Update on NSGA Management and Leadership Conference

The 50th Anniversary of the NSGA Management and 16th Annual Team Dealer Summit took place in Indian Wells, California, just outside of Palm Springs. Look at all those iconic windmills!

The 50th Anniversary of the NSGA Management and 16th Annual Team Dealer Summit took place in Indian Wells, California, just outside of Palm Springs. Look at all those iconic windmills!

It was another successful Management Conference and Team Dealer Summit put on by the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) earlier this week. It was difficult to leave the warm, dry and beautiful atmosphere of Palm Springs, CA, where the conference took place from Sunday April 27-Wed April 30. These are three days well spent networking with industry colleagues, vendors, suppliers and team dealers. At this particular conference we had the opportunity to support this important trade organization by

Thanks to the innovative adhesive, STiX2™, SuperTEK™ Opaque applies to almost any material, and its low-temperature application helps prevent scorching on technical and synthetic fabrics.

The SportTEK pullover from SanMar was well received by attendees as part of their gift bags. This performance pullover is polyester and SuperTEK™ Opaque was perfect for heat printing these full color logos. This heat transfer material and its low-temperature application helps prevent scorching on technical and synthetic fabrics–it goes on almost anything.

participating as a Platinum sponsor. We would like to also thank  Barbara Herman and Rachelle Manning at SanMar for providing the pullovers and golf shirts that we decorated for all the participants. For the full color logos we used our digital media, SuperTEK™ Opaque. As I’ve mentioned before, this innovative media can be  applied to almost any material, and its low-temperature application, featuring STiX2™ helps prevent scorching on technical and synthetic fabrics. We used the same material to apply full color logos to the unique and fun PassBack footballs that Tim Penna at PassBack Sports provided for all the attending members. Jason Murphy was on hand to add the NSGA Anniversary logo to the footballs using a Hotronix heat press that has been specially designed to accommodate the balls. Since our SuperTEK heat transfer materials can be applied at low temperatures,

Jason Murphy of Stahls' GSSA was handing out footballs and CADPrintz samples to attendees.

Jason Murphy of Stahls’ GSSA was handing out footballs and CADPrintz samples to attendees.

they also work well on these composite training balls.  In addition to networking, this was also a learning experience. One standout was listening to Dave McGillavary, Director of the Boston Marathon since 1988, during Monday’s lunch. His story and history as an athlete and runner, as well as his experience with the Boston Marathon was very inspiring. He is a great living example of the phrase “never give up.” His positive attitude and willingness to take on any challenge makes one think twice about saying “I’m too busy.” What a speaker. If you want to get a better idea of what he had to share, check out his book, “The Last Pick, The Boston Marathon Race Director’s Road to Success. On Tuesday, we had another inspiring keynote speaker, the general manager of the Oakland A’s, Billy Beane. Many may recognize Billy Beane from the recent book and/or movie The Moneyball,” written by Michael Lewis. Talk about someone who knows his numbers. Whether you are a baseball fan or not, (and the room was full of fans!) you couldn’t help but be impressed by his presentation of why the correlation of performance and profitability are important to any

GroupeSTAHL CEO Brian Sukarukoff with Dave McGillavary, Race Director of the Boston Marathon at the NSGA Conference.

GroupeSTAHL CEO Brian Sukarukoff with Dave McGillavary, Race Director of the Boston Marathon at the NSGA Conference.

organization. Excellent food for thought on many levels. I will also review a few of the other speakers in a later blog. But before I sign off, let me say that one of the most memorable parts of every NSGA Management and Leadership Conference is the special ceremony and dinner honoring the latest inductees into the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame. It was an honor to be present as  Ira Silberman, retired Senior Vice President of Diversified Products from Opelika, Ala.; and the late Bob Zide, founder of Zide’s Sport Shop in Marietta, Ohio, were inducted. Well deserved honors and I’m proud to be in the company of these accomplished contributors to the sporting goods industry.

A close up of the NSGA 50th Anniversary logo that was heat applied onto a PassBack football at the event.

A close up of the NSGA 50th Anniversary logo that was heat printed onto a PassBack football at the event using a special Hotronix heat press and SuperTEK printable media.

A blurry picture of Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland A's, who is portrayed by Brad Pitt in the movie Moneyball, the story about applying analytics to baseball teams to make them profitable.

A blurry picture of Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland A’s, who is portrayed by Brad Pitt in the movie Moneyball, the story about applying analytics to baseball teams to make them profitable.

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