Confluence’s Woolsey Joins Paddlesports Industry Association Board
Efforts Focused on Marketing, Tradeshows, and Consumer Events
The Paddlesports Industry Association announced that Kelley Woolsey has taken an at-large position on the association’s Board of Directors. Woolsey is SVP Sales and Marketing at Confluence Watersports of Easley, South Carolina.
The addition of Woolsey to the association’s board brings to four the total number of representatives from manufacturing companies. Woolsey joins Mike Cichanowski, CEO of Wenonah Canoes/Current Designs Kayaks; Jared Carr, Sales Manager for Osagian Canoes; and Holly Anderson, President and CEO of Vanguard Inflatables on the board. The Paddlesports Industry Association board currently has 12 members; a thirteenth seat is vacant.
“I am proud to join the Paddlesports Industry Association board,” said Woolsey. “As a member of the Paddlesports Industry Unification Workgroup last year, we developed a strong direction for the association. Our focus is going to be on growing the number of people who go paddling every year. Manufacturers like Confluence need to work with outfitters, renters, and retailers to meet the challenge of growing participation by 100 percent. We all need to work together on this.”
“Kelley’s addition will be a great benefit for our association,” said Paddlesports Industry Association president Mike Prom of Voyageur Canoe Outfitters in Grand Marais, Minnesota. “We’ve set a goal of finding directors who bring specific skills to our board. Kelley’s marketing expertise and his knowledge of the ins and outs of tradeshows and consumer events is unparalleled in our industry. I’m looking forward to Kelley’s contributions.”
Prom has asked Woolsey to chair a committee on tradeshows and consumer events. The committee is charged with working to improve the business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing efforts of the paddlesports industry. The committee will begin its tasks by developing a way to more effectively coordinate the hundreds of consumer demonstration events in the paddlesports industry every year. The goal of coordinating consumer demonstration events is to make them more efficient for the businesses that host them and the manufacturers who need to provide staff for them. Woolsey is also assisting the association’s marketing efforts.
The Paddlesports Industry Association is a 501 (c)(6) trade association dedicated to the growth of paddlesports. The association represents the interests of manufacturers, retailers, outfitters, instruction centers, sales representatives, and outside suppliers of the paddlesports industry throughout North America. The organization supports industry growth and its membership through programs that include representation in government/legislative affairs, consumer education, outreach/marketing initiatives, market research, membership cost saving benefits, and professional development programs such as the National School for Paddlesports Business and the annual Paddlesports Pro conference.
