It all started with a squeal.
Jenna Winters, Box Office Manager at the Wisconsin Historical Society, was attending a Small Venues Breakout Session at an INTIX conference when another attendee introduced himself as being from Appleton, Wisconsin.
For Winters, who grew up in Appleton, discovering a fellow Wisconsinite among the ticketing professionals gathered at the conference was pretty exciting.
That attendee was Dallas Janssen, Senior Manager of Ticket Services at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. Neither knew it then, but their chance meeting would eventually lead to the creation of WISTIX, Wisconsin’s regional ticketing group.
“Everyone went around the room introducing themselves and I let out a squeal when Dallas said he was from Appleton, Wisconsin,” recalls Winters. “But it wasn’t until New York [INTIX 2025 conference] that we really connected. Somewhere in the middle of that week, we said out loud, ‘This is so nice; we wish we had something like this for Wisconsin venues.’”
Jenna Winters and Dallas Janssen at a Wisconsin Timber Rattlers game.
Both had been thinking independently about starting a regional group. For Janssen, the appeal was having a community of professionals who understood the particular challenges of working in Wisconsin’s ticketing industry.
“That sense of community, when what we do is so niche, was important to me,” he says. “It was also clear to me that Wisconsin has its own trends. What we talk about on a national call could be an indicator of what possibly is to come, but our hyperlocal issues were not often addressed or felt.”
While Winters and Janssen became the driving forces behind WISTIX, a third ticketing pro was involved in those early conversations.
Charles Endinger then from TicketStar, a longtime presence in Wisconsin ticketing and a former mentor to Winters through the INTIX Mentor Program, had also been hearing about her idea.
“WISTIX actually started as a trio,” Winters explains. “Post-INTIX 2025, I brought [the three of] us together in an exploratory call and it went from there!”
When Endinger retired, he encouraged Winters and Janssen to carry the idea forward. And with his blessing, they got to work.
Rather than assume other ticketing professionals shared their enthusiasm, the pair began gathering contacts and researching how other regional groups operated. Janssen created a survey to gauge interest among Wisconsin venues.
The response confirmed their instincts that there was an appetite for a regional group.
They invited interested colleagues to help establish the group and participate in early planning. Together, they discussed meeting frequency, resource sharing and even what to call themselves.
By November 2025, WISTIX was ready for its first full meeting.
Eleven people joined the inaugural video call, although Winters admits she wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.
“Honestly, we had no idea what was going to happen! We had a pretty structured agenda, so we knew we had enough to talk about, but didn’t know how engaged anybody was going to be. Happily, people were as excited as we were to get this started,” she recalls.
“I think what stands out to me in my memory was how excited others were to have this space,” Janssen explains. “People were appreciative of the effort that went into setting this up and looked forward to the ongoing conversations. We got to hear a little history about people trying a Wisconsin group before, but since that was in the age before Zoom, it didn’t take off. From there we launched right into the agenda. Sales trends were a hot topic on that call, as they have been on all of the subsequent ones.”
Less than a year later, WISTIX has grown to 38 members representing 26 organizations.
“We haven’t been quiet,” Janssen says of the group’s recruitment efforts.
Getting a website established early was a priority. Beyond giving prospective members somewhere to learn about WISTIX, Janssen says it helped establish the group’s legitimacy. He and Winters also encouraged members to spread the word through their own professional networks.
“It truly was a group effort,” he says.
Winters, however, is quick to give her colleague some additional credit.
“A big shout-out to Dallas on that growth. He has taken the lead on putting us out there as much as possible,” she says. “It’s clear to me that people have been waiting for a resource like this and it’s really validated our hard work.”
The WISTIX membership includes numerous professionals from performing arts centers and sports organizations, among others. Winters would particularly like to see more cultural institutions and attractions become involved.
“That said,” she says, “we definitely welcome all types and sizes [of organizations], including vendors and promoters, as long as they follow the rules. We’re here to support, not sell.”
“It really is across the board on who has wanted to join us,” Janssen notes. “There have been a few join requests that came through where I was like, ‘They want to join us?’ I think the wide range of members is really attributable to our wide outreach.”
That enthusiasm is especially meaningful in a state where ticketing professionals aren’t necessarily located close to one another.
“Some folks are so lucky to be in a big city or smaller region with plenty of ticketing professionals close by to meet with and resource share,” says Janssen. “Here in Wisconsin, we are spread pretty wide geographically, so formalizing a group of us and laying the groundwork of how we can collaborate is important. We have similar overlapping products, but I don’t see any of us as competition. The more we can learn from each other and share resources, the stronger we are and the better the patron experience.”
For Winters, the benefits are equally personal.
“For me, it felt like I was missing something in my ticketing world,” she explains. “I come from museums and attractions, so when I moved into the ticketing space more specifically, I had a lot to learn. INTIX has been great, but I also wanted a local resource specific to Wisconsin to learn from and support.”
That desire to learn from one another is at the heart of WISTIX’s regular online meetings.
Inspired in part by INTIX’s Wednesday Wisdom discussions, the meetings include general updates, a push for growth and relevant industry news before moving into an open forum. This is where members can ask questions, compare experiences and work through issues together.
And there is certainly no shortage of topics. All-in pricing, chargebacks, fraud and sales trends have all featured prominently. Members have discussed how particular artists are performing in their markets and whether discounting tickets actually helps generate additional sales.
For Janssen, these conversations answer a type of question that will sound familiar to almost anyone who has worked in a ticket office.
“I think there are so many instances I can think of in my own work where I wonder ‘How is everyone else handling X, Y or Z?’ That is exactly what this space is for. No question is off limits; no one is going to judge; we just want to work together to share what we are doing or ideate on what the best options or workflows are,” he says.
“It’s also a reminder to me that people are choosing to give time to this and be here,” adds Winters. “They want to talk, they want to ask questions, they want to learn and support each other.”
The conversations don’t necessarily end when a meeting concludes. WISTIX has also established a Discord group chat space where members can share information, ticket offers and shout-outs between gatherings. Janssen acknowledges that the group is still discovering which communication methods are most convenient as the membership grows.
While virtual connections have been central to WISTIX’s early success, the group has begun exploring opportunities to get together in person. In July 2026, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a WISTIX member, offered to host a meetup at one of their home baseball games.
“It was a fun idea, and we’re continuing to work through what kinds of meetups and timeframes work for our group,” says Winters. “We’re excited about future opportunities across the state.”
The WISTIX sign at the entrance of their suite at the Timber Rattlers game.
For now, WISTIX is keeping things deliberately simple. There are no membership fees, and the founders have chosen an informal structure rather than immediately introducing bylaws and other administrative requirements.
As Co-Chair of the INTIX Regionals Committee, Winters is familiar with the different ways regional groups operate. That experience helped inform their decision to remain flexible while establishing WISTIX.
“We were also realistic about our own bandwidth and resources and didn’t want to create barriers to involvement by enacting any membership fees,” says Winters.
Janssen adds, “By being lean and flexible, it allows us to be more open about what we can and cannot do, especially as we’re getting started.”
INTIX membership is not required to join or participate in WISTIX, although the group actively promotes the benefits of belonging to the International Ticketing Association and attending its annual conference.
“We believe that we are all stronger professionally with a group of like-minded individuals working together,” says Janssen.
“I have the added benefit of being co-chair of the Regionals Committee, so we work closely with INTIX!” Winters notes. “I’m able to be a direct go-between for support and information.”
WISTIX members at INTIX 2026 in Las Vegas.
As for where WISTIX might be a year or two from now, Winters isn’t making any grand predictions.
“We haven’t really thought about that yet,” she says. “We’re still so new and living in the moment to engage fully with where we are now, but we’re excited for the future.”
“Everyone is welcome here; it doesn’t matter your venue type, size, number of events per year, seats in the house or title; we want you here,” says Janssen. “If you are curious, join us for a meeting. Everyone in our group has something to offer.”
Winters adds that WISTIX is also happy to welcome neighbours from bordering states who don’t have another active regional group that meets their needs.
“While we call ourselves WISTIX, we want to be clear we welcome our neighbors,” says Winters. “If you’re on our Wisconsin border and don’t have another regional that fits or is active, please reach out to us; we’d gladly welcome you.”
And for ticketing professionals elsewhere who are considering becoming involved in a regional group, or perhaps starting one of their own, Janssen has a straightforward piece of advice: “Just do it,” he says.
“I completely agree. If you don’t have a regional, make one!” says Winters. “The Regionals Committee is here to help, and I really leveraged our experience creating WISTIX as inspiration with the Regionals Committee to build more resources to support, which we’re working on now. There are newer and more revitalized Regionals coming. It’s exciting to see the growth!”
For Janssen, WISTIX’s success belongs to everyone who helped bring the group to life.
“I can’t overstate how much of a group effort this was,” he says. “Beyond the initial idea, it took so many people, and so much of their time to get where we are now.”
And to think, it all started with a squeal.
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