I am in Las Vegas at the ISPA (International Spa Association) conference. I always enjoy
catching up with colleagues and checking out the trade show floor. This year, there are 3,000 attendees. I remember when the conference had just a few hundred. The industry has really grown. The conferences keep getting better – and this one may have been one of the stronger ones.

Jim Root (left) is going to be the next chairman of ISPA, and he shared that his first order of business is going to be changing the commonly used term “spa industry” to “spa community”. That has a nice feel to it. And the timing might just be perfect.

It is interesting to reflect on the growth of ISPA and how each of its leaders has contributed to the organization. I have been involved with ISPA almost from the very beginning (1991), and I feel that each of its chairpersons has left their imprint on the organization – and that, in turn, has affected the entire industry. I am sure that every ISPA member would have their own interpretation, but this is how I remember each of their contributions:

Werner Mendel – let’s get things started
John Korpi – let’s think bigger
Alex Szekely – let’s live the vision and think long-term
Jerry Katzoff – let’s make this profitable
Jane Segerberg – let’s get more professionally organized
Thad Hyland – let’s get our priorities in line
Gayle Brady – let’s run this like a business
Jeff Kohl – let’s set accounting standards
Kate Mearns – let’s listen to our members
Jim Root – let’s become more of a community

Each leader’s contributions were important and, in retrospect, might have been exactly what was needed at the time. “From industry to community” might be a very spa-like way toward greater health.