Pulse Legacy Archive March / April 2012 | Page 4

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

A

s your new ISPA chairman, I am often asked by spa industry peers
and ISPA members how I—along with our remarkable ISPA
Board—make productive, and sometimes, difficult decisions for the
association. My response is there are two fundamental decisionmaking touchstones through which all of our discussions are framed:
1.) Does it help our members?
2.) Does it strengthen the spa industry?
During our first ISPA Board meeting this
past January, I was so impressed with the
level of engagement and enthusiasm by your
Board to tackle current agenda items and
strategically plan for the year ahead. With
the addition of Sean Handler into the ISPA
—From the TV series Friday Night Lights
Board mix this year and the return of veteran
Board Members Sharilyn Abbajay and Frank Pitsikalis, I truly believe that we have
a remarkable board, reinforced by a remarkable professional staff, that reflects the
diversity needed to represent and give voice to the different types of spas and
resource partners that so uniquely make up the ISPA community.
On the same note, I was equally impressed by our guest, Nancy Axelrod. A
highly respected governance consultant and author of Governing for Growth:
Using 7 Measures of Success to Strengthen Board Dialogue and Decision Making,
Axelrod’s message was loud and clear: “Create a stop doing list and focus on
what you do best.”
As an association, we are best at serving our members. We are best at
being a leader and an authoritative voice for the global spa industry. Your ISPA
Board is best at putting ISPA and the industry’s interest above our own individual point-of-view while bringing our unique talents and background to the
discussion. I challenge us all to do what we do best. Focus on our core
purpose, align all we do through that purpose and then execute with excellence. Let us all commit to do our best with “clear eyes and a full heart.” Only
then can we truly —“not lose.”

PHOTO © TIFFANY BROWN

“Clear eyes,
full heart,
can’t lose.”

®

—ELLA STIMPSON, ISPA CHAIRMAN

2012 ISPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS

DIRECTORS

CHAIRMAN
Ella Stimpson
Wynn and Encore Las Vegas

Sharilyn Abbajay
Marriott International

VICE CHAIRMAN
Michael Tompkins
Miraval Resort and Spa
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Todd Walter
Red Door Spas

2 PULSE

■

Dr. Kathryn Dundas
Sublime Wellness Spa
Sean Handler
Boyne Resorts/ Solace Spa
Thor Holm
Hammock Beach Resort

March/April 2012

Jeff Kohl
ISPA Foundation President
Frank Pitsikalis
ResortSuite
Paul Schmidt
Living Energy Design
Philippe Therene
SpaEquip

Immediate Past Chair
Deborah Waldvogel
Sedona Resorts
Lynne McNees
ISPA President

MEDICAL ADVISOR
Dr. Brent Bauer, MD
Mayo Clinic