Page 12 - GBC Spring 2021 English

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Golf Business Canada
LARGEST ATTENDANCE EVER
A historic first for the Golf Business Canada Conference & Trade Show (after 20 years as in-person) the virtual model attracted the event’s largest attendance ever. Close to 400 attendees were, ‘Plugged In’ from various mobile or home/ office devices for a three day series of business town halls, educational breakout sessions, networking opportunities and product/service reveals.
While that could have proved challenging for less tech savvy show attendees or even for NGCOA Canada as a first-time roll out the execution was flawless.
“I was a bit skeptical of how the online format would work, but having been to so many Golf Business Canada Conference & Trade Shows in the past and knowing how the NGCOA Canada never ceases to amaze and impress, I was keen to see how they would pull it off,” said Alon Shatil of London, Ontario’s East Park Golf Gardens. “I was once again blown away by the NGCOA Canada and this online conference. For those who have been to many conferences, it truly was a great alternative to being with everyone in person. It made me almost feel like I was there.”
Megan Molloy, Golf Events and Marketing Manager for Morgan Creek Golf Course in Surrey, British Columbia, was up to six virtual conferences this year prior to attending the Golf Business Canada Conference & Trade Show. Seems she saved the best for last.
“It blew all the others out of the water,” she said. “I was sad that we were going to miss out on all the fun networking, but boy did the NGCOA Canada deliver. It was by far the best of all my conferences this year. Hats off to the entire team for your hard work.”
Equally gratifying for the NGCOA Canada team was the opportunity for members to attend who might otherwise have been prohibited from doing so in the past because of budget constraints and/or travel distance. What the virtual model provided was an authentic taste of the in-person Golf Business Canada Conference & Trade Show. Based on this initial experience attendees in this particular category seem eager to register and be on-hand at future shows.
“As a first-time attendee, I thor- oughly enjoyed the conference,” said Rick Kindrachuk, of Sask- atchewan’s Wakaw Lake Regional Park Golf Course. “The virtual
format worked great and I look forward to future conferences for education, networking and meeting with exhibitors. If it was this good virtually, I can’t imagine how great an in-person conference would be.”
CONTENT IS KING
The agenda for this inaugural three-day virtual event was of a heavyweight nature: powerful and dynamic yet nimble and fast- paced.
‘Plugged In’ opened with a State of the Industry Town Hall panel discussion. Featuring Chad McKinnon of Golf Town, ClubLink’s Brent Miller, Stephen Johnston of GGA Partners and Sports and Leisure Research Group’s Jon Last, the quartet of industry leaders discussed COVID- 19’s impact on the 2020 season and its potential carryover effect into next year.
Closing the proceedings was Shawn Kanungo’s keynote address. The renowned disruption strategist offered his unique insights into how the golf industry can embrace and take advantage of changing innovation, technologies and opportunities in a disrupted world filled with uncertainty.