When I was asked to share some thoughts about the Foundation and being a new trustee, I have to admit, I stared at the computer screen for a while. I thought back to the first time I was approached about serving the Foundation… I had about a year under my belt in a new position, at a new venue and in new surroundings. My personal life was undergoing some radical changes. So yeah, it seemed like a pretty normal and manageable time for me to take something else on… ha! In all seriousness though, even though I’d never thought critically about the Foundation, when people like Mark Gnatovic, Stephanie Curran and Robyn Williams talk, you listen. You learn. You do some research, and what I realized was how transformative the Foundation has really been for my career.
Truth be told, the most thought I’d probably given the Foundation over the last several years extended to my 100+ Women donations. But when I looked further, and read into why the Foundation exists, I realized how critical its formation and contributions to the venue industry have been. Did you realize the Foundation was formed as a response to The Who concert tragedy in 1979 to implement crowd management safety standards? And that, since then, it has provided over $4 million in funding for professional advancement and education, research and best practices development?
I am over 15 years into my career as a venue manager; it’s the only career I’ve ever really pursued in my adult life. I am steeped in education, experience and evidence that speaks to the importance of a strong “foundation” for one’s career. And our Foundation, the IAVM Foundation, has provided for those moments and relationships that have shaped my path. From the flagship programs, like Venue Management School, to the development opportunities, like professional certification programs, the Foundation is not the Association’s piggy bank. Quite the contrary. It is meant to be a force that lobbies for our membership and boosts our academic resources and industry influence. The Foundation must be nimble in how it supports and strengthens our assets and promotes the special characteristics of our unique business.
Yes, those enormous responsibilities and goals are best achieved through funding and contributions. Your investment in the IAVM Foundation increases our industry’s capacity to respond to a changing world that demands a workforce more prepared and capable than ever. And now that I better understand all this, my personal hope in serving as a trustee is that I can help provide ideas and advancement opportunities for the Foundation to do the valuable work it was designed to carry out. I hope to educate more of our membership about its worthy mission, because IAVM Foundation supporters demonstrate that they value the future of our profession and, perhaps more importantly, that they value all who enter their venues and are thus taken into their care.
Alexis Berggren
Trustee, IAVM Foundation
