In just another month, John Bolton, CFE, will assume the chairmanship of IAVM, taking the gavel from Richard Andersen, CFE, as well as continuing much of the work (namely the IAVM governance model shift from a management board to a policy board) done by Andersen and others before him.
A telephone interview with Bolton for the conference issue of Facility Manager magazine yielded many of Bolton’s plans for the upcoming year, but stood out most for the genuine excitement in Bolton’s voice as he smoothly covered a variety of topics.
Here are some snippets from that interview:
On attending the University of Alabama: “I attended on a leadership scholarship and was placed as director of the fine arts division of university programs. We put together a performing arts series my first year that the National Association of Campus Activities selected as best in the nation. I was hooked on the business and when I was 19-years-old did my first show, an outdoor concert with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.”
On his introduction to IAVM: “I had become director of marketing for Ogden Entertainment Services in Evansville, Indiana. It was my second year there and I wanted to go to the (then named) Public Assembly Facility Management School. Our finance director also wanted to go and we had to flip a coin because we only had one spot (to go) in our building. He won and got to go and I went the next year.”
“What opens your eyes at Oglebay is, hey, I really need to take notice of these other departments and other things happening if I really want to be good at my job.”
On what he learned at the school: “When you first enter the industry and work in your particular area sometimes you are siloed because you are working so hard in that area. What opens your eyes at Oglebay is, hey, I really need to take notice of these other departments and other things happening if I really want to be good at my job. It isn’t all about me and my position.”
On what to immediately expect as chairman: “Some of the best advice I got in my first year as second vice chair was that if you are going to make any change or do anything you really have to make those decisions and do those by probably September or October. Otherwise, the year is almost over. It happens so fast, you get caught up in all the business and the time just flies by. It’s over before you know it.”
On VenueConnect 2013: “New Orleans is one of my favorite cities in the entire world and a place I probably go to four or five times a year. It is an honor to be in the city the year I become chairman.”
