ISPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT ? It ’ s been almost two months since we were in Las Vegas . I can still feel the warm embraces , and I love seeing the postings on Facebook , Instagram and LinkedIn that still show up daily in my social feeds . It was so wonderful to connect with friends from years in the industry like Derek Hofmann from Four Seasons Resort Orlando . And beautiful souls like Jasmine Welsh from Grace Bay Resorts Turks & Caicos . And seeing all the enthusiastic new faces like Davonna Willis , who is bringing together massage therapists of color in her business . The future of the spa industry ! I know that wherever we may go in the great tomorrow , whatever trends may emerge , whatever curveballs will be thrown our way , there will always be talented , committed people sustaining the industry .

Since Conference , I ’ ve been thinking a lot about Ben Nemtin , this year ’ s Alex Szekely Humanitarian Award recipient , and his mission to activate his bucket list today . His keynote made me think about how much time we spend thinking about what will happen in the future as opposed to getting out into life and seeing what we can activate in the great today . How many great dreams are waiting on the shelf to pursue when the time is right ? When the bills are fully paid ? When the kids are just a little bit older ?

It ’ s a fine , delicate balance , yes ? The pursuit of the big dreams with the banalities and real responsibilities of life . I think about the message from restaurateur Will Guidara and how a simple hot dog changed the course of his business , making his restaurant in Manhattan the best in the world . And our good friend Frank Pitsikalis — former chairman of the ISPA Foundation — who reminds us we don ’ t have to boil the ocean to change the world . And Happiness Expert Neil Pasricha , who started a joyful , awesome movement after his wife left him . The changes , the big differences , can be incremental and just as impactful as the large gestures that life sometimes requires .

All of this from one Conference ! It ’ s the unscripted magic of what we do at ISPA . So , as we move through our lives over the next weeks and months until we meet again , let ’ s do both . Pick up the big dreams we ’ ve let slip to the side , and also relish in the bite of a simple hotdog .

ELECTED OFFICERS CHAIR

Patrick Huey We Care Spa

VICE CHAIR

Kelleye Martin Trellis , The Spa at the Houstonian

SECRETARY / TREASURER

Michelle Adams Somerville Woodstock Inn & Resort

DIRECTORS

Taylor Fields PCH Hotels & Resorts

CG Funk Massage Heights Corporate LLC

Jennifer Holzworth Montage International

Dawn MacLellan The Landing Golf & Athletic Club

Barry McCaffrey BABOR

Terry Prager Seed to Skin

Charlotte Prescott Fisher Island Club Spa Internazionale

Kenneth Ryan Marriott International

Eric Savage Freedom Spa , LLC

Foundation Chair Todd Shaw Fountain Life

Jessica Shea Hilton

Jessica Timberlake Jessica L . Timberlake Consulting

Lynne McNees President International SPA Association

— PATRICK HUEY , CHAIR

MEDICAL ADVISOR Brent A . Bauer , MD Mayo Clinic

2 PULSE n JULY 2023