By R.V. Baugus
From “Allied Member Community” to “Young Professionals” and everything in between, IAVM’s VenueNet currently has 51 communities for members to join to participate in discussions covering a vast range of topics.
Participating is easy. Simply go to VenueNet and click on the Participate tab at the top. From there click on Join a Community, where you can view Communities from A to Y (sorry, we don’t have a Z category just yet!).
Diversity and Inclusive Leadership (DILC) is a community with 24 members. As with the other VenueNet Communities, under the Community name is a description of what people can expect to read about and be able to comment on when they join the Community.
“Engagement and support of DILC from everyone is the only way to be successful and ensure a continued focus,” said Cindy van Rensburg, Past DILC Chair and Division President for Levy Convention Centers in Houston. “Launching a DILC site on VenueNet was important to share resources, learnings, and transparency to get more people engaged.”
One of the more recently formed Communities is Foro Abierto de Administradores de Recintos, a place for Spanish speakers to exchange experiences and knowledge from all venue types.
“The reason why the community was built was thinking of the large number of colleagues who feel comfortable expressing themselves in the Spanish language,” said Ruben Hernandez, CVE, Business Specialist with Mirrub Soluciones in Monterrey, Mexico, and IAVM’s Region 6 Mexico representative. “There´s a large Spanish-speaking community in North América and sometimes they feel a language barrier to expressing their questions and doubts.
“I think that, in the beginning, this forum must generate interest in Mexican venues to be a powerful tool. We are working together with the new AMEREF administration to do that.
“All the issues in Administration, Operations, and Sales are so important and this is an excellent way to get tips and information from each venue.
In the past, I’ve been able to get important information about maintenance, security, and food and beverage like a suggestion for kitchen flooring or devices to reduce floor vibration.
“Points of view from people of the USA, Canada, Mexico, and Australia are valuable and we know there are a lot of Spanish-speaking members working in all venues.”
Added Daniel Huerta, Retired IAVM member who remains active on IAVM committees and along with Hernandez helped organize and promote the Community: “It’s a great tool for networking and getting info on a number of subject matters. We just need folks to commit to using it.”
Maximize your IAVM membership now and be part of one of the Communities designed just for you!
