By Mike Kern
There’s certainly no shortage of reasons to attend an ING Conference.
You get to see old friends again, while making new ones. Of course golf is built-into the stay. You can add another destination to that checked-off list. It’s an opportunity to learn and grow, through the Appointment Show, committees and educational panels. You can use the available connections to help your business/profession. And you can join in honoring not one but two soon-to-be Hall of Famers in Jan Stephenson and Dennis Walters, at the Tuesday banquet. So how many times does anyone get to say that?
This year the Entrepreneurs Panel – the kickoff session to ING University – in particular stood out among the highlights. Expertly moderated by longtime ING Advisory Board Member Holly Geoghegan, it brought together three men who’ve been highly successful in marketing their respective products.
Each had a different story to tell. Bob Koch, former PGA Tour player and the inventor/founder/president of the Medicus swing trainer, which has only been around for over a quarter-century. Dave Hamilton, one of the creators of the Putting Arc, which has been part of the landscape nearly as long even though it’s never 
caused him to quit his day job. And Frank Carroll, whose Greenkeepers company is an offshoot of his family’s plastics company and has developed a line of popular golf accessories that includes the 4 Yards More Tees and Line M Up, the industry’s top-selling alignment tool.
They spoke and answered questions for an hour. It could have gone on for 60 more minutes if the schedule had permitted, and nobody in the audience would have left early. The informal give-and-take was engaging and enlightening. There aren’t many other organizations that could put on such a show. Or pulled it off so well.
It’s one of the many things that makes ING unique, and worth experiencing. Hope to see you next year in Valley Forge. Do you need any more reasons?
