ISPA FOUNDATION
At the 2014 ISPA Foundation Live Auction,
“A Weekend Trip to Mexico Volunteering
with the Flying Doctors” started a
bidding war between ISPA Chairman
Michael Tompkins and Gwenn
Shimizu. In the end both won—
Tompkins had the highest bid but
in an act of exceptional generosity gave
the prize to Shimizu, regional director at
Sego Lily Mind Body Spa – Layton. I caught
up with her to find out more about the trip.
ONE-ONE
ON
Jeff Kohl: Tell me about your weekend trip to Mexico volunteering with the Flying Doctors.
Shimizu: One of my very favorite vendors, Paul Heslop with Salt of the Earth, asked me to support his
developing auctioneer skills and do a little bidding at the ISPA Foundation Live
Auction. He assured me that he would get someone to outbid me. So I lost the bid
for the trip. Fast forward a couple of days and sure enough, Michael Tompkins, the
winner, was sitting right next to me as I was boarding the plane home. We’d never
met but I razzed him about outbidding me. He offered to gift me the trip and asked,
“Do you have a business card with you?” He won and gave me the trip!
FOUNDATION
2015
ISPA FOUNDATION
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
CHAIRMAN
Jeff Kohl
Spa & Club Ideations
VICE CHAIRMAN
Frank Pitsikalis
ResortSuite
DIRECTORS
Ella Stimpson
ISPA Vice Chairman
The Spa at Sea Island
Michael Tompkins
ISPA Chairman
Hilton Head Health
Kohl: Why were you interested in this Auction item?
Shimizu: There weren’t a whole lot of details about the trip at the auction but I
heard a few key words that made me like it over the other items: Volunteer,
medical, private plane and Mexico.
Lynne McNees
ISPA President
Kohl: How was your trip? What was your favorite memory or experience from it?
Shimizu: It was amazing. What a wonderful organization LIGA International is. It’s a group of pilots and
MEDICAL ADVISOR
Brent Bauer, M.D.
Mayo Clinic
medical providers who get matched up and go one weekend a month to provide medical care in a small
town in Mexico. Now, I have very little experience in the medical field other than a quirky interest that has
led me to doing things like becoming an EMT (emergency medical technician). So there I was, “no habla
español” and no medical experience, in an operating room in Mexico! I picked as many people’s brains as
I could and every single one of them was fantastic to push me a little outside what I might have been
comfortable doing, but be right there as a back-up if needed. It’s so hard to pick just one experience that
was the best. Even with a language barrier there was such a sense of gratitude that emanated through
appreciative tears and smiles as I prepped patients for discharge. It’s hard to express how much you can
get back out of just one day and how many people you can meet that you just feel like you’ve known, and
will know, for a very long time.
Kohl: What is your favorite thing about being part of the ISPA community?
Shimizu: The sanity it provides knowing you’re not the only one facing similar trials and also being able
to network with people who are full of endless knowledge that they are willing to share.
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HONORARY BOARD
MEMBERS
Ruth Stricker
The Marsh, A Center for
Balance and Fitness
Deborah Szekely
WELLNESS WARRIOR
The ISPA Foundation
wishes to thank the following
supporters for their generous
contributions:
LUMINARY
Ruth Stricker
BENEFACTOR
Dr. Howard Murad
DONATE TODAY The ISPA Foundation Live & Silent Auctions are rapidly approaching
and donations are pouring in. From the best spa products, to books from our speakers, to trips all over
the world, we’ve got it all! And even better, all of the proceeds from the Auctions go toward providing
the spa industry with educational resources and research to grow your business. Who wouldn’t want
to donate? Make sure to donate by August 14 to be considered for this year’s Live Auction.
58 PULSE
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August 2015
PATRON
Massage Envy
Franchising, LLC
Red Door Spas