President Rebecca brought the meeting to order with the tolling of the Rotary bell and all rose to recite the four-way test. Ben Bakken gave a heartfelt and moving reflection about his father who recently passed away; fighting through the tears of fond and loving memories, shared a stanza of his father’s favorite poem by Rudyard Kipling:
“If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!”
The club then sang “God Bless America” before returning to their seats for the remainder of today’s meeting. Next was the introduction of guests and visiting Rotarians, with numerous visitors with the club this week. Regarding the health of the club, in addition to the passing of Ben Bakken’s father, Chris Swope lost his mother-in-law and Ben Rathbun’s grandfather passed this week. Condolences to all.
Courtney Millbrook introduced today’s special music, the cast from Grand Ledge High School’s musical “Disney’s Descendants”. The group enthusiastically performed three songs from the production.
After club announcements, Craig Stiles announced February birthdays with the question “What would you say to your prior self if you had the chance?” Answers were along the lines of; make your decisions with the knowledge you have today, be patient, your time will come, and you got this girl.
President Rebecca brought Julie Pingston to the podium to introduce Meghan Ziehmer, the Director of the Lansing Sports Commission. The Lansing Sports Commission operates under Julie’s organization, Choose Lansing, with emphasis on promoting Lansing as a sports destination. Meghan started with Choose Lansing in 2009 as an intern and rose to the organization’s Director, when the Sports Commission was formed.
Meghan stated that her career supporting sporting activities in the Lansing region is also her passion. The concept of sports tourism is a relatively new concept, but the concept is growing through cities and regions setting up similar commissions throughout the United States. Sports tourism is defined as travel to a region to attend or participate in sporting events and activities. In 2023, sports tourism nationwide contributed over $50 billion in direct economic impact and $128 billion in total economic impact. Additionally, these events bring tax revenue into regions generating more than $20 billion annually. While the pandemic halted the growth of sports tourism, the growth has rebounded to pre-2020 numbers and continues to grow.
Sports tourism is not individuals attending regular season collegiate and professional events. Sports tourism is broader and includes events such as high school tournaments, youth club tournaments, non-traditional sports tournaments and championships, as well as traditional tournaments and championships (think March Madness and the Super Bowl).
Meghan mentioned bringing events such as college bowling championships, NCAA conference championships, national championships for horseshoes and disc golf (which Lansing does or has hosted), creates an economic benefit for local hotels, restaurants, retail stores and local businesses (you need to refill the gas tank for the trip home as an example), event venues, etc. etc.Ideally, those visiting the Lansing region will return home and share their experiences in our region, promoting Lansing through word of mouth throughout the nation and have them looking forward to returning to Lansing in the future or even consider moving to our region permanently.
This is where the Lansing Sports Commission shines with services such as coordinating tournaments, promoting venues for events, providing visitors with a regional guide to hotels and restaurants, area and venue maps and even picking up tournament officials at the airport when they arrive. For local event venues and organizations hosting events the sports commission provides support in not only promotion but assisting in setting up event venues, assisting with event staffing and guidance in organizing the event through the commissions expertise and experiences.
The Lansing Sports Commission allows Lansing to participate in this growing industry through their efforts, that would be lacking if groups were to try to go it alone and learn by trial and error, which may hinder future endeavors of those organizations.
After numerous great questions, the meeting was brought to a close by President Rebecca, until we meet again next Friday.
Email for Tim Adams: TAdams@manercpa.com