All right, so we're here with Jackie Morris.
The what? The event.
Tell me the whole. Title coordinator and community
outreach. Absolutely.
So in this series we're going to learn more about people that
work in disc golf but work in behind the scenes of disc golf.
And so I thought we would start with some people here at the
Dynamic Discs headquarters. Now, how long have you been with
Dynamic Discs? 10 years.
It'll be 10 years June 3rd, so in two weeks.
Did you ever think it'd be 10 years?
When we started here, no, absolutely not.
I didn't even know, like what? I didn't even know what disc
golf was. Jacob just told me that there
was a job available and I was like, sure.
What were you doing before? I was working at T-Mobile and I
was working in the marketing department at the college.
Oh, really? And I didn't want to work at
T-Mobile anymore. And Jacob was like, hey, they're
hiring. And I was like, sure.
So no, I did not think I would be here that long because that
was my senior year of college and when I graduated, got
offered a full time position and then yeah, literally the rest is
history. That's crazy.
Now, I, I remember working with you back in the day, you worked
in the store for a while, but tell us like what all the
different areas have you worked in at Dynamic Discs?
So pro yeah, pro shop. So I guess retail and online
fulfillment. I briefly assisted with trade
shows, did our warranty claims for a little while and just did
everything customer service related, you know, like the live
chat, phone calls, things like that.
And then I started assisting with volunteer coordinating,
became the retail manager, and then found my way into events.
Nice, you've been all over the place with the disk, often
dynamic disks and. Kind of cool though to like
learn all those positions and then just kind of like have a
better understanding of what each person does now as well.
I can see that because a lot of times people kind of get stuck
in their little silo of what they do and they know that there
are other parts, but they don't understand how all they work.
How do you think that that has benefited you?
Probably just in ways where I can maybe be a little more
understanding of like the processes and like knowing
exactly what I need to do or who I need to go to to figure out
things. Or even just like be able to
help with things that I no longer do.
Like being able to assist with the customer service e-mail,
mail or like during the holidays, like help pack orders
and do anything like that. So I think it's been a benefit
in understanding processes and then being helpful when I can
be. Now, how did you move into the
current role that you are in now?
How did that all that come about?
I remember working, I was working at the pro shop managing
it and I was just getting to this point where I wanted to do
something different. I wanted to do something more
challenging in a way and maybe something that more aligned with
what I was passionate about. Not that you cannot be
passionate about retail and customer service 'cause they
still at the heart of everything.
Like that's who we are. But I remember Doug was looking
for a replacement since he was, you know, kind of making
different transitions in the company.
And so I just asked. I just asked if like, I just
made it, noted that I was interested in it and just asked
about it. And they're like, Are you sure?
And I was like, yeah, I think so.
Like I've been helping, you know, with events and doing
volunteer coordinating and all that.
And then Doug was like, OK, like if you're really serious then we
can talk more about it. And then I was, after the 2021
GBOI started jumping into events and helping with it.
And so Junior World's 20/21 was actually the first event I ever
assistant tournament directed. And so it's kind of cool now
being the tournament director this year, 2000, so. 2021 GBO
you were more like. Still at the retail store.
You're still at the retail store now.
Were you helping at all with events?
Yes, I was doing the volunteer coordinating.
I was like running check in basically like I just owned that
and then basically just assisted with anything Doug needed.
What was, was there any moments in there where you're like, is
this really what I want to do or?
I don't know. I mean, I think at any point in
your job you are going to think that, yeah, is this really what
I wanna do? Yeah.
And I don't know. I've just really enjoyed it.
I like planning. I like events.
I like creating something and making it tangible for other
people's to experience. So.
Yeah. So you went to, you said the
2021 GBO and then 2021 Junior World.
Yep. You were like the assistant
tournament director. How much?
I mean, I know that you obviously more responsibilities
I'm assuming, but what were some of the biggest changes from
going to that role? Just taking on more
responsibility as far as the block party, like creating a
budget for that, working with Main Street and making all that
happen. That was a big project of mine.
While Doug then took care of, you know, like course notes,
layouts, you know, all the logistics on that side.
And then I, I ran check in again, made sure all the
volunteers were good. So just taking more
responsibility. And then I also was a tournament
director on one of the courses, a course director, I guess you'd
say that week as well. But I mean, in 2016, I actually
helped for Worlds, pro Worlds before even any of this, when I
helped do volunteers, I also helped Doug build the welcome
package. So when I did kind of step into
that role, I kind of knew some of the things that I could do.
So like I helped with that and creating maps and trying to get
information and drafting emails to send out to people.
And so I did get more responsibility, but some of the
stuff I had already been doing. So then I just kind of like took
it a step further. What's something that you didn't
even realize went into event coordinating as you did all
this? What were some things you're
like? Well, I didn't realize that as
an event coordinator, this is what.
I do things like attending city Commission meetings.
Oh yeah. And what do you go to there for?
Just to kind of see what's going on with courses.
Or yeah, especially like when you're requesting money from the
city and like being able to show up and answer questions, working
at the city on especially when you do like block party things,
like working with them on insurance and St. closure forms
and event forms and having licensing for alcohol.
Like all that stuff that goes into it that you wouldn't really
think about like running at an event at a scale of like the
glass went open or a world. There's all that parts of it,
all those parts of it that you don't always think about like
renting the course. Like, you know, if people want
to run an event, they're like, I'm just gonna go do this.
No, actually, you have to like rent the course to build a
budget. You have to, you know, make sure
all your IS are dotted and your T's are crossed and all that
good stuff. OK, so assistant tournament
director for Junior World's 2021, tell me the first event
where you were you were the tournament director. 2022 Disc
golf pro tour dynamic is open. Wow.
That's a big one. Was that like all were you like,
were you feeling it as the tournament director?
Like the pressure of all of it. Yes and no, because I still had
Doug and he was still doing quite, you know, quite a lot as
well. So we were doing that together
and then we had Pro Worlds just a couple months after that and
he was the term doctor for that and I was assistant again.
So yeah, that was the first event and I definitely felt the
pressure in the way that there is just this prestigious event
and you want to make sure that it stays prestigious.
And it was the first time I worked with the Pro Tour.
I know we were on the Pro Tour previously, but I wasn't in any
form or fashion like the tournament director or system
tournament director. So working with another entity
and making sure you're following like everything that's in their
agreement. And so there is a lot more
pressure when it comes to running like a major or Pro Tour
event. So I definitely felt it, but I
mean, it didn't scare me away. That's good.
I love it. I.
Love it, still here. Yeah.
So now as part of what you do in the outreach and the community
and stuff like that, you've done, you do clinics and
fundraisers and things like that.
So tell us kind of like what's your process for for doing the
community outreach? So I mean, I, I guess I gave a
clinic this morning and basically the process for that
was someone reached out to me, told me they had a, a group of
people they were wanting to have a clinic for.
So we just discussed logistics, how many people were going to be
there where we wanted to have it when.
And then usually, yeah, just kind of show up, get the basics,
get people plan. So that would be a clinic for a
fundraiser. It's a lot more scaled down than
a major. Usually an entity wants to raise
funds and they'll come to me and we just kind of, you know, walk
through what's the goal, what's the purpose of this fundraiser?
And then we just kind of plan from there, picking a course,
picking a date, reserving the course, reserving that date, and
then just again, a budget, all that.
So it's just kind of a similar process in every way, but just
scaled down. But yeah, it's usually we just
kind of put things out there, be like we offer tours, we offer
clinics, we can help with fundraisers, and then we do
donations, local donations, and a lot of those just get sent to
me or people will ask questions and we just kind of start
conversations from there. What?
So you've done all the tiers, right?
We know that disc golf runs off tiers.
We have, you know, ABA tier, B tier, C tier, the majors.
And then you, you know, you get into the Hall disc golf pro
tour. But let's break it down just for
an A tier B tier C tier in your mind.
I mean, I know there's specifics, you can go online to
see the difference, but in your experience actually running
them, give us some a feel for what is really the difference
between the different tiers. I could run AB tier in my sleep
and an A tier. Absolutely not.
Not kidding. No, yeah, it is different.
Like, yeah, you've got these tiers, but what does that mean
there? There actually are stipulations
to the different types of tiers. Like AB tier you have to have a
minimum set of holes to play. AC tier is the same thing.
AB tier you have to add this much money.
AC tier you don't have to, you know, like there's all these
percentages and different rules for each one.
And AC tier is like a very entry level.
It's a sanctioned event. Most anyone can play.
You don't need it necessarily have APG number to participate.
You could have it be flex, you could do shotgun start, a lot
more leniency. You could have a one round, two
rounds, just just different things like that.
Whereas like you start to go up the scale, you have a little bit
more limitations, more rules. BTR has to be at least three
rounds or you could, I guess you could probably play with like 2
rounds and oh, I'm sorry, B tiers 2 rounds, but you have to
have a minimum number of holes a tier 3 rounds.
And then yeah, you get to like elite series, majors, different
things like that. They all have different criteria
you have to meet. But that entry level is you're
going to have less, especially like XC tiers.
If you really want to like read into this, the PDJ website has
all of the tiers. But yeah, you you have less
rules, easier to do leniency, things like that.
So yeah. So you would think like from a
tournament director standpoint that like the C tiers or the XC
tiers are like the easiest to run.
Is that the case? It's like fairly easy.
Yeah, and what's funny for me is they're actually harder for me
to run because my brain is so B tier and above set.
And yeah, Derek, one time my boss, he told me he's gonna hate
that I said my boss, my Co worker, he he said it's a shame
that you never had to run an event from your phone at a
picnic table. And cuz like that's what a lot
of tournament directors do. And I've been very lucky to work
here and have all the resources I need.
So yeah, it's just been funny though, me trying 'cause I'm
getting ready to help with AAC tier fundraiser and I'm like,
OK, this doesn't have to be big out of the water, Jackie.
Like this can like, it can be fun.
It'll be great. Like will be great.
I do love fundraisers for that reason.
Just laid back but. I remember back in the day when
I first started doing media for Dynamic Discs of being in the RV
and watching like Ruscoe and Searle and Clay running the
numbers and getting like in between a rounds.
They were like, you know, putting in the scores and moving
things around and putting the cards in and stuff like that.
It can get pretty intense sometimes.
Yes, 'cause you were rushing and yeah, you had a whole fleet of
team and I did do that a few times, but I was lucky to get
into event running at the time that I did 'cause now
everything's digital. You know, you can use Udisk, set
up an event through there, you can use the if you're
distinction, you've got PDJ live and tournament manager and all
that. But it really was like if we
were still doing it that way, I would definitely need more help.
Cause a lot of the Times Now like Monkey Islands to be tier,
I could just, I need help checking in.
And then after that the system does it for me.
And I just kind of like, you know, do my stuff on the
computer and get it posted. But yeah, that stuff was really
exciting though. That like feeling of you get
there and you're, you know, you're, you're checking people
in and you're trying to move cards and get people to start
and then you like count as fast as you can.
And it was cool to see. And I'm glad I got to like catch
the tail end of that 'cause it does make me appreciate
everything we have now. I remember sometimes I would
help call out scores and stuff like that.
It was really cool. All right, so let's kind of hone
in on the glass one Open or the GBO since this is the first year
it's been back at namesake and in the way it's been ran.
So, you know, from the outside, you know, I've been paying
attention to social media. People thought it was a success.
And I know you feel, you know, based on meetings we've had, you
feel like it was an overall success.
But let's kind of like dig deep, pull the curtain back.
What were some of the things that maybe didn't quite go as
planned that no one would have, like, really have seen from the
outside? Or is there anything that like,
Oh my God, I cannot believe this is happening?
Anything like that happened? We definitely had some things
that happened that I was like, oh gosh, like someone getting
injured on a course and having an ambulance called, that's
always difficult. And I mean, the best thing to do
is call and they want 1, you know, when an emergency happens.
But like when something happens like that, it's like, oh shoot,
you know, like you can't plan for that.
The rain, you always can't plan for it.
But one of our course structures actually that was going to be
coming here and helping got into a really bad accident a couple
weeks before. So he wasn't able to come out
and I was like, you know what, it's fine, I'll do it, right?
So that was different. I was like, poor Jason Curl,
like had to be with me all week at Jones East and I had to be
available because other course directors were texting me or you
get phone calls from players or whatever.
And so I was helping as much as I could.
And honestly, he didn't need me there.
But, you know, it's just nice to have two course directors out,
of course. So yeah, just adapting to that
and still being able to do all my computer work from the course
and take care of everything I needed to on the back end while
also assisting with player meetings and calling out names
and all that good stuff. So yeah, I was, I remember
leading up to the event, I was like, I feel too good about this
event. Something terrible's going to
happen. I like, hate feeling good about
something. And I think it was Derek was
like, I'm sure you are, but if if you're missing something,
like are you prepared to deal with it?
And I was like, yeah, I think so.
So that's all you can be is whatever happens in real time,
you just it happened. We don't need to gripe and
complain about it. We just need to find a solution
and move forward. There you go.
So yeah, I can't think of anything else that was like, Oh
my gosh, I can't believe this happened.
Now I know the glass one open isn't the only event that has
like festivals added on, but it is one of the more unique events
as far as the city joining in and, you know, blocking off the
doing a block party where they block off certain blocks of
downtown. So how is that as an added layer
from running other events and then all of a sudden having to
do this where you know, you've got all the auxiliary events
that people do around town and then you've got the block party
to figure out. So how did how do you keep all
that organized? Very carefully, I put everything
in a an Excel document and I call it my playbook for that
event. And at this point it's something
I can literally just copy year after year and then like refill
in. But yeah, I kind of like look at
like what I'm planning and then, you know, the purpose of this a
tier is the disc golf portion, right?
So as long as I take care of that first and we're good.
And everything else that comes with it is an added or an extra.
So as long as everything that's like the purpose of it is good,
we're good to work on all these other things.
And I just start conversation super early, you know, like 6
months out. Hey, we're doing this.
And then I try to keep everything straight as far as
like I have a tab for everything in this Excel sheet I'm using
like my timeline when I need to order porta Johns, when I need
to order like reserve parks, when, when do I need to order
trophies? So I've literally got everything
kind of timelined out. And then, you know, sponsor
emails, who if I sent them to who, who wants to sponsor?
What donations do we have? I use a lot of Google forms too
to keep things straight, you know, like to intake information
from my staff that's coming and making sure that I booked a
block of hotel rooms for them. So there's just so many small
things like that that people will forget about.
And so I do, I just have it all in an Excel document and there's
just tabs like staff, vendors, this, that.
And then now I just have it down where I have like the same
emails. I just copy and change things in
them every year and just update this, you know, this Excel sheet
to change dates, change numbers, have the volunteers, how many
volunteers do we need per course?
What do we need them doing? But yeah, just kind of have it
all there so I don't forget. Now I know for me, the kind of
person I am is like, I have a vision, right?
And I have a strategy or what I want to get accomplished.
And it feels like everything would go perfectly fine if it
wasn't for people. Right.
You have the, you have this
spreadsheet, you have everything planned and then you've got to,
I don't care what industry you're in, the thing, it's
people. Yes.
The thing to remember is that people are not a technical
problem. They're not a technical thing.
They are. When you're working with people,
it's always going to be adaptive.
And if you remember that, then usually you can work through
some things 'cause you're not gonna find a technical fix when
you're working with people you're gonna constantly be
adapting to OK, Like, they're upset about this.
What can we do to do that? You know, this or that.
Whereas like a canopy breaks, you're gonna go out and change
it. That's your technical problem.
And I guess I'm using some leadership like language here.
But that's, that's The thing is like remembering that when you
were working with people, you were working with their values.
I like that. So that's something that I try
to keep in remind like in mind. So like if someone comes to
something, they get frustrated and they're upset, I mean, it's
because they had this expectation and it didn't get
met. So it's like, OK, like what can
we do to either navigate that and what can we offer?
Or is it just like one of those things you kind of have to like
speak to loss and try again next year?
So yeah, people, people, yeah, they're just, you got to be able
to adapt with one other. Yeah, One thing that I sometimes
implement is I always tell myself that people are going to
disappoint you. And if, and I know that's kind
of maybe a negative way to look at it, but if you but if you
have an understanding that, like you said, people are people,
they're not things, they're going to disappoint you, then
when something happens, it's not as big of a deal because you've
already prepared yourself for it.
Yeah. Right.
And to remember that, like, you don't have to take everything so
personally, right? Because sometimes it's not about
you. You're just the person in front
of them. Yeah.
And that's all you can't do. Yeah.
So alright, so sticking with GBO, what would what would you
say would be like maybe some top lessons you learn from this past
GBO that you want to like take with you for the next event?
I know that this is like a lesson that I have learned, but
I'm continuously reminded of it is that community's just so
important, The disc golf community, the important
community, whatever community you surround yourself.
Like that community is so important and I'm just so lucky
to have to be in so many great communities.
So while that's a lesson I learned long ago, you know,
whatever you submerge yourself in, it's nice to be reminded
some other lessons. Good gravy.
I mean, I'm always learning lessons, but.
What did you find it challenging to delegate responsibilities?
Do you ever get to where like you're like, OK, I just, I know
this needs to be done. I'll just do it.
But you have to kind of empower people and and delicate.
Is that an issue for you or are you able to do that easier?
I'm better at that now than I used to be, did not used to be
good at it. But I have learned over the
years like you have to ask for help.
Yeah, period was. That like a light switch that
flipped on for you or you just eventually you just kind of
learned it and implemented it more at the more events you ran?
I kind of learned it, I guess through like just other
community things and like books and stuff like that and just
trying to, you know, self help, work on yourself and grow.
But then like when you actually ask for help and you accept it
and then you really do kind of understand that, oh, this is
easier. But yeah, I guess some lessons I
learned with just mentioning that is I just felt way too good
the whole week and I just kept, I was just like, I don't
understand. And then it was like, because I
I had a great team, like, you know, and that's a good lesson
is if you have the right people in place, it makes things so
much easier. It really does.
And being able to share the workload it does.
So that's all. That's always a great lesson and
something I definitely learned this past time is like, man,
yeah, we just had such a great team, great effect.
We were so prepared and and things like that.
So that was nice. And then I mean, one lesson I
always, it's like an ongoing thing is we can always improve,
can always take notes, we can always try something different.
This didn't work. That did work.
So on and so forth. Yeah.
Now, I'd send you a few questions before this, and one
of the questions was, you know, what was the biggest challenge
at GBO that you faced? And then tell us how you
overcame that challenge. Definitely just I think the
biggest challenge that we faced and then I guess it's me too,
but like we we faced was that stigma of like GBO and not being
on the pro tour and like it would not being as fun or it's
not gonna be as great or just, you know, things like that
because the pros weren't here. And so that was a challenge like
trying to like just tell people like it's still gonna be a great
time, even if it's not like how it how it has been in the past
few years. And I don't know, I mean, we
still had a great turn out and it seemed like everyone that was
here had such a wonderful time. So with that in mind, knowing
that that was kind of a perception that was out there,
what was your mindset going into it with that in mind, like, or
did you purposely do anything to go like, I guess we'll show you,
We're going to show you a good time.
Oh, sorry, Light bulb. Yeah, in some ways.
And I was just trying, you know, like to make it that festival
feel again in a little ways. And again, it was still smaller
than like that 1600 people we had back in the day, but it was
so manageable. And it seemed like everyone that
came had such a great time. And I got so many emails that
said that people had such a hoot.
But yeah, like, going into the vent, I was like, OK, like, what
can we do to make this still great, right?
And be like, you were going to wish you were here with us.
That's awesome. Even if there weren't
professionals and all the other stuff but.
Well, I think it was a fantastic restart.
I guess if it is if the proper way of of calling it kind of a
restart with the Glassbone open, I think it was great.
I was able to come down. I didn't get to come down the
whole week, but I was able to come down for the GBO block
party and. My birthday party?
Yeah. It's not your.
Birthday party. I just kept telling everyone it
was my birthday party. I know you just kind of walked
them like it's my birthday party.
So that was really cool. So no, I think yeah, everybody I
encountered said they had a good time.
And then the some of the videos I've watched, you know, people
had a really good time. So you did a really good job
with that. So Congrats on that.
OK, so to wrap things up, give me 3 pieces of advice that you
would give someone that's looking into running a disc of
event. Now, whether that's casual or
sanctioned, if someone's like, you know what, I want to start
running some events in my area, what's 3 pieces of advice you'd
give them? So whether it's AC tier or a
fundraiser, a big event, or honestly any event, I think it's
important to remember your purpose.
Why are you doing it? If you're doing it for yourself,
probably not a great purpose. If you're doing it for others or
you know, like there's a specific reasoning behind it
now, like if you're throwing a birthday party, obviously that's
for you. OK, Like, but your purpose is
like to have a good time with your friends or do something
some some celebrating. But yeah, if you're going to run
an event, just like having a purpose, like what is the
purpose of you wanting it to be competitive?
You want it to be fun fundraiser?
Are you wanting to take it to the next level?
Just different things like that. You want it to be long standing.
And then I always say, like if you are hosting an event,
remember your audience. Always remember your audience
and who you're doing it for. A Junior World probably don't
want to just have a beer garden. That would be weird.
Yeah. I mean, for the parents, great.
But like, what are the, what are the kids gonna do?
You know, we're running this event for children.
They probably want to have some children geared activities.
So yeah, remembering who your audience is is always really
important. And then finally, piece #3
asking for help. Yeah.
So just it doesn't take much to ask for help, even though we
make it seem such like a big thing in our heads, you know?
But in like the right people will say yes and sometimes
people will say no, and that's totally fine.
So Speaking of junior worlds, we have that coming up in what, in
about a couple months. Tell us where you're at in that
planning stage. And OK, I don't always
understand how people got invited, right?
There was an invite list. And then at some point, if
there's spots open, it's open then.
Oh, it's open right now, OK. So everybody got their
invitation. Anyone can register now.
OK, but not people above 18. So not anyone, but not.
Yeah, not quite anyone. Yeah, it's open now.
There's 572 spots, 403 people registered.
We are deep in the planning, like the Caddy book is in the
works. The T signs, you know, are in
the works as well. Everything is decided as far as
layouts. So now we're working on
ancillary events. We have a, we have so many
things planned in the community. It's awesome.
So like there's a full event schedule on the PDJ Junior
World's website and now I'm just kind of working on finalizing
those, getting player packs ordered and working on trophies.
So we are definitely, we're getting close feeling feeling
good again. I hate feeling good about stuff.
You just I want to be on my toes.
No, I get. It they, one of my favorite
quotes is failing to plan is planning to fail.
So I just anything in life. So just want to make sure I
continue planning and thinking about everything.
I'll start putting in, you know, orders for porta Johns and stuff
like that. So yeah, all that good stuff,
just in the works and working on it and then collecting
sponsorships and donations and recruiting volunteers.
Hey, we'll put a link in the description so you can check out
SO. A lot, but everything's in the
works and in motion, OK. What would you tell someone that
is on the fence of, you know, wanting to come out or if they
know somebody who they think should come out and play in this
event, what would be your invite to them?
An invitation to the juniors or yeah, I mean, if you're an adult
and you really want to help out, we will have fun activities and
volunteering. But yeah, if you know junior
have juniors that want to play, I I mean, it's going to be a
great time in Emporia. And Emporia's super welcoming.
Even if you just want to come out and watch and just kind of
soak it up, I encourage you to do so.
Emporia's a fun getaway. We have 27 disc golf courses in
the 30 mile radius, you know, so like.
I've been telling people like 12.
I didn't realize it was 27. It's crazy just because there's
so many layouts and there's 9 hole courses and then you've got
like you've got Cottonwood Falls so closely and like there's a
lot of courses I've been going too.
Long, yeah. So yeah, even if you just want
to come out and watch and like, soak it up and then, yeah, just,
I mean, if you're feeling brave about it too, why not?
Yeah, what were the dates? Remind people of the.
July 12th through the 19th. OK, it is the full week
competitions, the 15th through the 19th.
Well, Jackie, thank you so much for coming on and teaching us
about running events. We appreciate it and we wish you
the best of luck running further events.
Thank you. And of course, we will have you
back on from time to time talking about events.
Sounds great. We'll see you.
Bye.