look into the economic impact. People put the Super Bowl in a conversation with ASAE. This could affect Indianapolis for the next decade. One weekend to shape a decade. 95% is really incredible to have that kind of a buy in of an entire industry. What is the value prop for an association in 2025 from South Bin to Evansville and everywhere in between.
This is Get In, the show focused on the Hoosier State and the incredible stories happening here today. I'm Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana, and I will be your host for today's conversation. If you've been hunting for a brunch spot that understands food allergies and has bold flavors, look no further than Fire and Ice Cafe in Indianapolis. This hidden gem serves up European inspired dishes that are entirely gluten-free. They're also completely free from peanuts, tree nuts, soy, sesame fish, and crustaceans. We're talking biscuits, sandwiches, crepes, falafel bowls, pastries, and of course, all your favorite brunch drinks.
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Today, I'm joined by Cory Martin, CEO of Mission Control, an association management company based right here in Indianapolis. He also serves as the executive director for both the Indiana State Police Alliance and the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy. Known for his down-to-earth leadership style and commitment to nonprofits, Cory helps organizations across Indiana grow, govern, and thrive. Today, we're going to be talking through Indiana's nonprofit history, association meetings, and events. And those are way cooler than they might sound. Trust me, you're going to want to hear that, and talk about association's connection to economic development right here in the Hoosier State.
Cory, welcome to Get In.
Thanks, Nate. Really appreciate it. Dude, I'm excited for this one. Uh, it's going to be super fun. We connected. I mean, it might have been two or three months ago now and and you guys have been rocking and rolling, super busy. You were just saying like event season is in full swing.
It is big time.
Conventions and association meetings are a little different and we're going to get into that a little bit as we go on where some of the biggest events that we host right here in Indianapolis aren't necessarily conventions or they're they're actually association meetings. So, if you stick around till about halfway through the show, you're going to hear uh some of the cool association meetings we're holding hosting. But before we get there, we got to talk about Indiana's rich nonprofit history. Uh and and where did we kind of where did this hub of nonprofit activity really start?
Yeah. I mean, from my perspective, it really started in the 60s and 70s when nonprofits were building brick-and-mortar buildings and they're wanting to get out of DC, per se. Um, so Chicago and DC really have continued to be the hub of nonprofit management, but then Indianapolis started uh creating incentives, certainly tax-based incentives, land incentives to draw nonprofits here and that has lasted throughout history. And so you saw a huge fraternal movement. We mentioned it in the walk-in, but I was I'm a part of a fraternity and we were one of those that moved from Kansas City to Indianapolis and built a building here. If you if you roll around town, you'll see those like fraternity style uh headquarters all over the place, especially like that like north side of Indie like a little bit.
The pyramid area was kind of that first big start um a ton and it was really the land-based incentives from my understanding to draw those organizations in. We're also middle of the country as everybody knows and easier to get around. So, you know, by car it was easy to just have a staff be able to drive through all these to all these college campuses around the country. When did nonprofit like working in the nonprofit sector become less of a hobby and more of a career?
Yeah, it's a great question. I think my biggest statement when people ask that is nonprofit management is is a tax strategy, not a business plan. So when you're looking at it from a business standpoint, they're operating the exact same way as for-profit companies. The tax incentives and the tax strategy is what is different about that.
Okay. So So explain that to me as not an accountant and I don't know tax strategy. talk to me about the the a little bit into the the weeds there.
Especially with our client group, there are differences with with each group. If it's a the 501c status, everyone talks about a 501c3 that's the most coveted because of its its tax advantages. That's usually the foundations that are associated with the membership group. The membership groups are really 501c4s or 501c6s. Again, it's a tax allocation. Um but that that certainly creates incentives for the organizations
from a tax standpoint.
Ah, I got you. Yeah, cuz you want to get 501c3 status and then when people donate to you, it's it's a write- off at the end of the year, all that fun stuff. Okay, so this started like kind of heating up in the 60s and 70s
from my perspective, just the more what I consider the brick and mortar where you started seeing a lot of organizations expand that way. And then Indianapolis as a city got extremely aggressive and from what I could see, I'm a history buff. I'm an indie guy, born and raised on the southside. So, in looking into this, I think William Hudnnut, Mayor Hudnut, back when he was really focusing on ex just rapid growth for Indianapolis gave crazy incentives to lure nonprofits in as a as a huge advantage. U and it worked. I mean, we got the NCAA that was before his time, but NCAA came to Indianapolis.
Are they nonprofit?
They're the NCAA is also an association.
Oh,
it is. Yeah, technically. Okay. So, and then when you're talking through association, nonprofit, like the differences or like
uh because we're going to touch on both of them today. Yeah.
And so kind of give us just like a pros, cons, I don't know the differences between
a traditional nonprofit or an association. Well, they're they're one and the same. So associations are nonprofits. Most I haven't seen anything other than that.
Okay. So association is a nonprofit. You pay a membership due to be a part of this assoc. What are a few that people would know about?
Yeah, I mean here in town, I mean FFA is certainly one that's thriving. Um that's massive and
that's an association.
It is. So it's they do host like a big event like a convention but like Gen Con is not necessarily an association. Gen Con is just a convention whereas FFA is like they bring their paid members to so because it's like a private thing. You can't just like come off the street and go to FFA program.
Exactly. Right. I think the biggest thing for me is think of an expo hall like the candy convention that comes to town and some of the large expose that you see that that exposition is why people are there to meet and engage with things that have to do with their industry, right? A a membership association is typically there to learn and to network and grow. And so it's more of an education focus with breakout rooms and and education rather than a giant expo hall where you're engaging with clients and vendors and things like that.
How did you get into this space? cuz now with Mission Control, you're helping lots of nonprofits and not lots of associations. Correct.
Yeah. Ex exactly right. So, uh I got into it really in college. I just found this pathway forward and luckily I went to Indiana University Indianapolis and we had a really good program there focused in nonprofit administration. And once I could, you know, get in, have some internships, get some experience, I realized this is definitely something that I want to be in. And I think I I I chalk it up as this. I am definitely a generalist versus a specialist. I could not be a do one thing 40 hours a week. There's no way. I've got to have the different buckets and the different things going on, i.e. marketing, um, you know, event management, finance, those different areas. I love going in and out of each of those areas. That's what nonprofit management provides you rather than being a specialist doing one thing.
Yeah. Because that because the staff's small and the budget small, too, you have to the jack of all trades, master of none. Exactly right. Exactly. Uh, and it's like as you think starting a business, like getting out, what what drew you to go start mission control versus just like finding one nonprofit that you loved and, you know, boring into that?
Yeah, that's a great question. I think the biggest thing and and it's really what is our industry for association management is having a staff have multiple hats as well. So, for example, we're using, you know, part staff for multiple clients to make this work. So you have three clients that have half of a staff for communications, half of a staff for event management, but they can share staff amongst the groups. That's the way we make it work.
So it's like fractional support.
It's fractional support for nonprofits. That's exactly what we are.
If you get enough volume where it's like, hey, you know, a graphic designer, you like let's say that for that's like a very niche spot, but like 10 nonprofits need 10% support from a graphic designer. Correct. designer could be designing banners and posters for their meeting for this client, this client, this client.
Health and wellness nonprofit versus the doctor's association. Like the way that they need to operate is are they similar or are they very different?
Uh, from a nonprofit standpoint, probably different. Especially if it's a 501c3 foundation that's that's raising funds, that's vastly different than what we're traditionally doing most of the time.
Okay. So, traditionally, what are you working on? membership engagement, membership development. I mean, we're interacting with members that are dues paying members every day. That's what we're really doing. So, it's hosting events for those members. It's, you know, the financial backend operations to ensure their member dues are collected and dispersed, things like that. So, those are the things we're doing really, the member engagement part of it.
What are some of the biggest uh membership organizations that you're working with?
Yeah, the sports academy is one. So the the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy, it's just shy of 7,000 sports physical therapists all around the country and we're headquartered here in Indiana at our office in Fountain Square. And so think of professional teams. That's what that gets me going because I I love sports. And you know, I'm interacting with our board members who are uh active physical therapists and part of the medical teams for the Yankees and the, you know, the Red Sox and the Bruins and things like that, which is really cool. And so I'm I'm engaging with them when we're on Zoom calls and team meetings. They've got players walking behind them on these in these locker rooms. And so it's really cool.
That is really cool. And that's like such a like very niche, but when you say it, it's like, "Oh, that's super cool." And you think that, yeah, you're a part of these associations cuz you want to learn the best practices to, you know, develop remedies or healing strategies or whatever, you know, get people back into playing the game quickly. Wow. That's that's and especially in the city of sports, right? Like totally, you know, being headquartered just makes sense. And that's one more additional item like everyone knows about the big sporting, you know, teams and all the stuff and the events that we host, but also the associations that are tied to sports that are here. Okay. So, you're working with them. Who else are you working with?
Yeah, I mean the Indiana State Police Alliance. We mentioned them and and their affiliation with the National Troopers Coalition.
Was that like one of your first entry points?
Yeah, they that was. So, they hired me to be their standalone executive director in 2017. And that's what really started this whole thing for me realizing that we had a very small limited staff and it needed to grow. And in order to do that, what made the most sense was to add other groups on that paid for staff that needed staff support. So when I realized I could serve in the capacity to lead both organizations, but the support staff underneath of it could be shared, then both organizations benefited from that shared staff model. And it just
What got you plugged in with the um with the state police?
Quite frankly, I applied for the job. Yeah, I knew some friends that were either troopers or on the administrative team and at the end of the day I really just applied for the job and I was fresh out of grad school and applied for the job and the guy that got me the job was president for seven years. Um so Scott Krueger, he's an active trooper right now. Um and Scott always said, you know, I was in the no pile, back in the yes pile, in the no pile, back in the yes pile. And eventually just it was one of those luck of the draw and I got the job. So I had to prove myself and uh and did it.
Yeah. And and so what does the Indiana State Police Alliance, what what are they focused on?
We are we're not a union, but we flirt with being a union in the in regards of of um really taking care of the members being state troopers. 95% or so of active Indiana state troopers are members of the alliance.
Is that like uh across industries? How does that compare?
No, it's very we're we're pretty uh unique in that uh because it's a lot. It it is 95% is is really incredible to have that kind of a buyin of of an entire industry. That's
it's incredible and it's become such a need for the troopers in Indiana. So that's why they join. It's not really a want that this is I I want to be a part of it or I want to be affiliated with it, which is a challenge in association management with membership decline right now. Quite frankly, creating that need for the industry is what is is getting them to sign up for it.
Well, and what is the what's why is it a no-brainer for troopers to be a part of this? So, the general member benefits and the way we offer these benefits, whether it be special requests, benevolent type work, uh, when I say benevolent type work, it's if I just had this happen this week. I actually just sent the email this morning where a trooper off duty had an issue with their house, a personal issue. Um, it was a gas leak and the family had to evacuate, get a hotel, have some incidentals and and get back in a couple days when the situation, you know, was solved. So, when that happens though, we have a fund that can support members. And so it's called our our benevolent fund.
So we can issue payment to members um kind of in that that capacity of a foundation to be able to support them with these offduty type things. Our line of duty death benefits are absolutely incredible from our standpoint, but it I've had to do that in my time with the state police alliance delivering a check to a a widow of a of a trooper that was just killed in the line of duty. Um
it's like that's impactful, but
extremely impactful. Extremely impactful. I mean being in those living rooms, it's lifealtering type stuff
who goes into that room.
It's typically our so the head of the state police usually or our our u direct affiliation being one of our representatives on the board, our president and myself. That's it's a really small group and it's all based on typically the troopers family and their friends which are usually co-workers and other troopers working with them to identify what the best time is and in some cases which is everyone's different as you know I mean everyone's different when it comes to that the family tragedies. It could be day of when it's just like going a mile a minute and nobody remembers the details of the day and the incident or it could be two weeks later. It just all depends.
Two, we're going to dive into this a little bit. What do What do the benefits look like if if a state trooper is
Yeah. When I started it was like $1,000 for a dependent child family member under 18. It was 2500 for a spouse and 25,000 for a trooper. And we doubled all those over the years of fundraising and just being aggressive on on building up our foundation.
So if a trooper dies
if a trooper dies in line of duty, it's a $50,000 check that I hand to the spouse.
And that's just from the association that is not from also like you think through the city or the state or whatever. Like there's other benefits. So this typically for that 95% that are association members, right?
And we designed it that way to be no question to ask. This is to get you through those incidentals because as I've learned in this job, it's unfortunate that there are a lot of things that come up upfront costs and funerals. People just assume the funerals are paid for. They're not. Some of these funerals are quite frankly events. And I say that with the the, you know, decency of saying it's an event. It is it's there's a lot of people that come in from other states and sometimes even other countries. I mean, these these these police funerals are thousands of people sometimes and so there's a lot of costs that go along with that and it's not just paid up front. The bill is usually delivered to this the widow
and that's terrible. And so when I can offset that bill and at least get them breathing room to to grieve, that's my job and that's that's what we want to do.
Take me back to the first time you had to walk into one of those living room.
I was 28 29
just out of grad school.
Just just out of grad school, not a trooper myself, not in law enforcement. And so I mean I leaned on all the people in that room and I was just I was there to facilitate what I possibly could. But as I got more involved in the organization and became really good friends with these people um you know I feel a part of that entire community. And so they get harder and harder because now it's to the point where I've been this is almost my eighth year with the Indiana State Police Alliance and knowing troopers on a daily basis. It's to the point where I know some of these people very well very very well. I mean, traveling with them to conferences and going to sporting events with them and hanging out as friends and then the the notion that they could get killed in the line of duty tomorrow is wild. Absolutely wild.
Yeah, man. That's uh you know when you applied for that job and you're bouncing back between the no and the I don't know if that's like what you thought you're going to end up doing and you walk into those living rooms and it's a life-changing moment.
It is.
And and you kind of look around it's like oh is everyone else like in dress blues and all that and you're like just wearing your suit.
This is it. Yeah. wearing a suit, usually suit and tie, but yeah, I mean that's definitely one of those things. And so, um,
it's awesome to be able to make an impact like that. And I love like that is one, it's like they're going to get taken care of from the state side of it, too, but also the association side. And there's other like, you know, scholarship funds. So, we we just had Folds of Honor and and they were talking about how they they do scholarships for the children of first responders and uh veterans. Yeah, it's just like there's a lot of organizations like that that are helping support when one of these tragedies happens, but it can't be easy to be in there.
It can't be at all. But we have those. I mean, I I'd go on and on about our benefits. What I was saying about the benefits, it's it's immense. We do a lot for a nominal member due. Uh $15 a paycheck is what they pay into this to get all these benefits. Um and it's it's a no-brainer. If I were a trooper, I would absolutely sign up for the city.
Yeah. It's like the other I I didn't even realize this, but I had one of the largest associations the of Indiana's, you know, I don't know, I think his name is CEO. He'd be the CEO of one of Indiana's biggest associations. And people out here are going to their mind's going to be blown because they wouldn't think of it as the American Automobile Association.
Sure.
But AAA is an association and you pay the like that blew my mind a little bit cuz you pay your dues. I think my dudes for the year were like 49 bucks.
Dude, the benefit I was at I got back to the airport.
I saw it. I saw it.
Wild and it's 1:00 a.m. and my battery's dead. I'm in the airport parking lot. No one's picking up and I'm like, who am I going to call? Like, so as an association member, I took advantage of this benefit. I mean, it wasn't like
it wasn't like Domino's Pizza like 30 minutes or it's free, but it was like within an hour someone was out there jumping my car.
Um, but you don't think of it as an association, but it is. Yeah. Like that's great. So like the the idea of you pay dues
and you get benefits.
That's exactly right. And there's a staff that has to facilitate those benefits. That's our staff. That's the way I could summarize and what we do as an industry is facilitate those member benefits.
And for people listening that didn't quite pick up on that, the American Automobile Association is AAA. Maybe you've heard of that. Okay. So you're talking through benefits. Talk to me about some of the most unique benefits you've seen associations offer.
Usually it comes from what the members want. And so that's the first step is listening to the members and what they want and really what their industry needs. So associations are built around the industries that they represent. And so think of any profession at all uh and they usually have an an association for it representing those people and furthering the profession through the association. So um unique benefits um I mean man I've seen some wild ones before but I mean it's usually industry specific. Yeah. Yeah. So, if there's a wild one, I mean, is like like the firefighters get
Yeah. I have a firefighter client. So, the arson task force, arson investigators, um, is they're a client of mine. So, it's investigators only arson. Exactly. Right. The Indiana arson task force.
Is that like is that like one of the most niche?
Very much so. Because I mean, the firefighters have multiple associations they could go into, but then you get into an industry where there's a specialty inside the industry and they have their own association and that's what this group does.
Yeah. cuz they could go to like the firefighters convention. They could also be part of the firefighters association. And then there's this even like it's like I could be a part of like the Indiana association, but I could be a part of like the Indiana Instagrammers Association and the Indiana Instagrammer podcast.
So you go to their convention and they're like, "Oh, we're on the second floor back in this corner doing our education there. That's kind of where it is, how how niche you get." So pretty interesting. Yeah.
I mean, obviously meetings and events are a huge piece. That's like I mean a big part you join an association, you get to go to the yearly thing, the programming, right? What are some of the biggest association meetings that we're hosting here in Indianapolis?
Next year is ASAE's annual convention. That's the biggest one that's coming to town. That's a rotation.
ASA Don't tell me what it is.
I know you're This is going to be amazing if you get this.
S A E
American.
Yep.
Sports education. No.
Society. American Society of Anesthesiologists. I'm
close. I have them as well, but no. Dang it. The American Society
of Association Executives.
ASA.
This is Meta. So, you're
So, you you ready to get your mind blown? Are you ready to get your mind blown on this? When you Google ASA convention, it's a citywide convention that comes to town. It's one of our biggest conventions to come to Indianapolis. The economic impact that is advertised for this is larger than some of the biggest things we bring to town. People put the Super Bowl in a conversation with ASAE and we think they're absolutely berserk for doing that.
Look into the economic impact and it is on par with some of the biggest events that come to Indianapolis. It's it's association professionals like myself that all come to one location. They're all from around the world. They come to one location. ASAE is here in Indianapolis next year. And when it comes here, if I'm sourcing Indianapolis for my conferences for my clients, I'm I'm seeing the city and the red carpet rolled out.
So all these five, six thousand people that come are with that same lens of possibly bringing their business to Indianapolis as well.
Leonard, talk to me about this
probably. Probably
because Okay, so hear me out. Hear me out people. This is a big deal.
So we are hosting the association
for associations
for associations like where all the people who organize their associations, they're also in an assoc. It's like eating your own dog food a little bit there. And but then how okay so like they're like okay cool people are coming sweet where this makes the significant ripple yeah is the person who's in charge of the let's say it's the Nebraska okay they would probably wouldn't do it because they hosted in Nebraska um but like whatever the other the anesthesiologist right the person who organizes that association comes to Indie they're like oh my gosh we had such a great time
that they're like we got to bring the anesthesiologist
we got sourcing these conferences when you look at it it's we don't necessarily do this this far out. But some conventions are planning in 2035 right now.
Yeah, Leonard said that it was like the farthest one we had out. Yeah. 2033, 2034.
Wild, right? So when they come next year and see Indianapolis, absolutely could get on the list for 2033, 35, 37, and we sign that business. It is a ripple effect for many, many years.
Yeah. Not not because it's like, oh, the association people are spending so much money like while they're in here. It's like a normal thing, but it's like you bring uh 50,000 firefighters or 50,000 association people. Let's say you get even 500 of them, you know, 500 of them say they want to host their event here in Indianapolis because they had such a great experience. They tried the shrimp cocktail at St. Elmo and they're like, "We got to bring the we got to bring the the anesthesiologist would love this."
Done and done.
Okay. All right, that makes a lot of sense. When is that? When is that?
So that's next next summer. End of the summer is usually when it is.
End of summer 2026. Oh, if you are a business in downtown Indianapolis or just any part of Indianapolis, we've got to roll the red carpet out because that's what's going to bring all the other association meetups. They're like they're the gatekeepers.
They are the gatekeepers.
Slash prices. Cut prices in half. Tyra says, "We're going to take a hit on this one." Yes.
But short-term pain, long-term gain.
That's exactly it.
I mean, that's super fascinating. Oh, okay. So, that's a big one. Are there other big ones that are coming to town or that have just come through town?
PRI technically has a membership arm. So PRI, it's one of my favorite events that comes to town. Huge presence out in Speedway with their headquarters out there.
Does everyone know what PRI is?
Performance racing industry.
Oh,
yeah.
And that's uh put on by SEMA, right?
Yeah. They're affiliated together. Yeah. SEMA does their massive like 100,000 person event in Las Vegas. And I believe they do it there exclusively because it's probably the only city that can host that. I mean, you might have a couple cities that can host something like that.
What's the biggest event size that we could host?
When we get over like 7500, it's probably tough.
75,000.
75. Sorry. 7,500 hotel rooms. It's It's all based. So, it's all based on housing. Housing.
Okay. Sorry. So, however many people can fit into
Well, until the new uh the new hotel opens up.
Wait, that's Signia is going to be great
cuz what are like the top event association towns across the country?
Yeah, that's a good question. I'll say Indianapolis number one because I'm biased. Obviously, I'm a homer.
But based on hotel rooms,
based on hotel rooms, you're looking at Orlando, Las Vegas, Dallas is extremely competitive. Denver is is growing and rising. They consider it this this tier system. A lot of it's based on square footage of your expo hall and square footage of your your meeting and event space, but certainly hotel rooms. Hotel rooms, but at a certain tier of hotel rooms as well. So, I mean, Nashville, we're going we're hosting plenty of things in Nashville this year. I just was in Vegas last week at the Arya. I'll use that as an example real quick. Arya is a is a great example in Vegas because the entire convention was hosted at that one property. We did not have to go to the convention center. We just did it at the Arya. So, if you host an event in Las Vegas, you can host it at multiple properties or their convention center and have it all within 15 20 minutes.
All right. I I found an article by hospitality hospitality management degrees. They seem like best 10 cities for conventions. This is a problem team. We're not on this list.
Yeah.
It goes uh from 10 to 10 to 1.
Uh starts in New Orleans.
Yeah.
Based on number of hotel room. Holy. We got a ways to go. Yeah.
23,000 hotel rooms in New Orleans. It's wild.
Then it goes up to Phoenix. 62,000 hotel rooms.
Phoenix, Scottsdale.
Yeah.
And then it's Houston, which is I mean ranked higher, but a step back in hotel rooms. Then this one, San Antonio's up there with 36.
How many hotel rooms do we have? 34,000 in the metro area, but 8,300 of them downtown. And the beast about ours is the walkability cuz they're all like there's a bunch of them that are connected to each other. We go New York, we go Chicago, we go San Diego,
Atlanta.
Mhm.
Orlando,
and Las Vegas.
Yeah. So,
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They mean business. Now, let's get back into the episode. The thing too though about those numbers like Chicago is deceiving to me because you've got downtown but then Rosemont O'Hara airport area is killing it when it comes to convention games. So there there's a lot of conventions going to the outskirts of town. Buckhead Atlanta. We hosted an event there.
I mean Buckhead's great but it's very far from downtown Atlanta. And so if you host downtown Atlanta at their Marriott Marquee for example, it's not Buckhead. It's going to be a $50 $60 Uber to get up there. So Indianapolis like you said, you're here. When you check in, you're walking to everything. And it is very unique from the those top 10 that you just listed.
What are your favorite association meetings to host?
Yeah.
Or like to be downtown when they're here.
All of them are going to be educational, right? So you're in education in the expo hall from, you know, 9 to5 if you will. It's the ones that let them in a little bit early and let them go out and see the town. So you see San Elmo's for, you know, a 4:00 buzz going on and then it's just dinner at all the restaurants. They're slam-packed. People are enjoying walking around downtown Indie. So some of the more social ones, um, it's industry specific. So, the sports ones are that that's what gets me. I mean, I love seeing that for sure. And the activations because you can go and activate Gamebridge for an off-site and they can open up that show floor and you can be in suites and different things like maybe a concert at one of the venues. Those are really cool when they can add in venues around town.
Some associations are hosting concerts for their association.
Absolutely. So, last year in Cleveland, ASAE and we don't I can't give the details out because it's still in the planning. I'll use Cleveland as the example. last year. I go there opening night, we had a Nelly concert on the floor of the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. So, we were we're all on the floor and literally Nelly came in for a concert. Totally random. No idea where they got Nelly to come in on probably budget and he killed it. It was a great show. We had a private concert just for us. Everybody's in suits and name badges watching Nelly up on stage. It was It was wild.
It's getting hot in here.
So, take off your suit jacket. Yeah. There we go. That's fun. Okay. So, so Gainbridge and you're going to have Yeah, I'm like Ludicrous is coming to town to uh to do play the private show.
I mean, I was sleeping on the association for association people, but all right. Um, so as you're getting to go like what associ it just does seem stale. It seems like an older thing to do. I don't know how many assoc I mean AAA I'm part of that association, but like in the moment my current headsp space, I want you to convince me I'm not like in the association for podcasters. I'm not in the association for content creators. What is the value prop for an association in 2025?
Value prop is is exactly what you said. So the there is a need clearly if you're not in one or or joining one right now there should be one and I'm sure there is one but as the value prop is that you get the network across the country if not the globe um when you're in these associations when you're being able to network with them right it's the also the convention when you come to the convention the design would be education and and cutting edge technology and bringing all your stuff I just saw the road unboxing which was awesome by the way all your new
gear uh as an example they'd have a massive booth next to all the other technology that you're a prospective buyer for, right? So, you get a one-stop shop to go to that trade show floor and see the seven companies that you buy from pitch their brand new products or products that are cutting edge. Otherwise, you're going to have to schedule that time or you're going to have to get with a vendor one-on-one. This is two or three days where you get your entire year's worth of everything you need in one exposure opportunity.
That's the value prop of an association. I might need to look for like the creator guaranteed there's one.
Yeah. And it's probably like this is the type of industry though would be like I got to go spend 5 days in LA and spend 10 grand.
Exactly. Right. Exactly. Let's bring it to Indie.
Yeah. Right. Let's bring the creators association meet up to Indianapolis. I'll host you. We'll we'll see the town. It would be great. Okay. So,
um what makes Indiana such a good place to headquarter associations and nonprofits?
Yeah. It's not DC and it's not Chicago. That's the That's the big one, right? It's centrally located. Uh we're bringing a ton of business here from our conventions and and whatnot. Our non-stop flights continue to grow. That's another variable for hosting events. U it's just easy to get to, easy to access. Workforce is here. Both IU downtown and certainly IU Bloomington have a worldrenowned nonprofit management program. And so those students are going to be looking for jobs. Many of them go to Chicago, go to DC, get out to those those big booming nonprofit, big nonprofit towns. We can have them right here. we can keep those those people here in town working for our nonprofits that not aren't just Indiana but a global impact that are based here in Indiana.
Yeah. When your clients are considering places to host their events, like what are their perspectives on Indianapolis and like what what factors go into determining where you're going to host?
Our our conversations are not uncommon among the board. No matter the the content that we're trying to drive, usually the conversation is the the access and availability to get there. everyone, which is hilarious when you think about this planning, everyone wants that night life and the booming events and things that go on. If you're in a convention and you're involved in the convention, you are worn out by 8 9:00. You're going to go get a good meal, but people that talk about we need all this stuff, all this, we need to be in Vegas. We need to be in Orlando.
You don't have time to go actually see those cities. I went to Arya last Monday for a convention. I never stepped foot outside of Arya. I literally flew in, went to the convention, went That's just the design of it because you're so cramp-packed with your schedule. When I say that, Indianapolis doesn't seem that off from these other cities when it comes to I want a good meal. I want to maybe go see a show or a Pacers game or something else going on.
We have plenty to do in a short amount of time that you're here. That's why the draw for Indianapolis for me is there because we've got just enough for you to get a taste of what we have going on and then get you back home.
Yeah. Everyone I don't know. Yeah. You think you take your association to Vegas and it's like are you are you really popping bottles at the club every night? No. Like come on.
Yeah. Exactly right. They're not. They're not. So the perception is there and the lure of the of these big cities are there. But when you our our convention visit India does a phenomenal job. By far one of the better outfits in the country when it comes to destinations. And they'll even argue this point too when trying to sell the city. It's a a memorable conference when you get here. It really is. It leaves a lasting impression on people. I constantly run into people when I say I'm from Indianapolis. Oh, I went to a convention a couple years ago. Great time. Good stuff. It just is. They don't say the same thing about multiple cities around the country.
Yeah. What are we missing? What could take us to like the number one event, convention, meetup city in the world?
Yeah. Our meeting planners in our city, they they've answered those questions. So, they've they've talked about this stuff for decades and especially the last 10 years. And they're answering those questions by visually building it right now. I mean, the Signia going up, all these other satellite hotels, the restaurants, the the entertainment districts that we're we're building in Indianapolis, they're listening and they're making they're taking action to fix this and make it better. So, I'm in 3 years, I'm eager and excited to get downtown and have another meeting because it's going to be different than it is today.
I I love it. And it's like we do continue to just get better better street even. I mean, everything all that everything that's going on is going to be great.
The association as what? the American Society of Association Executives.
The American Society of Association Executives. If you are a part of the of ASAE and you see this clip and you want recommendations on how to take your association meet up in Indianapolis from good to great, hit us up.
That's right.
I'll give you all my recommendations of the best spots around town that are going to give them not just there are some good chain restaurants. Yeah. But like we're going to give you the locallyowned like these are the gems of Indianapolis. Yeah. And I want to ask if you were planning the biggest association that Indianapolis or the big what do you call those? Not a is it a convention?
Usually annual meetings.
You're hosting the biggest annual meeting uh for the biggest association that Indianapolis can hold comfortably.
Yeah.
What how what does that plan look like? They come in Thursday leaving Sunday. Plan it out for them.
Sure.
Yeah. I mean I'm planning one next year. I'm bringing in it's called the Great Lakes Capital Connection. It's business uh bankers. It's private investors. It's it's that group. It's called the Association of Corporate Growth. and we're bringing in seven city chapters to Indianapolis to host our event next uh next year. So, we're hosting at the JW Marriott. Use that the question that you just asked me. Get them to the JW. Plan plenty of off-site meetings. Plan all their meetings at the JW.
Yeah. So, you're going to have all you're going to have like the the educational pieces like is there a convention hall? Is there exhibit hall or something?
All that in the Jub. We were able to keep it all there which is
How big is this group? um this group there'll be about a thousand people who come to this meeting
and then because if you need it and you're a really big one then you start to use a convention center space.
Yeah, absolutely. So what's it cost to rent uh one of the halls in the convention center?
Man, it just truly all depends. It all depends. I mean the that meeting for context that'll be a million dollar meeting for our thousand JW.
Yeah. Yeah. Overall and that's not just going to them for costs. That's just everything that it takes to run this entire convention. Okay.
It's a million dollar meeting. So, just for context, I mean, some of these meetings get to
I wonder like what like so like the Indie Mini host like has their like exhibit in one of the hall. I'm like I always wonder like what does it cost to rent this? Someone from the convention center wants to tell me what it costs to rent that just mean for my own knowledge and maybe I want to do something crazy there sometime, right? Okay. So, you get them there on Thursday. You obviously have all your programming and stuff like you're doing some offsite meetings but the biggest meetings will be at the JW. Then it's like what
but like that's that's table stakes, right? like that you got your baseline. Like they get to the airport, it's easy. Blah blah blah blah. You get your Uber, you you show up at JW. Great. There might be a cool graphic up on the hotel. Who knows? But then like, how do you really set it apart?
What we do is work with the high-end sponsors that want the the restaurant buyouts, especially for this convention. So, I'm already starting to work with the best spots, all the hidden gems, if you will, downtown. I'm starting to get in with all of them to be able to say, "Hey, I've got X bank or X firm that wants to
Okay. And this is a sponsor of the thing of the correct the meetup.
Believe it or not, St. Elmo's right or any of those properties will be the draw because it always is. And so if it's hey X bank already signed on to it, they have the exclusive rights. You It's roped off and you cannot get in unless you have the invite from them to access this private event.
And is it like they pay for dinner?
Exactly. Right. It's all inclusive. It's dinner, drinks, it's all of it. How do I Okay, so if you're moving to town, uh, you're an association, you want a good tour guide, just get me on those lists. That's all I need. So, so they're going to like, yeah, St. Elmo, I can't imagine what a sponsorship dinner cost.
Like, I mean, but it's totally worth it. Like, if especially if you want to be like, hey, we're going to show you the best that India has to offer, right? I just saw a clip of Shane Gillis talking about Indianapolis. Have you seen this?
No, I haven't.
We went to St. Elmo Steakhouse in Indianapolis. And then I the waiter comes over and I was like,
don't you know, don't spoil it. He was like, it's the hottest cocktail sauce in the world. And I was like, that was what I was talking about.
Guard dog cowarded out. And we kept being like, all right, dude, get it for real. We've all done it. Like, I got it. And almost died. Then I dog took the big one and I was like, "All right, this is it." Soon as he picks it up, 90% falls off. He's like, "What? I did." He ashed the shrimp
and now he's Yeah, he ashed.
Then I went to the airport the next day and there's a there's one there and I ate some at the airport. I ate some before departure at like 11 a.m. I was like
that's that is the face though. That's the face. Can I tell you my St. Elmo story real quick?
Uh yeah, absolutely.
So, uh I'm obviously born and raised. I told you that in Indianapolis. So, freshman year at college, I use my entire paycheck to take a girl on a date and just, you know, go all out and say, "Hey, I'm going to impress this girl." Right? Um go to St. Elmo's, get a table.
I had never been there. So, I'd never been. I've been to Hering Izzy's and others, but I'd never been to St. Elsa's first experience there. I get the shrimp cocktail. I kind of knew about it, but I I didn't like dig in on this stuff.
But, man, I go straight in and my like tears on a date and just like the whole face. So, I had to get up and go to the bathroom and like I thought that I got duped. I thought it was like a bad recipe or something like that. I think a lot of people probably do when they first do it, not knowing, but then once you get used to it, you know what's coming. But man, that was so embarrassing on a first date. It's very first date.
First date, first impression. First impression took her to St.
I did and he never made that mistake again.
Yeah, right. You got to Hey, man. Ma'am, they have to earn St. Elmo, right? But I respect that. You go there, she's Yeah, she's on the Yeah, he cried within 5 minutes of us being there. Oh my god. I wonder how often someone comes and is like, "Oh, I can handle." And it like it just shocks. Absolutely. Has to happen a lot. Okay, so as you're playing this out, you're doing restaurant buyouts. What are some of like what are some of people's favorite restaurants? Obviously you said St. Harry and Disney.
I mean it depends on the on the clientele. This clientele think of it finance type business professional. So a lot of just standing and cocktail table type networking, right? Just bouncing around table to table. So I'm looking at that in any city that we go to, but in Indianapolis I'm specifically looking for that type of a buyout. So a lot of restaurants will try to get you to do, you know, eight tops or 10 top round tables. This group does not like that. They do not want to be sat down and talk to the same three people. They want to work the room. So, I have to think about that in an environment and can we possibly get creative and and have a host site build that out for us? Maybe move some of the roundts out and put just the high boy cocktail tables up for us. And if they can, great. And we we buy it out.
Okay. So, you're working on that. What are the other cool pieces? I mean, like good restaurants again. You're you're still at like I think table stakes of of like, but how do you really like Hey, we want Indianapolis to host this forever.
Yeah. Take it to the next level. A lot of it's really the the keynote speakers and they love coming to Indianapolis. So when we can get those keynote speakers to come in, if we can leverage our people here and make that Indiana tie, fantastic. Um but you know, if we can't then are there things that we can do that's unique, i.e. um work with the track to get people out there and see the updates and see, you know, if we do the kiss the bricks tour, if we can do the behind the scenes of the new museum, that's that's it's sweet.
Fantastic. Yeah. And I mean from, you know, the JW or one of the downtown properties is, you know, just a 15-minute shuttle ride over there. So those are the things that we're able to do. that's a little bit different. Um, and again, our ease in Indianapolis to be able to transport people within 20 minutes of the cool stuff is so unique because you can't do that in every city. You don't want to spend an hour on a bus leaving a a hotel going to your offsite.
What's the worst city that gets the most association meetups?
Man, I got to be careful cuz this goes out, right? So, I got to be careful. But, um, in terms of like the the worst off sites that I've experienced
or just like or like cities where it's just hard, quite frankly, it's the ones that are the draw on that list. It's the big big cities because it does I find myself stuck in traffic or on a boat on a bus and it's like it
on a boat.
Oh yeah. Where are you on a boat at?
San Antonio Canal seems great on the surface until you're on the little water traffic jam trying to get down the the river. It's not what it usually it's fine, but sometimes you get in a little bit of a pickle when it comes to congestion out there.
Yeah. I'm stuck on a boat.
Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean New York uh we've done stuff in Jersey City and you know shuttling people over to New York. We advertised it as New York City, you're in Jersey. You're at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey. So, um, transporting people over the city. I know. I know. Same with Atlanta. I mean, if you're a downtown property or you're in Buckhead trying to get to a game downtown, it can be a catastrophe. So, all those things we have to think about when planning an event, but uh, again, you know, Indie and and similar cities are just fantastic for being able to host, uh, everybody downtown. I love it. If there was like one like the granddaddy of all association annual meetings you could host, what would it be?
Um, it would probably some of the high-end medical, so like the the um, you know, orthopedic surgeons convention. We're for the sports academy. We're we're helping host that in Nashville, Tennessee this year. That would be phenomenal. And I say that because they come with high expectations. Everyone wants great service. The restaurants step up. Everyone in town steps up. Um, put on a good show because you have orthopedic surgeons coming to your town. So they
and it's like dude I don't This is the thing.
If I was in Nashville at the orthopedic surgeons convention.
Yeah.
I'm 100% making it up to Broadway.
I know.
Like so it's like it's like if the nightife it's like as we continue to develop get more of that live music feel uh more stuff like that can come here.
Yeah. No, I agree
cuz it's like Yeah. It's like maybe I'm not bottle service at the club in Vegas but like man I do love Broadway.
I know. It is nice. It is nice. But you're right. I mean there those quick hits. So, when I think of it, you want the the kind of the three-hour period of leaving the the hotel. You've got dinner, some form of entertainment that's a quick hit, and then back to the hotel usually will fill the bucket of what a good convention can do. So, we're trying to find that sweet spot. Biggest recommendation for people that are out of town coming in for an association meetup.
Yeah, it's get out of the just general downtown. If it's going to see Massav, if it's getting up to Broadripple, if it's going to see Fischers and the event center up there to see one of our amateur sports sporting events, those things. This is kind of like funny because we said in other cities don't leave the area, but in Indie the traffic is usually not bad. You can get all these places pretty quickly.
You can for sure might be a stretch for downtown. But yeah, I mean if you get to certainly Massav's walkable I've sent people there for great recommendations and they just walk through the the war memorial area and just have a nice walk to where
I bet like the the outer limit of walkability. It's like you could walk to like Bottle Works.
Yeah,
it's not too bad.
It's far. It'll take a little bit. or you Uber over there and it's like that's like okay you can go explore that it's also in like the downtown area for sure
for sure. So that's what I would say all our canal I mean if you're a lot of people will ask you know the hotel gym is slam-packed in the morning what can I do go jog the canal or walk the canal get out there most people don't even know it exists
dude the canal's it's sweet I've done a decent amount of we did the Santa hustle half marathon and they take you around the canal like a real race
it was it was really cool to just like have like a structured race that went through there very fun Awesome, man. Well, uh we're kind of getting towards the end. Uh I have some fun some fun questions. What advice would you say would you give to people that want to pursue the nonprofit management space that want to get into that? And I mean, obviously you have to do it for the right reasons. It's not usually the most like lucrative, but that's not why you do it.
But I mean, yeah, what would you say to them? Yeah, I think it's if you're pursuing career in, you know, marketing, uh, communications, that aspect, getting in with associations can be extremely unique because you you find yourself accelerating into director level roles and higher roles quicker. So, I see a lot of that. So, for example, if you're in for-profit design or at an ad agency, you know, you have these different layers of things that at a nonprofit, you don't have people there to to force you into those different layers. You have to do it all yourself, right? Usually.
So, um, that's a big recommendation I have, especially mid-career, that next step. If you get a good starting point somewhere and then come over in the nonprofit space, you get a lot of autonomy, a lot of freedom to just be creative and do your thing.
It's kind of like, yeah, running startup sort of.
It is. It absolutely is. It feels that that startup feel is most the nonprofits that I've worked with, you you're in that that entrepreneurial environment because you just you do have to create things on your own and and make it make it happen. So, I like that there's not really the red tape in terms of the bureaucracy of most big groups that you're working with. you cut right through that and you get work done and you you're creative and autonomous which I really like and it goes into that that you know communication side but also finance side or if it's event planning it's just again any department if you will that you jump into have autonomy to do do what you want and run with it.
How long have you been in Indie
my whole life? Yeah. I've lived yeah born and raised on the south side
then downtown for college. Uh, man. What? Okay, so I do need to get some more like southside wrecks. Like especially once you get I mean literally south of like
I'm probably like out of my element like Dukes is like the furthest south I probably make it. I mean do you have like good recommendations for these are for locals that happen to want to go explore the southside.
The you know Oak and Barrel type stuff that's one is down in Greenwood down in Yeah, man. That that
is truly one of the first staples of its kind. I mean it really is when you go in there. food, the beer, the just the history behind it.
How old is Oak and Peril?
30 years probably more than that. I mean, it's I would say the 90s probably.
No way. Really?
Yeah. I would I I believe so.
Oh, cuz it was like a brew pub like back in the day.
Yeah. So, just kind of the ones that that lasted through the, you know, the rise and fall of some.
Their menu is literally just their website is literally their menu. Okay. No, here we go. The about through 30 years of creating award-winning food beer, the Oaken Barrels remain Indiana's premier must visit brew pub. The restaurant includes a family section, two bars, the outside dining area, and a small banquet facility. You can do an offsite.
That's it. You really can. You really can. Yeah.
Oak and Barrel down in Greenwood. That's a good one.
Yeah. Yeah. Some of those.
Any other spots like things to do south? Like everyone comes to Caramel. Everyone goes to the north side. But like there's just a little pocket of cool stuff growing down in
Greenwood. And I was in not even Greenwood. If you go even further south, I was in Franklin a couple weeks ago. The things that Franklin, Indiana is doing, it's unbelievable when you jump off the highway. That used to be just nothing. But now, I mean, they're really investing a ton in Franklin
in their like downtown like square area.
Concerts downtown, too, now. And I mean, it's it's it's a pretty cool vibe down there.
I love that. Well, I mean, you work with people from all over that, you know, you're trying to
Well, your job isn't to convince them to come to Indianapolis, but that's a piece of it, right? It always is. And And so, as people are considering that, like you talk to them a lot about what Indiana's really like because you live here. What's something the world needs to know about Indiana?
It's hard to say that life is easy for anybody, right? Um, but all the traveling that I do when I land in Indianapolis and I get home, a it's the home feeling that I'm comfortable because I'm home. But it does just seem like we've got it a little easier than others in terms of you got some freedom. You can breathe a little bit more. You're not fighting to open a door because there's a line. I mean, you can find a parking spot at the majority of places you're going to go to. I mean, that's it's just a little bit easier to live in in Indiana and the Midwest for me.
The we're the new big easy right here, baby. Indianapolis. That's a really good answer cuz it's like less stress like you I know when I land in any major major city, it's like
your Uber will be here in 45 minutes and you're not really sure where it's going to be and you don't know where to go and it's like you follow the signs at Indie and it's like someone picks you up in like 2 minutes. It's great.
Next, this is where you get to uncover some of those secrets. Uh obviously we talked about oak barrel. I would prefer maybe we don't use that one for this. So what's a hidden gem in Indiana? I'm big on these uh everybody wants to say the Michelin restaurants, but the the beard restaurants. Have you dug into this beard restaurants? No.
There's two in Indiana, I believe. So, one is St. Elmo's that won it. And the second is down by Louisville down in a really small town, but it's a mom and pop family-owned restaurant that I just found off the beaten path, and I'm like, "This is people should know about this." I started doing research and realizing there are actually an award-winning restaurant um down in southern Indiana. Is it the one in Oldenberg? Yes. Wagner.
Not towards Louisville. That's right towards Cincinnati. Wagner's Village. Wagner's Village. They're James Beard award.
James Beard restaurant
in the American classics category. The award recognizes locally owned restaurants with timeless appeal and beloved regional food that reflects the character of its community. There's a lot of nominated like Blue Beard's been nominated I believe and like but this is like James Beard awardw winning. Yeah, that's right. I think the only two would be Wagner's and St. Elmo's I believe.
When is and is like once you win it, are you good or do you have to like go back every year?
Yeah, some different categories, different things. Good restaurants like that. I usually am somewhat of a foodie when it comes to when I'm traveling. So Evansville's got some really cool stuff that some German heritage down there that really good German food. Fort Wayne's food scene is very, you know, very um kind of low-key.
It's slept on.
It is. It really is. There's some good stuff up there. Columbia City even as Can you call Columbia City a suburb of
No, it's a different place. But uh wait, what what's in Columbia City?
There's I I I'll send you the restaurants, but I've uh just traveling through the area, there's some stops along the way that are just really good food um that people just don't really even think of when they think of Indiana. But that Wagner, man, that that blew my mind. And then looking into it, I was like, "Oh my gosh, there's I'm not surprised that they are actually an award." Yeah, it was absolutely absolutely
fried chicken.
They must have.
You have to get the fried chicken at I think it's like, you know, kind of double fried. Theirs is like you can actually tell that it actually is.
Yeah. And it's like And they they do Here's how long pan frying and hog fat. Like that's what they It looks like it's crazy. So there's two James Beard award-winning restaurants right here in Indiana. One, the iconic St. Elmo Steakhouse in downtown Indianapolis. The other You'll never get this. Right. You just shared this with me. It's incredible. Where's number two at?
Oldenberg, Indiana.
Oldenberg. Wagner's Village in known for long pan frying their chicken in hog fat.
It looks phenomenal. Next time I'm down there, my girlfriend's family lives in Batesville, which is like and I'm like, I knew this. Like you were talking about it and I was like, oh, I don't really know. I knew this answer. Thank you so much. We have one final question for you. The last thing, this is how we find new guests and and just hooers to know about. Who's a Hoosier we need to keep on our radar? Someone who's doing big things. Andrew Ellner from Spot Freight.
No.
Have you done anything on Spot Freight? And that's one of my favorite companies to watch cuz their expansion and their growth. It's right here in Indiana and they're just blowing up all over. But
yeah, they have that awesome spot at District Above District Tap, right?
I think. Well, they I think they moved on to Illinois Street. They had to expand. I mean, they were just expanding. So, I would say Andrew, he came to mind when you asked me that question. Yeah, the skies at Spot are just doing some really phenomenal things.
Heck yeah. Andrew, you're going to be hearing from my people, right? Uh Corey, thanks so much for coming on, telling us about uh all the cool things uh associations, the history of that, the annual meetings that we want to host right here in Indianapolis and
the end of next summer is this is the big thing that everyone needs to remember. The assoc the American Society of Association Executives, ASA is coming to town. Yep. That took me way too long to memorize. Uh they're coming to town and that can make a if we sh pull out Yes. all the stop. If we roll out the red carpet for these people, this could affect Indianapolis for the next decade.
Absolutely.
One weekend to shape a decade.
That's right,
Leonard. You guys can use that logo. One weekend to shape a decade. Rally the troops. Let's show out and let's let's host a lot more cool stuff here in Indianapolis. Appreciate you coming on, man.
Thanks.
Thank you for listening to this episode of Get In. If you like what you heard, make sure you leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater. Whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level, click the link in the description to see all my gear recommendations at sweetwater.com. If you want a behind-the-scenes look at everything we're doing across the state, make sure you follow me on Instagram and Tik Tok, Nate Spangle. Thank you so much for listening and being part of what makes the Who's Your State great. We'll see you next time here on Get
