The 2013 ISHA Conference provided numerous opportunities to build relationships, tour other facilities, and learn from the experts how to more effectively design and operate sports halls of fame and/or museums.  As your professional association we’re committed to providing you with a strong, relevant conference that responds to your needs. We’re pleased to share that the results of the Post-Conference Survey indicated the conference successfully achieved its goals:

• 94% of survey respondents plan to attend this year’s conference in Nashville.
• 100% said they planned to attend a future ISHA conference.
• 100% of respondents who attended the conference rated it very good to excellent overall
• The most important factors influencing the decision to attend were
  • Desire to meet and network with colleagues
  • Topics/speakers and the educational content of the program
  • Dates of the conference
  • 75% of attendees made the decision to attend the conference six months to a year before the conference. So you should consider making your plans for the 2014 Conference in Nashville very soon.
  • Respondents indicated that the topics they would most like to learn more about were:
    • Emerging technologies
    • How to engage Hall of Famers
    • Educational and special event planning
    • Marketing initiatives

Thank you to those of you who responded to the survey.  Ensuring that the ISHA conference provides content to enhance your operations is a top priority for the association. It is a wonderful way to network with your peers, learn from others, and generate new ideas on how to better tell your story.  We hope to see you at the next ISHA conference in Nashville, October 27-29, 2014.

For anyone who wonders about how other organizations deal with everything from budgeting to fundraising to exhibits and tours,  please consider joining the ISHA Survey committee. Your insights would be a valuable addition in our efforts to create relevant and meaningful surveys for our membership.

2014 ISHA Annual Conference in Music City

The International Sports Heritage Association (ISHA) will visit Nashville, Tennessee for its 44^th Annual Conference on October 27-29, 2014.  The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, located in the Bridgestone Arena, will host this year’s event.

“The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame is excited to be hosting the 2014 International Sports Heritage Association Annual Conference,” Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Bill Emendorfer said.  “From live music to the city’s best cultural destinations, Nashville is a wonderful place to explore.  We look forward to the 2014 conference being the best attended International Sports Heritage Association conference ever.”

The Hampton Inn & Suites, located in the heart of downtown Nashville is the host hotel, and is just steps away from Music City excitement, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville Convention Center, Bridgestone arena and LP Field.  Other nearby attractions include the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, historic Ryman Auditorium, former home of the Grand Ole Opry, and Second Avenue – Nashville’s historical entertainment and dining district overlooking the Cumberland River.

Nashville is a suitable host for sports institutions given its own sports culture. “In October, this town will be geared up for football and the opening of the NHL season,” Emendorfer said. “With the Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators and local university sports teams, there are excellent opportunities to catch some sports action while visiting.”

Click here for a video about Nashville: A video look at Nashville

Conference Sponsorship Packages are available at https://sportsheritage.org/sponsorship-packages/

The conference brochure and registration will be published in the spring.  Conference Grants to support attendance by Regular members will also be available.

The International Sports Heritage Association is a non-profit membership organization incorporated in 1971.  The mission of ISHA is to educate, promote and support organizations and individuals engaged in the celebration of sports heritage.  ISHA includes nearly 150 Regular members from countries such as China, New Zealand, England, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States.  In addition, corporations and individuals participate in and contribute to the growth of ISHA as Associate Members.

-ISHA-

“The New Jersey mobile museum is the first state Hall of Fame Mobile Museum exhibit in the nation, it’s been called a “field trip on wheels.” Inside, visitors will find a dramatic multimedia exhibition created around the theme “Make a Difference”.

Inductees range from Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein to Vince Lombardi and Shaquille O’Neal. The mobile museum will inspire children to strive for excellence in all walks of life, and by offering positive role models, it will provide them with a blueprint on how to follow in the footsteps of our Jersey legends that are showcased on board the mobile museum.

Steve Edwards, president of the New Jersey Hall of Fame Foundation Board noted that “The Mobile Museum reinforces the message to children that they can achieve great things through passion and dedication.” The Mobile Museum’s actual structure is based upon a 53-foot double-expandable trailer. On the highway, the trailer is the standard 8.6’ wide by 53’ long. However, on location, the trailer expands from both sides to an amazing 850 square feet of first-class exhibit space.

Through images, artifacts, film, and interactive elements, visitors can explore the ways that New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees have changed the state and the world: as innovators, as leaders, and as voices for the voiceless—often against overwhelming odds. And they’ll be invited to consider how they, too, can make a difference in our world. Displays will rotate on an ongoing basis to highlight new Hall of Fame inductees.

Lynch Exhibits a member of ISHA, engineered & fabricated all of the exhibit components in their 210,000 sq. ft. facility. Designed by renowned museum exhibition designer, Ralph Appelbaum Associates and famed architect and Hall of Fame inductee Michael Graves, The Mobile Museum will also be featured at a number of community events for the immense enjoyment of the general public, and will be featured at a number of schools throughout the state.

For more information contact Frank Nave’ [email protected] 609.820.9235

The St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame will host a memorable evening for University of Missouri alums and fans on Saturday, April 12, 2014, at Rams Park in Earth City beginning at 5:30 pm.  Titled “A Salute to Mizzou in St. Lou”, the Hall of Fame will induct three Mizzou sports legends and present major achievement awards.   Three Tigers with storied histories will join the ranks of only 89 others inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.  They are:  Football Player/Coach/Broadcaster since 1947 John Kadlec, 32-year Head Basketball Coach Norm Stewart and former Football All-American running back Johnny Roland.

One rarely given award and one brand new Special Achievement Award will also be presented.  On the heels of an outstanding 12-2 season and Cotton Bowl victory ranked no. 5 in America at season’s end, Coach Gary Pinkel has been selected as only the third recipient in history to win the “Sportsman of the Year Award”.  Coach Pinkel has also become the winningest football coach in Missouri history.  The previous winners of this award are Albert Pujols and Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The “August A. Busch, Jr. Award” has been created by the Busch Family to honor exceptional business leadership and success in sports.  Billy Busch will present the award to Missouri’s Director of Athletics Mike Alden.  In his 16th year at the helm of the program, Alden has initiated dramatic and positive changes to the size and stature of all Mizzou sports and facilities including the move to the Southeastern Conference.

More honors will be doled out, as the Hall pays tribute by handing out the “Champions Award” to the 1981-82 Tiger basketball squad led by All-American center and St. Louisan Steve Stipanovich who will be joined by his teammates to receive awards.  Possibly the best season ever of Tiger basketball, this team went 27-4 overall, 12-2 to win the Big Eight Conference and went to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen before losing by just one point to the University of Houston.

Also receiving the “Champions Award” will be this past season’s Tiger Football Team.  Some members of the squad will be asked to attend and accept the award.

St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame events are recognized for their very entertaining “interview format” as opposed to speeches!  Current and former “Voices of the Tigers” will be handling the interviews, with the Hall of Fame’s Ron Jacober and Greg Marecek hosting the show.

There are two levels of tickets.  Just 20 tables are being sold at $1,500 for 10 seats in an “Exclusive” roped off area in front of the stage, waiter service for the buffet in this area and special parking.  A special commemorative gift will accompany these tickets.

General admission tickets are $80 which includes the Taste of St. Louis buffet, soft drinks, water, beer and a seat for the program.

Tickets are available by calling Tim Moore at 314-226-1190, online at stlshof.com, and by mail to the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, 1400 South 3rd St., St. Louis, Mo. 63104.  For more information, contact Tim Moore or Greg Marecek at 314-226-1192.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) and the National Archives at Kansas City (NARA), in partnership with Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association/University of Missouri-Kansas City Continuing Legal Education (KCMBA/UMKC-CLE), will present  “A Supreme Decision: The Curt Flood Symposium”  on Sunday and Monday March 30-31, 2014.  The event will feature baseball legal and historical experts from across the nation, including Stuart Banner (UCLA), Ed Edmonds (Norte Dame) Mitchell Nathanson (Villanova), Abraham Khan (University of South Florida), and Brad Snyder (University of Wisconsin).  Scheduled special guests include Lou Hoynes (former attorney for MLB), Allan Zerman (former attorney for Curt Flood), and Curt Flood, Jr.

All events will take place at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.  Registration fees begin at $10.00 and include access to the NLBM gallery.  For $25.00, you can reserve a post event box lunch and receive a special one-year membership to the NLBM.

Three hours of Continuing Legal Education Credits will be offered to registered participants for $95.00 through KCMBA/UMKC-CLE.  Link to http://kcmba.inreachce.com/  to sign up.

Curt Flood (1938-1997) grew up in Oakland, California and became an iconic figure in sports and history when he refused a trade and challenged Major League Baseball’s restrictive “reserve clause” and its long standing anti-trust status.  His legal case rose as far as the United States Supreme Court in 1972.  He lost his challenge, and his baseball career, but helped pave the way for free agency in baseball.  Guests and scholars at the symposium will discuss Flood’s personal and professional life, his influences from the Civil Rights Movement, his impact on sports and media, as well as the various arguments and precedents surrounding his legal case.

Registration is now open at: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-supreme-decision-the-curt-flood-symposium-tickets-10457417417?aff=es2&rank=1&sid=688501e68ac411e3a29b12313d225df9

In celebration of the 94th Anniversary of the founding of the Negro Leagues, the NLBM will host “A Stroke of Genius!”: A conversation with acclaimed artist and author Kadir Nelson on the Field of Legends exhibition area, Thursday, February 13, 2014 at 6:00 pm.

Nelson is the illustrator for several notable children’s books including the bestselling We Are the Ship: the Story of the Negro Leagues and Testing the Ice: A True Story of Jackie Robinson. He will also discuss and sign copies of other books, available through the Extra Inning Museum Store, including Mandela, Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans, and I Have a Dream.

The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are suggested. NLBM members will receive special seating with reservations. Please call 816-221-1920 today to reserve your place.

(To learn more about Kadir Nelson, link to www.KadirNelson.com)