Meet the ASA’s Executive Director
The industry’s first salon owner association is off to a great start since its official launch in December. The six-member board of directors has assembled a team of 17 consultants and staff members, with experts in media and PR, government relations, scientific research and association management. This team of specialists is already moving forward with a carefully crafted, strategic plan to move our market forward. Helping to lead that charge is the newly appointed executive director Tracie Cunningham.
As the newly appointed executive director of the American Suntanning Association, I’d like to briefly introduce myself and tell you a little about my background and my goals with the ASA. I was previously the executive vice president of Ashley Lynn’s Tanning, a chain of 20 salons based in Omaha. I have two children, Emily and Nick, and spend most of my free time attending their activities.
I started working at Ashley Lynn’s in 1994 and have witnessed the development of the industry firsthand as salons have become more professional in terms of business, knowledge and customer care. I’ve watched the industry grow and become the professional, sophisticated and mature industry it is today. And I’m most proud of our industry’s advancements in customer care and safety.
As this is the case, it frustrates me immensely to see our industry portrayed in the manner that it all too often is. This is a big part of my motivation to get involved at this level. There needs to be a more balanced message, and that’s what I hope to accomplish. I also think that it’s very important for our industry to be represented by a woman, considering 75 percent of salons owners are women. I’m very excited to have the opportunity to help represent the needs and wishes of salons throughout the country as best I can.
As you likely know, ASA decision-making is handled by a salon owner board of directors, which collectively makes choices that reflect the wishes and needs of all ASA members. These decisions are based on input from a large group of experts in the media, government relations and scientific research fields. My role will be to represent the ASA to the public, keep track of the details and report back to the board so that they can make the right decisions.
Now, enough about me – onto the ASA, our current status and our plans. Like any maturing market, our industry reached a point where it was time to develop better-focused associations that served the supplier and salon sectors of the market more effectively. So the salons and manufacturers decided to create their own separate organizations to support their respective needs. The ASA was created to serve the needs of the tanning salon owners. I’m very thankful to John Overstreet for helping to facilitate the smooth transition of lobbying responsibilities from the ITA to the ASA. The ASA is currently managing more state battles that any other time in history and we couldn’t have done it without John’s help.
We are most certainly facing an uphill battle with our public relations effort, and unfortunately, I believe our message has already been misconstrued by media reports and misunderstood by some within the industry. We do not wish to get into a senseless battle of words with opponents, but we do feel that articulating our scientifically backed position through proper government and scientific channels is vital to the future and prosperity of our industry.
Our primary goal is to provide a balanced message about UV light, ensuring that all the science is reported, because right now it is not. We want to ensure that consumers have all the information as they form their own opinions about moderate exposure to UV light.
It will take time, but once all the research is considered, naysayers will have no choice but to recognize that the entirety of the science supports our position. We all know that the science is on our side – it’s just a matter of getting the opportunity to present all the facts.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions regarding the ASA.
