John B. Meyer Jr., CVE, one of IAVM’s more passionate advocates of certification, passed from this life on Oct. 31 at the age of 77.
Meyer, who was director of convention center operations and special projects for SMG at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, joined IAVM in 1977 and received his CVE in 2002. Meyer served on several committees, including Chair of the Bylaws Committee from 2002 to 2010 and the Certification Board from 2002-2021.
Both Jody Lake, CVE, retired, and Tom Cornwall, CVE, retired, emphasized Meyer’s commitment to certification in their work with him on the certification board for IAVM. “John never shied away from a difficult task,” Lake said. “He was so smart and articulate and compassionate when it came to alternative viewpoints and thoughts.”
John Meyer, CVE – picture taken from the IAVM archives, circa 2002-2004
Lake was most impressed by his ability to take things to heart and do the research. Specifically, when the Certification Board was researching certifying its own certification program with ANSI (American National Standards Institute), something they all wanted to accomplish, it was determined to be too expensive by far. Rather than sit back and say that’s that then, Meyer declared that though they could not go for ANSI certification fiscally, they certainly could attain the ANSI standards in practice. It wasn’t about piece of paper; it was about that standard of excellence in IAVM’s certification program.
Rosanne Duke, IAVM director of Governance and Operations, noted in an email that “John was a mentor to so many in the industry. He was also an outstanding member of the Certification Board. He advocated for our CVE program to become ANSI certification ready.”
“I met John in early 2000, when I worked with him on a project to update the association’s bylaws, and immediately felt like I was working with a friend that I’d known for many years.”
Rick Haycock, CVE, retired, was also part of the “certification family,” often sitting side-by-side with Meyer at Certification Board meetings at World Headquarters. “His depth of knowledge about program accreditation and his respect for the process were instrumental in advancing the integrity and validity of IAVM’s certification programs. I learned a great deal from him and stayed in touch long after he left the Certification Board.”
A Vietnam vet, Meyer was religious, doted on his family and had a great sense of humor, said his wife, Tala, on a Facebook post. “He loved his crosswords, reading, scuba diving with his daughter and traveling. Rome was his favorite city in the world.”
He worked for the city of Corpus Christi for more than 40 years, first managing the Memorial Coliseum, starting in 1973, and then as convention center manager at American Bank Center. He retired in 2017.
Meyer was a board member of the Corpus Christi Literacy Council, Casa d’amor, and president of the Ronald McDonald House. He also served in many capacities at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Port Aransas and was a 4th degree Knight of Columbus.
“He doted on his family, had a gentle heart and loved teasing folks,” his widow wrote. “He had special nicknames for all he loved. He was a reader and a lover of history and languages. He spoke Vietnamese, Latin, Italian, Spanish and parts of several other languages”.
Meyer was a native of Pequannock, New Jersey, and graduated from the University of Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) summa cum laude in three years with an English degree. He also took graduate courses in computer science. He served in Vietnam as a military policeman.
Meyer is survived by his wife, Tala, of Corpus Christi; his daughters, Jennifer (Aaron Lozano) and Jessica Arredondo (Eric), both of Corpus Christi; one step-son, Bradley Stevens, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; sisters Barbara Jacobs, Mary Meyer and Michael Ann Meyer (Kait Casey), all of San Diego; one brother, Joseph Meyer (Mary) of Lebanon, N.J; one sister-in-law, Sharon Meyer (Thomas) of Sussex, N.J.; grandchildren Blake Stevens of Tucson, Ariz.; Caden and Julian Meyer and Ava and Harlow Arredondo and Aislynn Lozano, all of Corpus Christi; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Bernadine Meyer; his brother, Thomas, and his brother and sister-in-law, Jeff and Karen Meyer.
Visitation for will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Nov. 11 at Maxwell P. Dunne Funeral Service in Corpus Christi, with a Rosary beginning at 6:30 p.m. and eulogies to follow. A Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11 a.m. on Nov. 12 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Port Aransas. Committal and Final Military Honors will begin at 2 p.m. at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery, Corpus Christi, with a bagpipe tribute.
Linda – thank you for doing this for John – while it is hard to accept the fact that John has passed away, it is also difficult to express my thoughts and reflect on the John I know.
The first time I met John was early on in my career. I was appointed to the Associations’ Bylaws Committee, and the committee gathered for a meeting during VenueConnect. John introduced himself, welcomed me to the committee, and gave me a quick overview of the committee, its history, and its mission with the Association. I ran into John several more times at that conference, and by the time it was time to head home, I felt I had not only met a new colleague and mentor but also a new friend.
Through the years, we have stayed in contact with one another. Since we both lived and worked in venues located along the Gulf Coast, during hurricane season, when a storm was threatening one of us, we would reach out to one another to make sure we were prepared for the storm and then, after, to make sure everything was okay.
At every VenueConnect, we would carve out some time to visit and catch up on what was going on in our lives. We both enjoyed scuba diving, so we would compare notes on the more desirable dives we have made. John had a desire to help veterans, so he would fill me in on what projects he was involved in to help them.
While John enjoyed venue management and monitoring others, his real passion lay with the Certification Board and its mission. He wanted our Certification Programs to represent the pinnacle of success for all venue managers and executives, and everything he did with the Association and the Certification Board was toward that goal. John also never missed the opportunity to encourage others to pursue their CVE or CVP.
I will miss his smile, his encouragement, his sincere interest in what we were doing – but most of all, I will miss my friend.