ARTICLE
A Message from the Nominating Committee Chair, Don Perkins, Regarding Candidates for Election An important function of the Roller Skating Association and the Nominating Committee is to select a President and Vice President who will serve the members for a two-year period. An individual must meet the following qualifications in order to be eligible to be elected to serve on the board of directors. The individual must have been for the preceding five (5) years and must remain a member in good standing, as required by Section 4 of Article II. Such an individual shall have held or be holding office as state, by-state, regional or sectional chapter president, vice president, secretary or treasurer, or shall have held office as a member or officer of the association’s board of directors or, under the former organizational structure, as a national vice president. As chairman of the RSAI Nominating Committee, I, Don Perkins, Past President of the RSA, as well as fellow committee members, Rob Gould, Ed Hughes, Brian Molony and Chris Finley, were elected to make selections for the offices of RSA President and Vice President to present to the membership at the 2020 RSA National Convention. The role of this committee is vital to the success of the association as we review any candidates who present themselves as potential candidates for their qualifications, background, history with the association and other contributions to the industry and what they’re seeking to bring to the industry and the RSA. The Nominating Committee met on November 21, 2019 to discuss nominations for the office of President and Vice President. The nominations were collected and given to the Nominating Committee in advance of their meeting. All candidates were qualified for the respective offices they were seeking to attain. The Nominating Committee deliberated extensively to come up with what they felt were the best choices for the office of President and Vice President. In evaluating the candidates, the committee asked several questions that were pertinent to the RSA. All candidates were asked the same questions whether for the office of President and Vice President. Based on the individuals who submitted their desire to run for these offices, it is the view of the nominating committee that current Vice President of four years, Cort Wahlig, has proven himself to be the primary candidate who has been involved with the association for a decade and has been able to see the inner workings of what it takes to be a President of the Roller Skating Association. His family history, his experience in the industry, his education and forward-thinking attitude, his vision for the future of our association and his positive attitude for change and growth make him the perfect choice for the role of President. For that, we have selected Cort Wahlig to be your candidate for RSA President for 2020-2022. Over the last several years, the RSA has been able to considerably increase its social media presence and marketing strategies. We have seen partnerships with national organizations and significant participation amongst the roller skating community as a result of several campaigns that Billy Thompson, chairman of the Marketing Committee, has set forth. As you will see in his bio, Billy has proven himself to be a considerable force in the roller skating community and has been doing so since he began working in the industry with his family years ago. His skating centers host some of the largest roller skating events in the country and he has proven with his work in the association that he has the know-how to take his creative ideas to a national level. It is for this experience that the Nominating Committee has selected Billy Thompson for candidate for Vice President of the Roller Skating Association. We would like to take a moment to thank the candidates who appropriately submitted their information for consideration to the nominating committee. It is evident that their experience and goals make them prime candidates for the roles of President and Vice President and we hope that you will review their biographies below to see why we believe them to be the appropriate choices. Sincerely, Don Perkins Nominating Committee Chair and RSA Past President Introducing Cort Wahlig, Your 2020 RSA Presidential Candidate The Roller Skating Association International is pleased to announce that the RSA nominating committee has selected Cort Wahlig, owner of Christiana and Dover Skating Centers, as the official candidate for the office of President of the Roller Skating Association. While serving as the Association Vice President from 2016-2020, Wahlig has worked closely with RSA President, Jeff Couey, to make significant strides in developing business partnerships with organizations such as ICEE, FetchRev, TrustWorkz, CSA Business Solutions, ADP, Cintas, PartyWirks, Protect Youth Sports, Schwan’s, and more. Ties with national partners Pepsi and JBL Trinity Insurance Group are stronger than ever and members now have access to two new software programs that are instrumental in growing their business: My Skate Repair and the Kids Skate Free Program. Cort’s family has been in the roller skating industry for over 64 years and has served in many different ways for the betterment of the industry and the sport of roller skating. He competed or worked in roller skating for the last 44 years and has been an active member of the RSAI for 28 years. After graduating from Salisbury State University in Maryland in 1989 and running three successful franchise restaurants, he returned to work as the General Manager of the Christiana Skating Center. Four years later, he and his sister purchased the skating center from their parents and have worked not only to build on the success of their parents, but to improve upon it. In 2014, they purchased their second rink in Dover, Delaware, and continue to work toward their goal of making them both as prosperous as they can be. "I am lucky enough to have been raised in a family that values roller skating and the industry that we all love. As a second generation operator with two skating centers in Delaware, I have a vested interest in the continued success of our industry and our association. I support our industry partners with both of my centers, participating in a large variety of RSA programs include Kids Skate Free, STEM, Pepsi, ASCAP, BMI and JBL, to name a few. As a member of this association for the past 28 years, I have seen this association grow and change, and I feel confident that I have the background, knowledge and dedication to help our association thrive for generations to come," says Cort in his address to the RSA nominating committee. Over the years, Wahlig has served as an officer of Section 11 was elected to the RSAI Board of Directors in 2011 where he continued to serve until his election to Vice President in 2016 where he remains today. Cort served on nearly a dozen committees including: Executive Committee Finance Committee Marketing Committee Minimum Wage Defense Committee Policies and Procedures Publications Committee Public Information Committee Safety, Insurance, Risk Management and Legislative Affairs Committee National Museum of Roller Skating Trustee In an interview with the RSA, Cort outlined some of his goals for the Association. Increase membership, which is vitality important as his first goal in his first 180 days as president. "If we don’t have a majority of rink owners and operators as members of the association, it is difficult to educate those rink owners or claim that we’re the voice of the industry. In addition, it’s difficult to make the changes necessary in the market. For instance, non-members may not know the importance of risk management or safety standards. What non-member skating centers do in their facilities affects the entire industry, and vice versa, so it is important that we have every skating center in the United States signed up to support the association and the industry as a whole." Another major goal Cort has is to work on developing a complete A-Z national marketing campaign to promote roller skating. This not only benefits United States rinks, but this will also promote the sport worldwide. Cort stated that he would like to see new faces on the RSA committees to encourage a wide range of viewpoints, levels of experience and skill sets. This will bring new ideas and energy to the association that is necessary to keep the industry moving forward. In an effort to save our members money, another goal is to develop more national programs, such as a national partnership with US Foods. "The social media committee has done a fantastic job and I would like to expand their reach by developing new campaigns across a variety of platforms, as well as continuing to educate our members on how to best utilize social media in their skating centers," says Wahlig. Cort would also like to increase participation in sponsored RSA programs, which is key to make the programs a success, as well as improving upon those programs where necessary. Cort would also like to host monthly virtual town hall meetings to create a direct line between members and the RSA President. "My goal is to obtain the input from members on where they would like to see the Association go, ideas they would like to see brought to fruition, feedback on programs that the RSA has or those they would like to see developed, and what areas the Association can work on that will help their skating centers." "One of the issues that we have is that members don’t know the vast number of materials and services available to them as part of being members of the Association. I would like to develop regular videos that will be posted directly on the RSA Facebook group that discusses membership benefits that are available and how to utilize them," says Wahlig. As you can see, Cort has a significant number of goals and it is with his experience serving on the board of directors and committees for 9 years and his role as Vice President for four years that have effectively prepared him for his role as President of the Roller Skating Association. Introducing Billy Thompson, your RSA Vice Presidential Candidate for 2020 The RSA Nominating Committee has selected Billy Thompson as their candidate for Vice President. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the nominating committee for choosing me as their candidate for RSA Vice President 2020. With the support of my wife Gina and daughter Chaney, I am honored to accept the nomination and I am 100% committed to the office of Vice President,” says Thompson. As a third generation owner/operator, he has a love of roller skating. Prior to getting involved in the business, he graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder where he majored in Operations Management and International Business. However, during that time he spent a semester in Japan where he did web design and translated Spanish to English for the Shizuoka Prefecture government. After graduating college, his parents offered him the opportunity to get involved with the family business where he worked for the lease holders in one of their businesses. Quickly, he was working in his own rink in Central Charlotte where he worked every day of the week, open to close. “I understand what it means when someone says they are working in their rink day in and day out. I was forced to quickly learn how to operate in the FEC environment and I continue to learn and grow as an operator every day.” Shortly thereafter, the family made the business decision to take all of its facilities back in the Gastonia area and Billy began to operate them for his parents under their ownership. “I started from the ground up with staff, management and policies and completely changed the way the family ran and operated their business.” With the help of his dad, they revamped skate sales in their area and turned a non-existent pro shop into a six-figure net after just six short years. In the late 2000’s, the family opened a third location. Thompson oversaw the management while continuing to run the day-to-day operations of the main location and overseeing a third location. He continued this until 2017 when he purchased the business from his parents and became the third generation owner in his family. He now owns and operates all three Kate’s locations in and around the Charlotte area. “It was during my first couple of years working for my parents that I became more active with Section 12 and took on the role of Section 12 President for almost 8 years. When a vacancy opened on the RSA board, I was asked to fill that role. After being elected, I learned that there was so much more to the RSA than I had known. I grew and matured as a person and a businessman while serving on this Board of Directors. I learned so much from my fellow board members and I was given increasing responsibility as I proved myself time and time again.” Billy has served under the last three RSA Presidents and has learned different things from each of them. Additionally, he has very strong positive working relationships with many of the past presidents, past vice presidents, and past board members. “I have never been afraid to voice my opinion, but I have always done so thoughtfully and constructively while upholding the RSA’s Constitution and Bylaws. Anyone who knows me well would say that if I don’t know something I will take the time to not only ask the question, but listen to the answer.” During his service to the RSA, he has served on the Marketing Committee, which he has chaired for approximately the last six years. In addition to the Marketing Committee, he currently sits on the Social Media Committee, Honors Committee, and Convention Planning and Education Committee. In years past, he has served on the Membership Committee and Nominating Committee. Over the last four years, he has worked closely with the current Vice President and President, as well as the office staff to improve the visibility of roller skating through social media. This includes the creation of a Marketing Sub Committee called the Social Media Committee. “I understand the importance of social media and the impact it has on the industry of roller skating and my three facilities. There is no denying the fact that roller skating’s social media presence has grown exponentially the last few years. I have committed much of my personal time over the years in private meetings with other rink operators, vendors and those outside of our industry looking for ways to get in and help the RSA flourish.” Thompson has given a variety of seminars and webinars on a numerous marketing topics. Additionally, he has given seminars on topics like game room set up, pro shop set-up and sales, as well as redemption area set-up. He regularly takes calls from people who ask about how he uses programs like Kids Skate Free as a marketing tool. He oversaw a photoshoot at his rink in 2015 that provided a lot of stock photos to the RSA. His wife Gina, a photographer, was heavily involved in the shoot and in the editing of the photos for member use. During his time as the Marketing Committee Chairman, he has helped develop partnerships with organizations like Nickelodeon for their World Wide Day of Play. “As the first implementer of Fetchrev (now Hownd) in our association, I have always tried to stay on the pulse of what is good for our industry.” Billy coordinated a partnership with the Moxi girls on a national “Where is Roo Campaign” where the Moxi skaters took Roller Roo on a cross country campaign to promote roller skating on a national and local level. If you aren’t aware of Billy Thompson personally, you are likely aware of his rink where they host the nationally known event Rollin’ in the Carolinas also known as RITC. “I believe in what the RSA Board of Directors and our current President, Jeff Couey, and Vice President, Cort Wahlig, have been doing to move roller skating forward these last four years. I want to help our membership and our entire industry to grow and be successful. This includes continuously evaluating our programs and adding value to the membership. We are an association filled with a diverse membership and we need to have programs and services for every single rink. I understand that not all rinks can operate the same way and we need to have a variety of programs and services to help all rinks to be successful. With that being said, there is a time and a place to have fun, and roller skating is a fun industry, but we are first and foremost a business and we need to run our rinks and our association like a business. I know that I have the background, expertise and the willingness to help ALL of our members.” The nominating committee believes that it is this devotion to the industry that makes Billy Thompson the clear choice for the RSA Vice President. “I would like to thank everyone who reached out to me and urged me to run for this position. Your faith in me is truly humbling. Most importantly, I would like to thank my wife, Gina, and daughter Chaney. Without their blessing, support, and their understanding, I wouldn’t be running for this position. If you have questions for me, thoughts about the association or any issues please do not hesitate to reach out. I always have and always will make time for my fellow members. I would like to ask each and every one of you for your support and your vote this upcoming April 2020.”
Cort’s family has been in the roller skating industry for over 64 years and has served in many different ways for the betterment of the industry and the sport of roller skating. He competed or worked in roller skating for the last 44 years and has been an active member of the RSAI for 28 years. After graduating from Salisbury State University in Maryland in 1989 and running three successful franchise restaurants, he returned to work as the General Manager of the Christiana Skating Center. Four years later, he and his sister purchased the skating center from their parents and have worked not only to build on the success of their parents, but to improve upon it. In 2014, they purchased their second rink in Dover, Delaware, and continue to work toward their goal of making them both as prosperous as they can be.
"I am lucky enough to have been raised in a family that values roller skating and the industry that we all love. As a second generation operator with two skating centers in Delaware, I have a vested interest in the continued success of our industry and our association. I support our industry partners with both of my centers, participating in a large variety of RSA programs include Kids Skate Free, STEM, Pepsi, ASCAP, BMI and JBL, to name a few. As a member of this association for the past 28 years, I have seen this association grow and change, and I feel confident that I have the background, knowledge and dedication to help our association thrive for generations to come," says Cort in his address to the RSA nominating committee.
Over the years, Wahlig has served as an officer of Section 11 was elected to the RSAI Board of Directors in 2011 where he continued to serve until his election to Vice President in 2016 where he remains today. Cort served on nearly a dozen committees including:
Executive Committee
Finance Committee
Marketing Committee
Minimum Wage Defense Committee
Policies and Procedures
Publications Committee
Public Information Committee
Safety, Insurance, Risk Management and Legislative Affairs Committee
National Museum of Roller Skating Trustee
In an interview with the RSA, Cort outlined some of his goals for the Association.
Increase membership, which is vitality important as his first goal in his first 180 days as president. "If we don’t have a majority of rink owners and operators as members of the association, it is difficult to educate those rink owners or claim that we’re the voice of the industry. In addition, it’s difficult to make the changes necessary in the market. For instance, non-members may not know the importance of risk management or safety standards. What non-member skating centers do in their facilities affects the entire industry, and vice versa, so it is important that we have every skating center in the United States signed up to support the association and the industry as a whole."
Another major goal Cort has is to work on developing a complete A-Z national marketing campaign to promote roller skating. This not only benefits United States rinks, but this will also promote the sport worldwide.
Cort stated that he would like to see new faces on the RSA committees to encourage a wide range of viewpoints, levels of experience and skill sets. This will bring new ideas and energy to the association that is necessary to keep the industry moving forward.
In an effort to save our members money, another goal is to develop more national programs, such as a national partnership with US Foods.
"The social media committee has done a fantastic job and I would like to expand their reach by developing new campaigns across a variety of platforms, as well as continuing to educate our members on how to best utilize social media in their skating centers," says Wahlig.
Cort would also like to increase participation in sponsored RSA programs, which is key to make the programs a success, as well as improving upon those programs where necessary.
Cort would also like to host monthly virtual town hall meetings to create a direct line between members and the RSA President. "My goal is to obtain the input from members on where they would like to see the Association go, ideas they would like to see brought to fruition, feedback on programs that the RSA has or those they would like to see developed, and what areas the Association can work on that will help their skating centers."
"One of the issues that we have is that members don’t know the vast number of materials and services available to them as part of being members of the Association. I would like to develop regular videos that will be posted directly on the RSA Facebook group that discusses membership benefits that are available and how to utilize them," says Wahlig.
As you can see, Cort has a significant number of goals and it is with his experience serving on the board of directors and committees for 9 years and his role as Vice President for four years that have effectively prepared him for his role as President of the Roller Skating Association.