On October 2-3, USA Curling will be hosting the eighth annual Members’ Assembly.

To best ensure safety of participants and hosts, the 2021 Members’ Assembly will be virtual, however, USA Curling will be offering free seminars for members to attend via videoconference. This year’s Members’ Assembly will feature the following sessions:

• Membership Recruiting

• Insurance, The Newest Member Benefit

• Ice Breakers: Share the sport, elevate the game.

• ICEGRID Solutions by ISS

To attend any of the offered sessions, members can register in each session’s corresponding registration link.

SATURDAY, OCT. 2ND

11:00 AM (CDT): MEMBERSHIP RECRUITING

• Dean Gemmell, USA Curling Director of Curling Development

• Lori Markham, Granite Curling Club President (Seattle, Wash.)

• Mimi Stevinson, Rock Creek Curling Club (Lafayette, Colo.)

Join three speakers experienced in membership growth, management, and retention as they discuss strategies and the importance membership recruitment, especially following a challenging year. This conversation will share varying experiences and best practices on how clubs approach recruitment, as well as how clubs can leverage national and global exposure of the sport!

12:30PM (CDT): INSURANCE, THE NEWEST MEMBER BENEFIT

• Eric Gleason, USA Curling Chief Financial Officer

• Greg Joly, Loomis & Lapann Sports Senior Vice President

• Steven O’Keefe, USA Curling Member Services

Greg Joly, Senior Sports Vice President for Loomis & LaPann, Inc., has been in the insurance industry for over 20 years, following his nine year career in the NHL. With his background in sports and insurance, Joly will speak to delivering the most comprehensive insurance products available to the sporting world. 

Collectively, Gleason, Joly, and O’Keefe will take a deeper look at the newest USA Curling member benefit for curlers and clubs as they discuss the details of the USA Curling insurance benefits, share the protections of curlers and clubs, and how the coverages work together to mitigate risk and save money.

3:00PM (CDT): ICE BREAKERS: SHARE THE SPORT, ELEVATE THE GAME

• Dean Gemmell, USA Curling Director of Curling Development

• Debra Martin, USA Curling Member, Certified Coach, Instructor, and Wellness Consultant 

Dean Gemmell and Debra Martin provide an update on “Ice Breakers,” a program created to initiate a club-based approach to increasing diversity in curling. After rolling the programming out to a handful of interested clubs across the country, Martin and Gemmell will recap their learnings from programmatically elevating the game through diversity, as well as share the important role clubs and members can play in expanding the sport of curling to all who want to play.

SUNDAY, OCT. 3RD

10:30AM (CDT): ICEGRID® SOLUTIONS BY ISS

•  Said Hakim, Ice, Sports and Solar (ISS) President and Owner

• Shawn Olesen, USA Curling Head Technician

• Art Sutherland, Accent Refrigeration Systems President and CEO

• Matt Gamboa, Southern California Curling Center

Said Hakim will introduce ISS: Ice, Sports & Solar Systems. Due to the company’s versatility, their ice rink systems have proven to be suitable for a wide range of applications, whether it be creating ice in an arena or in a dedicated facility. 

Shawn Olesen, Head Ice Technician, and Art Sutherland, the IOC Chief Ice Consultant at the past seven Olympics, will draw on their experiences and provide their expertise on upgrading curling ice.

Matt Gamboa of the Southern California Curling Center will be joining the panel to offer SCCC’s first-hand experience with the ISS product, as the dedicated facility has installed the ICEGRID solution at their club.