Susan Kruizinga
Director of Marketing & Group Sales
Wet'n'Wild Toronto/Premier Parks, LLC
Toronto, Ontario - Canada
Featured in "World Waterpark Magazine," December 2017
WHAT IS YOUR EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE?
I attended the University of Waterloo and received an honors bachelor of arts in recreation. I started my career with the City of London Recreation and Community Services Department. From this position, I was then offered an opportunity to start up and spearhead the inception and development of a Sports Council in London, for which I became its first Executive Director. Some of our projects included the development of the London Sports Hall of Fame and securing and managing the Ontario Winter and Summer Games. In 2003, I left London, Ontario for an opportunity in the United States with K1 International Sports Marketing & Events based in Arlington, Texas. As Vice-President, I directed the day to day efforts for all marketing, event management and tour management contracts for multi-sport events. As these events started to wane in popularity, I was offered an opportunity with Hawaiian Falls Waterparks, where I spent six years in the development of programs and sponsorship that also included the start-up of three new waterparks in Dallas, Waco and Austin, Texas. In the fall of 2015, I was asked to join the team starting a new waterpark in the Houston area to create and implement a sponsorship program, in addition to developing the programming schedule for Typhoon Texas. Due to the success of that park, Premier Parks asked if I wanted to be a part of their team and assist in the rebranding and building of a waterpark in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and began this project in September 2016. I am currently looking forward to continuing to grow the guest experience, sponsorship and branding of Wet’n’Wild Toronto.
WHAT HONORS, AWARDS OR SPECIAL RECOGNITION HAVE YOU ACHIEVED?
In my work with the London Sports Council, I was awarded the High Five Innovation Award and nominated as one of Canada’s Top Female Executives in 2002.
WHAT MADE YOU GO INTO THIS FIELD?
I have always enjoyed jobs that had a lot of moving parts, where you were able to use your creativity and be able to “make things happen” in a short period of time. I feel the waterpark industry is perfect for people that can prioritize and tackle many different jobs.
WHAT ASPECT OF THE WATERPARK INDUSTRY DO YOU LIKE BEST?
No day is ever the same.
WHO HAS MOST INSPIRED YOU IN YOUR CAREER?
I have been very fortunate to work for, and with a lot of great people in all of my jobs. The person that I have learned the most from, and has challenged me to be better in all aspects of my job has been Steve Mayer, who I currently work for in Toronto.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE GREATEST CHALLENGE IN YOUR WATERPARK CAREER?
I would say coming from a new start-up park where it seemed like everything you did was a “win” to moving back to Canada and working on a re-brand of an old park that had a bad reputation and had been shut down for a couple of years. There were a lot of days, that were it not for the great team we have here in Toronto, I probably would still be hiding under my desk crying.
HOW DO YOU KEEP FOCUSED AND MOTIVATED?
Easy, as even during the rough moments, I really do love my job and this industry. I am always driven to want to do more.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN WORKING IN THE WATERPARK INDUSTRY?
Don’t do it if you think it is because the job is going to be easy and you get to ride slides all day. I have seen so many people quit after a few weeks with that explanation.
WHAT BOOKS OR PUBLICATIONS DO YOU RELY ON MOST FOR INSPIRATION OR MOTIVATION?
In my 20’s and 30’s, I probably read every motivational or inspirational book ever written. Now that I am a little older, I tend toward the more humorous books to keep me motivated. I just finished
How to Be a Bawse by Lilly Singh. I laughed out loud throughout the entire book.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB?
Talking to people that are leaving the park at the end of the day that are happy and had a great day.
WHAT CAREER OR BUSINESS WOULD YOU CONSIDER IF YOU WERE STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN?
An Influencer, as they get to ride the rides. (That’s a joke, I am very fortunate to have found a career that I love.)
HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INVOLVED WITH THE WWA?
I registered the first park I worked at for the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson. From there, I started reading
World Waterpark Magazine and, when asked to speak at one of the conferences, I jumped at the chance to share some of my experiences.
WHAT IS SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT YOU THAT FEW KNOW OR WOULD GUESS?
I am actually only 29.