Industry Impact Award

Kristi Herold - JAM Sports

Kristi and JAM always are on the lookout on how to make an impact in our industry in ways large and small. They are so caring and supportive in many ways. When the hurricanes hit Florida and severely damaged the Club Sport office, we had people working non-stop to put our business back together. In doing this, JAM was kind enough to send lunch to our entire staff so we had one less thing to worry about. Thank you Kristi and JAM!

It is not 2024 specifically, as this is something Kristi has done for years. So many lessons learned from her and JAM at past conferences, we still use in our business today. From bringing in two excellent keynotes at past conferences, volunteering to lead several sessions over the years, creating a solid office culture (so admirable, she published a book), to having some of the best core values in the industry, it is something worthy of acknowledgement.

Christian Crute- Sportslink

Christian took the time to walk us through Sportslink's volleyball mix and match tournament format, so that we could start our own here in Sacramento. I know he's helped other clubs with the same program. Thank you for your knowledge share Christian!

Justin Jacobs - Come Play Detroit

Justin has stepped up in an absolutely HUGE way working with Nash Hartel and the SSA as well as outside industry experts such as Paula Beadle to quarterback our industry's sponsorship evaluation and come up with next best steps for helping us grow. His tireless dedication in wrangling and guiding multiple groups to come up with actionable steps has helped that process move despite its level of complication and many challenges. His commitment and focus has been greatly appreciated and we look forward to seeing that hard work bear fruit for decades to come.

Chris Giebner - Club Sport

He always helps everyone in anyway possible and goes above and beyond for the SSIA.

Nick Ferate - Underdog Sports Leagues

Nick Ferate may not be a name everyone knows, but the reach of his impact has. For more than 20 years, Nick has lead the Sport & Social Industry, among others, through his knowledge share on hiring and training field staff, obtaining the data you need (and what that actually is), and implementing a top players or captains program.

Clubs have sent HR staff to him to learn the best practices of hiring and training field staff. And while someone close to his vicinity wrote a book on the topic, Nick is the one who has tested all theories, collected the stories, and still implements the systems on a daily basis. He has presented at the SSIA Conference more than 6 times, most of which have earned top ratings from attendees. And anyone who follows up with him post-conference knows that he will give even more information.

Nick has provided decades of feedback and testing to help make the League Lab software efficient and effective. He works alongside the developers finding all the ways clubs can and would use a feature, then figures out the best way possible for it to be accessible, on both the public and admin sides. And as always, Nick has worked with many League Lab clubs on how to best use the software for them.

Never one to say no to helping, Nick has had countless calls from those within the SSIA on how to achieve your goals. He takes the time out of his day to impact you and your business, because he knows his experience can make a difference for you.

Don’t sleep on this titan of our industry…Nick Ferate has made an impact.