Author Archives: Shane Mailman

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

 

In a session led by the 49ers EDU Program, focusing on STEAM concepts, attendees were challenged to build an exhibit case using little more than pipe cleaners and rulers.  The Stadium’s Director of Engineering highlighted the sustainable features of the LEED Gold facility, and shared what happens when you flush 1,100 toilets at the same time! The team’s Director of PREP (youth) initiatives and Fan Engagement got up pumped up about the 49ers hands-on work with young athletes.
The conference sessions presented by ISHA members offered practical advice and showcased excellence in programming, exhibit development and collections management.  The impact of members’ innovation and passion is truly inspirational!
A special “Mistakes Were Made” confessional session allowed members to console each other, laugh about and learn from the mishaps, gaffes and unfortunate occurrences that are sometimes part of museum work.  The Open Forum was a great opportunity to share insights about best practices, crowd-source solutions for our institutions, and brainstorm ways to enhance the ISHA experience.
Keynote presentations by 49ers legend Keenah Turner and San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan highlighted lessons in leadership and teamwork – lessons that resonate with our own efforts as sports heritage professionals.
The Evening of Champions Celebration was a reminder of the power of sport.  Honors were presented to our ISHY Award winners, as well as the inaugural Legacy Award, recognizing Lou Spadia, former San Francisco 49ers President and founder of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.  Lou’s family, along with Kevin O’Brien current BASHOF president and CEO, recalled Lou’s commitment to honoring sports heritage and inspiring young people to participate in sports.
As always, the camaraderie during breaks, meals and social events demonstrated the strong value of ISHA membership and the partnerships formed between museum professionals, designers, and vendors.

By ISHA Member – Michelle Eisenberg, Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts

On October 18, 2018, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame inducted its newest Hall of Famers. The Class of 2018 includes six athletes and two sport builders who have each contributed a tremendous amount to their sport, communities, and to our country. Their perseverance and success inspire us to be better in sport and in life. The Inductees include:

  • Jeff Adams, six-time World Champion wheelchair racer
  • Damon Allen, four-time Grey Cup champion
  • The late Mary Baker, the first Canadian to sign with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
  • Chandra Crawford, Olympic Gold Medallist in Cross Country Skiing
  • Alexandre Despatie, two-time Olympic Silver Medallist for Diving
  • David Keon, four-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Sandra Kirby, an accomplished educator, sport administrator, coach and activist fighting sexual harassment and abuse and violence against children in sport
  • Wilton Littlechild, a pioneering role model, organizer and advocate for Indigenous sport

As part of the Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame’s Induction Celebrations, two schools from the Greater Toronto region, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Mary’s Elementary School, were invited to participate in our education program.  Hall of Famer, Sue Holloway, hosted the program. The excited students were treated to the inaugural public viewing of the outstanding CBC produced video, “What’s in the Hall,” a compilation of some of Canada’s heroes and events from our athletic past. Sue Holloway gave a wonderful presentation on qualities and characteristics of individuals pursuing their goals, achieving high standards, and recognizing the support everyone needs for success. She complimented her presentation with personal photos and anecdotes from her family, training, and competitions.

The highlight of the education program was the introduction of the Inducted Class of 2018. Please visit our website, sportshall.ca, for their full biographies and accomplishments. During the students’ question and answer period they related to the challenges they met and overcame during their lives and athletic careers. After, there was a viewing of the Class’ artefacts, autographs opportunities and photos.

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame NEW EXHIBIT:

It’s officially open! Come check out the 2018 Hall of Famer’s Locker Room Exhibit that features artefacts from all of our Inductees. Come experience the incredible legacy of these Canadian sports legends by seeing artefacts including Chandra Crawford’s skis to Mary “Bonnie” Baker’s All American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association replicated uniform. You will leave feeling inspired – not just in sport, but in life!

DENVER — The CHSAA “Championship Saturday” games, presented by The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (CSHOF), continues to be successful with consistently large and enthusiastic attendance.

The Colorado High School Class 5A and 4A State Championship Games held at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on Saturday, Dec. 1, were watched by a crowd of nearly 11,000 high school football fans. This marked the 14th consecutive year for both of the state’s big school title games taking place at the Broncos’ home field.

The Valor Christian HS Eagles defeated the Cherry Creek HS Bruins 24-14 to win the Class 5A title. The Loveland HS Indians defeated the Skyline HS Falcons by a 62-14 margin to claim the Class 4A title.

“Speaking on behalf of the CSHOF Board of Directors, we are thrilled by the continued growth of this event, which has featured great games, tremendous enthusiasm and the opportunity for The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame to make significant monetary and in-kind contributions over the past 14 years to 30 youth sports organizations in Colorado,” said CSHOF President & CEO Tom Lawrence.

Over the past fourteen years, about $1,800,000 has been donated by The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame to the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) and other charitable youth sports organizations like Special Olympics Colorado, National Sports Center for the Disabled, Sportswomen of Colorado, Colorado Golf Foundation and Gold Crown Foundation. For a full list of youth sports organization beneficiaries, please visit www.coloradosports.org.

“We certainly look forward to continuing this event through 2022 and hopefully even longer,” Lawrence said. “It is gratifying to all involved (The CSHOF, Denver Broncos and CHSAA) to be part of something which benefits high school football, youth sports organizations and Colorado’s prep students and fans to this high level.”

The Presenting Sponsor for CHSAA “Championship Saturday” is The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. Legacy Sponsors are the Denver Broncos and Gatorade.

For more information about The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, a 501-(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization, established in 1964, please go to www.coloradosports.org, or call 720-258-3536.

The renovations will impact all 16,000 square feet of the largest team Hall of Fame in baseball and will incorporate more technology and historical artifacts into a new design that will better tell the rich and storied history of the Reds.

The museum will reopen in March with a ribbon-cutting ceremony prior to 2019 Reds Opening Day.

“Our design team has been tasked to create an innovative museum experience like no other,” said Rick Walls, Reds Hall of Fame & Museum executive director. “As much as fans have enjoyed our museum since we opened in 2004, I know they will love the ‘new’ museum even more as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of professional baseball in 2019.”

During the renovations, the museum will continue to offer offseason tours of Great American Ball Park along with educational programming and outreach events.

To be part of the 150th Anniversary Legacy Campaign, visit redsmuseum.org/legacy.

Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois | 2018

Ryan-Walter Athletics Center (Perkins+Will BE & HOK, Designer) Xibitz Scope | 425,000 square feet
A state-of-the-art training, competition and recreation facility calls for experiential elements of the highest quality and exacting fit. That’s what Xibitz provided for Northwestern University – in the form of custom-perforated backlit metal ceiling panels evoking the branded letter “N”; an 86-foot-long solid surface enclosure with 7-foot-high custom dimensional letters; large-scale graphics, custom-printed and mounted to canted panels with the school color in a LED lighting wash; and canted glass enclosures highlighting action figure mannequins for seven Olympic sports.
Additionally, Xibitz created a 30-foot-long wall with two towers of touch interactive displays that provide statistics, video, images and descriptions of historic moments, and more; and a 70-foot-long Hall of Honor featuring students who have become professional athletes.
Financial & Project Management Contractor Management Facility Interface Coordination Design Solutions Mockups & Prototypes AV/Multimedia Integration Lighting & Electrical Integration Construction Drawings Fabrication & Installation

The 2018 ISHY Award winners.

The International Sports Heritage Association (ISHA) is pleased to announce its 2018 ISHY Award winners. The nine winners were presented their ISHY trophy on Sept. 27 during the Evening of Champions dinner at the group’s annual conference hosted by the 49ers Museum in Santa Clara, California.

The Patriots Hall of Fame’s winning exhibit titled Super Bowl LI: Anatomy of a Comeback was also voted by conference attendees as the “Best in Show” overall winner.

The ISHY Awards program was established to provide recognition for excellence in publications by all member sports museums, halls of fame or sports heritage organizations, regardless of size or budget, based upon a competition evaluated by ISHA members and communications professionals.

The 2018 ISHY winners are:

  • The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis – Sport Through the Artists’ Eye
  • The Sport Australia Hall of Fame – Spirit of Sport Magazine
  • World of Little League Museum – “It All Started Here” Promo video
  • USGA – Character of a Champion: Women Winning Freedom on the Fairways
  • Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame – Banquet Program – Class of 2017
  • The Sport Australia Hall of Fame – 2017 SAHOF Induction & Awards Gala Dinner Program
  • Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum – Goodwill Through Baseball, Cardinals Across the Pacific
  • Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum – Reds Threads Exhibit
  • The Patriots Hall of Fame – Super Bowl LI: Anatomy of a Comeback

 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – ProRodeo Hall of Famer Keith Martin, who was inducted as a rodeo notable in 2011, has been named the 2018 Legend of ProRodeo.

Martin will be honored at the 11th annual Wrangler Gold Buckle Gala at the South Point Grand Ballroom in Las Vegas, Dec. 3.

“When you look at the list of people who have made that, you think, ‘Gee-whiz, I’m not in that category,'” said Martin, who served on the ProRodeo Hall of Fame Board of Trustees for more than 10 years. “It just means a lot to me, and to be in the same category with those other folks, I’m happy and humbled more than anything.”

As executive director and chief executive officer of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, Martin set the bar for all rodeo committees when San Antonio became the first $1 million regular-season rodeo in 2007.

At the same time, he was pushing ProRodeo toward a financially secure future in his role as interim CEO and PRCA Commissioner, which he did free of charge.

“I would fly back and forth and never charged the PRCA a dime for that,” Martin said. “We got things straightened out and money back in the bank (for the PRCA). We had an awful lot of help, it wasn’t a one-man job by any means.”

Martin started with the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo as a volunteer in 1969, joined the executive committee in 1984 and became president in 1989, igniting a period of unprecedented growth and success. San Antonio has been voted the PRCA’s Large Indoor Rodeo Committee of the Year every year since 2005.

“I started when I was 22 years old, and I’m 71 years old now, and I guess it’s because of the way I was raised that I volunteer,” Martin said, adding that he grew up ranching with his family. “It’s a very family-oriented business, families participate and come to the rodeos. It’s a very wholesome and patriotic sport. … Every aspect of it is family oriented, and God knows we need to get back to that.”

In his time on the PRCA Board of Directors and as interim commissioner in 2007-08, Martin assisted the PRCA staff in developing a budgeting system, and also worked to develop communication opportunities among the association’s membership.

The Wrangler Gold Buckle Gala, which benefits the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, begins at 6 p.m. (PT). Tickets go on sale Oct. 1 and can be purchased at www.prorodeohalloffame.com or by calling 719-528-4732.

“I’m excited for the award, but I want to raise money for the Hall, so we need to get people there,” Martin said.

 

 

The PRCA, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., is recognized as the unsurpassed leader in sanctioning the sport of professional rodeo. The PRCA’s mission is to unify membership in providing an innovative fan experience, to grow the sport of professional rodeo and provide new expanded opportunities for our membership and sponsors. Since 1986, the PRCA has paid out more than $1 billion in prize money to its contestants. The PRCA offers the best cowboys and the best rodeos; delivering the best fan experience while positively impacting our communities and embracing the spirit of the West. A membership-based organization, the PRCA sanctioned 650 rodeos in 2017, and there are more than 40 million rodeo fans in the U.S. The PRCA televises the sport’s premier events, with the world-renowned Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on CBS Sports Net and streaming on ProRodeoTV.com. The Wrangler Tour, Justin Finale, RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo and All American ProRodeo Finals also air on CBS Sports Net, and ProRodeoTV.com. PRCA-sanctioned rodeos donate more than $40 million to local and national charities every year. For comprehensive coverage of the cowboy sport, read the ProRodeo Sports News, the official publication of the PRCA, and make sure to check out the digital edition of the PSN. The digital PSN and daily updates of news and results can be found on the PRCA’s official website, www.prorodeo.com.