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NEW AMBASSADORS REACH OUT TO MEMBERS

BY DEBRA HAZEL

Members are usually full of logistical questions when they attend ICSC’s meetings, which perhaps is not surprising for an organization that offers such a multitude of services and programs.

Now the association has set apart a specially trained group of employees, called ICSC Ambassadors, to address such questions. They will be staffing the ICSC Welcome Center at its meetings.

“We believe the ICSC Welcome Center is a great way for members to learn all about who we are and what we do,” said Jay Starr, senior staff vice president, pointing out that no one knows the association better than its staff.

ICSC staffers nominated fellow employees to be ambassadors. Nominees had to be full-time employees with at least one year of service. A committee chose 12 ambassadors from among the candidates. It was no easy task, Starr says. “There were so many qualified nominees that there are enough for the next cycle.”

This first ambassador group represents a wide cross-section of disciplines within the association: Denise Adrian and Peter Stein, of the marketing department; Elaine Quek, from Asia operations; Esther Boyce, of management; Jasmin Rivera, from international programs; Madison Gross, from the education department; Stephanie Spooner, from government relations; Athena Lampropoulos, of office services; Juleen McTaggart and Kurt Wallin, from the programs department; Sally Stephenson, of Value Retail News; and Susan Pistilli, from the Albert Sussman Library.

“Those selected exemplify the positive values that our association embodies — enthusiasm, drive, creativity, cooperation and collaboration — and are truly representative of what ICSC is all about,” said ICSC President Michael P. Kercheval. “It is indeed a special honor to become an ICSC Ambassador.”

The ambassadors, wearing distinctive pins, will be stationed at the Welcome Center, where ICSC’s products and services are displayed. They attended a products and services orientation session led by ICSC department heads to help them better assist inquirers.

Attending the meetings themselves provides education of another sort. “It gave us the opportunity to find out what the other departments and divisions were doing,” said Sally Stephenson, senior advertising executive for Value Retail News. “My position is usually sales, so it’s giving me the opportunity to talk with people on a different level. It’s giving me the opportunity to present a lot of products that I haven’t presented before.”

Members often use the Welcome Center as an informal meeting place, and this will allow the ambassadors to learn what is going on in the industry and what matters to ICSC members.

“You find out much more in-depth information about retail real estate,” said McTaggart, ICSC’s business development manager. “Some deals are even being made in the Welcome Center. There’s that buzz around you. You learn a lot about the colorful, fantastic industry we’re in.”

The ambassadors also make special preparations for each ICSC meeting. Stein notes that he walks around the entire conference area before a meeting opens so he can direct people to session rooms or deal-making sites.

“It’s allowed me to go out and meet the members, and see what makes them tick,” Stein said. “I enjoy meeting them, helping them out and giving members a feel for what we do.”

Nor does the ambassador’s role end with the meeting. Members have followed up with some ambassadors on a variety of questions.

“It makes us more organized,” said McTaggart, “and provides ICSC with a face.”