The soon-to-be president of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) wants to grow the body's burgeoning membership base further by increasing its offerings and programmes.

David Willrich, who succeeds current incumbent Steve Birket in November, was elected to his role following a unanimous decision by the TEA International board.

“You’ve got to think about what you do in terms of looking past your own presidency, which Steve has done admirably,” Willrich told Attractions Management.

“We’ve got the overlap period between now and IAAPA in November when we can start discussing things between us to make sure the transition is smooth. TEA has moved forward significantly during Steve’s presidency. Inevitably, some ideas have not come to fruition yet and are still subject to internal discussions. But these are ideas that I fully support and I’m happy to help get them across the line.”

The TEA has enjoyed steady growth, cementing itself as a leader within the attractions sector and growing its member base from a couple of hundred a few years ago to more than 1,250 member companies worldwide.

“As with any membership organisation, the more members you get, the more money you have and the more things you can do,” said Willrich. “When I first joined we were trying to stretch the resources we had a long way. As we grow in membership and funding, all of our offerings can keep getting better.”

As part of that growth, Willrich wants to expand on the TEA’s highly successful SATE Academy Day programme, which he originated during his time serving as TEA Europe and Middle Eastern Division president.

“This year’s programme has been brilliant, and the following is improving too,” he said. “As the events attract more people they get better. We’re seeing more people wanting to take part and more people wanting to speak at them. These days are determined by host venue and speakers, and we’re getting some fantastic people coming forward at the top of their game, which improves the quality of what we’re offering.”

The SATE Academy day model was initially introduced in Europe as a multi-day event designed to bring the TEA’s members together across long distances, something now being adopted in the US as well.

“In Europe the mixer model doesn’t work quite so well as it does in Burbank or Orlando where you can have 300 people within a one hour drive of a venue,” said Willrich. “Here in the UK we’re lucky if we’ve got four or five. These SATE Academy Days are an investment of time and money so it’s something we’ve got to deliver on when our members attend these events. The model works for the European division really well. We’re taking up the idea in the US too, with SATE Academy Days planned outside of the core areas of Orlando and Burbank so they can run in other states.”

Willrich becomes just the second TEA president to be based in Europe and the third to come from outside the US after Canada’s Christine Kerr and the UK’s Nick Farmer.

“I’m quite flattered,” said Willrich. “I was asked a while back if I would be interested in doing it and at that point I was quite staggered because I didn’t think for one minute they’d be asking somebody outside the US to take the position. As I started to think about it I thought ‘why not?’. I led the European division for two years so I’m not walking into it with my eyes shut. I’ve got a clear idea of the work involved and I’m looking forward to it.”

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