.I., for its 50th conference.
We are excited for 2019 as we strive to provide support for sports heritage and the institutions that promote it. We also have many vendor members that are a part of our organization, and I encourage you to think of those members when planning your next project.
We need your input and contributions to make the organization thrive to its fullest potential, and we will be encouraging more of that as we head into 2019. We will look to improve educational offerings, continue with our popular hot topic calls, keep you updated on the state of the industry and so much more.
Happy new year to everyone. We, as an organization, cannot succeed without all of you. So thank you again.
Bryan Morry
ISHA president