By Jeannie Blasberg
Let me start with an overview of what we have accomplished in the last year and a half. We’ve hired and empowered a top-notch Chief Executive Officer in Kevin Klipstein; we’ve redesigned our organization and governance and modernized our by-laws as I wrote about in a previous column; we have earned a modest profit in each of the last three years and are fully transparent in our financial reporting; we are relocating our headquarters to New York City, the crossroads of marketing and finance; we are now doing business as US Squash and after our actual relocation to New York, will launch a new look for our Association. What next? You might ask.
I am excited to be at this point. We now have the foundation in place to plan our future. This summer US Squash board members, along with a dozen or so additional stakeholders in the game, have committed to spend two days together at a retreat with the sole purpose of talking about the vision, goals and strategies for the Association. These discussions will be professionally facilitated and supported by data from surveys and focus groups that are being conducted this spring.
The Association’s mission is to promote, develop and increase participation in squash throughout the United States. The agenda for the strategic planning retreat is to re-visit our vision starting with the mission statement and to ultimately end with specific strategies to execute in both the short term and the long term. Enhancing our streams of revenue from membership, sponsorship, and fundraising (while becoming less dependant on this latter source) are the critical end results we seek. Increasing revenue will allow us to pursue and provide the programs and initiatives we currently can’t afford. The strategic planning process will help us prioritize which programs we should focus our limited resources on in the short term and to create a plan for growth.
Our small US Squash staff has made significant progress over the last few years toward improving the way the Association operates. There is so much to do overseeing the delivery of membership benefits, managing our national teams, developing our communications, scheduling and operating our national tournaments and responding to the various constituents who call the office with requests and needs. It is hard to find time to step back, look at the big picture, and map out priorities for the future. The US Squash Board of Directors, made up of people who have experience in business and strategic thinking, combined with the leadership of CEO Kevin Klipstein, will be instrumental in guiding this process forward. We also look forward to the participation of elite athletes, coaches, patrons, and industry professionals in the process.
You, as a US Squash member, most likely have an opinion or ideas on the topic of planning our future and prioritizing the use of our resources. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on any aspect of strategic planning, but let me pose a few questions to spark your thinking. I urge you to email me your thoughts at chairperson@us-squash.org.
1. What is your reaction to our current mission statement?
2. What is your perception of the allocation of US Squash resources between its various constituencies? For example: juniors, men, women, doubles, hardball. How would you prioritize the allocation of resources among grassroots growth, junior development, national teams and general membership programs?
3. If you were trying to convince a friend to join US Squash, what three attributes of membership would you name in your argument? What services do wish you could name that are not currently provided?
Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts with us and for participating in the process of building US Squash into an organization in which we all share the pride of ownership.
