Volume 1, No. 15. August 24, 2001
The Root cause
When Rick Root left his position
as general manager of White Water in Atlanta last fall, he decided to take a
year off before looking for a new job. In that time he traveled. "My son just
turned 16 months old and he's been to 30 states," Root said. "I thought I would
get in 50 by the time he was 2."
The Roots' travels have been put on hold for awhile after he took the reins
of the World Waterpark Association as president and CEO August 13. He accepted
the job forged over 20 years by the late Al Turner, but Root doesn't have any
pretensions of filling the WWA founder's shoes. "He was the man who created
something out of nothing," Root said. "I shied away purposely from comparisons
to Al, but I realize people will naturally make those comparisons. We have an
association of 1,200 members in 52 countries. My role is to facilitate the members'
involvement in their association and assure we bring all the resources that
exist to those members."
To accomplish such a task the board of directors pondered recruiting an association
professional, but decided the better route would be a waterpark industry veteran.
"The majority of the board wanted to stay inside the industry," said Terry Turner,
WWA chairman and vice president of construction, maintenance and engineering
at Paramount's Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina. "With his long-term experience
as an operator, he has working knowledge of all the suppliers. We don't need
to bring in somebody new and train him in all the players. (Root) knows all
the players."
Root, who has served on the WWA board since 1997, counted 15 years of experience
as a waterpark operator, starting at Summer Waves on Jekyll Island, Georgia.
He joined Silver Dollar City's White Water in Branson, Missouri, in 1990 and
rose through the ranks to become general manager of the company's Atlanta property
before Six Flags bought it in 1999. Root also has been attending WWA's annual
conventions since 1986 and has been a favorite speaker at the conventions' symposiums
for 13 years. "I see the difficulties our park members have faced first hand
and a lot of issues important to suppliers, too," he said. "That said, there's
a huge amount of stuff I'm going to need to learn, because the role of park
operator is certainly different from that of an association."
He is getting that on-the-job training at a crucial time. The association is
moving toward its 21st annual symposium and trade show in Orlando, Florida,
October 9-13, six months after Al Turner's death. Root said the staff has kept
the course through these trying months, and the association is on track for
meeting its goals for attendance among both members and suppliers. Though it's
a daunting time, he's glad he took the position when he did. "I think it would
not have done anybody any good, myself included, to start the day after the
convention."
"We talked about whether to wait after the convention, but we wanted to make
a statement," Terry Turner said. "We wanted everybody to know we're stable,
we're taking care of business, and everything is carrying forward."
For more information on Root and the WWA, visit their web site at www.waterparks.com.