The JustOne membership campaign was designed by the Membership Committee to encourage IAVM’s leadership to recruit and sign one new member annually. The committee warmly invites all volunteers to join them in growing and advocating for IAVM. At VC25, we would like to report that 100% of our servant leaders recruited a new member!

Who makes up the IAVM Leadership? Boards, Committees, and Task Forces. The new term of service began on August 1^st.

Why is this endeavor important? As you spread the word about the importance of joining, our membership grows and becomes more diverse, which encourages new ideas and smart business practices. Your referral might become the next trailblazer in the industry.

GOAL: Our objective is that all 351 volunteers will add just one new member to our community.

PROSPECTS: Encourage your peers, colleagues, stakeholders, employees, interns, and Allied partners to join the Association.

RECOGNITION: The board, committee, task force, and individual that refers the most members will be recognized at VenueConnect in New Orleans.

SAVINGS: Instruct your referral to use the following promotion code, JUSTONE. Applicants that apply as Professional  or Allied members can save the $150.00 one-time initiation fee – they must enter “JUSTONE” while completing their membership application.*

For you to receive credit for your referral, ask your applicant to list you as a reference on the membership application.

With JustOne, help someone to realize their potential, to hone their leadership skills, and gain access to important resources that will aid in their professional success. Refer your JUSTONE new member today. Contact membership@iavm.org if you have any questions.

The campaign kicks off now and runs through December 31, 2024.

*Some membership types do not have an initiation fee; the dues will not be discounted.

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) is pleased to announce the distribution of $135,000 in community grants to local nonprofits, and $7,500 in hospitality scholarships to three Massachusetts-based culinary and hospitality students at its annual awards luncheon on Wednesday, July 31.

“I’m honored to issue the 2024 community partnership grants and hospitality scholarships on behalf of the MCCA to these worthy nonprofits, as well as the next generation of leaders in the hospitality industry.” said Gloria Larson, Interim Executive Director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. “It was inspiring hearing directly from the recipients the impact these funds will have on the vital work they do in the community, and I would like to thank our internal committee of employees for reviewing all of the applications for this important program.”

The 27 nonprofits were selected to receive funding this year.

The three scholarship winners hail from communities throughout the state:

• Hopkinton – Emmanuel Barris, Boston University
• Hudson – Camille Graffeo, Framingham State University
• North Andover – Jacob Thorn, Michigan State University

Nonprofits were each awarded $5,000 grants and each student was awarded a $2,500 scholarship. Since the launch of the program in 2007, over $2 million has directly supported non-profits operating in neighborhoods across Boston and Massachusetts-based culinary and hospitality students.

For more information on the MCCA’s Community Partnership & Hospitality Fund, please visit:

https://www.massconvention.com/community/grants-program-overview

Please welcome our newest members who joined IAVM in July 2024. Thank you for being a part of the association! Also, let us get to know you better by participating in the I Am Venue Management series. Please visit here to share your story and photo.

Lynda Alexander, Boise Centre, Boise, ID
David Almany, Brailsford & Dunlavey, Overland Park, KS
Elaine Aye, RWDI, Portland, OR
Ryan Aylmer, Brailsford & Dunlavey, Washington, DC
Jessica Benavides-Soriano, Lynnwood Event Center – OVG, Lynnwood, WA
Shari Bence, Post Guard, Farmington Hills, MI
PJ Berg, Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center, Fort Walton Beach, FL
Gary Birdsall, PCL Construction, Denver, CO
Tim Bragg, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA
Lori Brown, Boise Centre, Boise, ID
Carmen Campagna, Exhibition Place, Toronto, ON, Canada
Krystal Carlson, Butte Civic Center, Butte, MT
Geoff Carns, Ticketmaster, Los Angeles, CA
Sarah Cassidy, Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, Columbia, SC
Cameron Chambers, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Natalie Chan, Hong Kong Coliseum & Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Hong Kong, China
Bryan Chatterton, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR
Chun Man Chiu, Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong, China
Thom Chuparkoff, OSPORTS, Tampa, FL
Brian Contant, Floreano Convention Center, Rochester, NY
Tom Corden, Algonquin Commons Theatre, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Kyle Cottam, Event Services – Utah State University, Logan, UT
Jack Crone, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Camryn D’Angelo, Sottile Theatre – College of Charleston, Charleston, SC
Sarah Dale, Greater Richmond Convention Center – OVG, Richmond, VA
Cathy DeLuca, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Amanda Denton, Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, Duluth, MN
Kay Dillon, Boise Centre, Boise, ID
Debbie Dodds, Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, TX
Toni Doucette, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Matthew Dunn, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Michael Elias, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Dave Faller, OSPORTS, Cleveland, OH
Devin Ferguson, TCU Place, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Clare Forbes-Black, Tomcat USA Inc., Knoxville, TN
Fili Gaoteote, IPS Inc., Union City, CA
Denisha Garner, OVG Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
Lori Geres, Portland’5 Centers for the Arts, Portland, OR
Nicholas Giampetruzzi, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Sarah Gonzalez, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
Jamie Goodman, Town Toyota Center, Wenatchee, WA
William Green, Miami Beach Convention Center – OVG, Miami Beach, FL
Rusty Groh, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Matthew Gutierrez, OvationVOS, Salt Lake City, UT
TJ Guttormson, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN
Audrey Hall, Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth, TX
Ryan Hannum, Post Guard, Farmington Hills, MI
Brittney Herrin, Xenial, Charlotte, NC
Flannery Higgins, accesso, Lake Mary, FL
Ethan Hipple, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Craig Hostetler, Historic Theatre Group, LLC, Minneapolis, MN
Eric Huckabee, Spectrohm, Inc., McLean, VA
Erick Hurtado, Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center, Fort Walton Beach, FL
Danyelle Jackson, Greater Richmond Convention Center – OVG, Richmond, VA
Brady Jacobsen, Daktronics, Sioux Falls, SD
Erik Johannes, Mortenson, Minneapolis, MN
Aulbrie Kitson, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Justin Kizima, Sodexo Live!, Bothell, WA
Dale Koger, PCL Construction, Ashburn, CO
Rusty Lenners, Daktronics, Flagstaff, AZ
Sonya Lester, Perkins Eastman/Pfeiffer, Los Angeles, CA
Jennifer Levear, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Leslie Li, Shenyang New World EXPO, Shenyang, China
Michael Lindsey, HLB Lighting Design, Denver, CO
Lorena Lozada Tecuapetla, The Music Center/PACLAC, Los Angeles, CA
Brian Machiniak, Xenial, Charlotte, NC
Steve Macisso, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Kenneth MacLeod, Algonquin Commons Theatre, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Peter Magadini, City of Portland, Portland, ME
James Maldonado, The Fabulous Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO
Angelina Martinez, Levy Restuarants, Las Vegas, NV
Sebastian Mason, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Peter McFarland, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Kevin McPhee, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Ryan Mene, Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Jayme Mescher, Grand River Center, Dubuque, IA
Steve Miller, Athletic & Performance Rigging, Tiffin, OH
Emma Miziolek, Exhibition Place, Toronto, ON, Canada
Giana Molletta, Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD
Peter Murdock, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Anurag Nehra, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
Olivia Niska, Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, Duluth, MN
Mike Noetzel, Langley Events Centre, Langley, BC, Canada
Clare Norton, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Angela O’Connor, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Jake O’Donal, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Charles O’Loughlin, Rider Levett Bucknall, Miami, FL
Belinda Oakley, Sodexo Live!, Stamford, CT
Andrew Ostrowski, Peace Center, Greenville, SC
Daniel Parker, Ferst Center for the Arts (Georgia Tech), Atlanta, GA
Ima Polamalu, IPS Inc., Santa Ana, CA
Trevor Prime, Enterprise Center/Stifel Theatre, Saint Louis, MO
Lucy Puentes, Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth, TX
Steven Pyle, Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale, MO
Marcel Quiroz, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, Mountain View, CA
Andrew Ransom-Keyek, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Quintin Reed, Enterprise Center/Stifel Theatre, Saint Louis, MO
Scott Reed, Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, OH
Lindsay Rey, Town Toyota Center, Wenatchee, WA
Kelly Rich, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, The Woodlands, TX
Grady Richard, OVG Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
Adam Riggar, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Chris Ring, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN
Amanda Ronchi, Greenwich Odeum, East Greenwich, RI
Nicole Rozier, The Fabulous Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO
Adam Schauer, Grand River Center, Dubuque, IA
Kevin Schneck, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Abby Shaftstall, Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth, TX
Christopher Sinclair, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA
Brian Sloan, Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Lillian Song, Ticketingbox, Duluth, GA
Alaina Tews, Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center, Fort Walton Beach, FL
Anna Thompson, Ticketingbox, Duluth, GA
Beth Turnbull, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Eric Van Diggelen, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Newport Beach, CA
Joann Villasenor, Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA
Rachel-Dawn Wallace, Algonquin Commons Theatre, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Mike Wang, Ticketingbox, Duluth, GA
Tammy Whorton, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA
Carol Williams, Greater Richmond Convention Center – OVG, Richmond, VA
Eliza Wilson, Grand River Center, Dubuque, IA
Jonathan Wilson, City of Portland, Portland, ME
Ian Wright, Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA
Lauren Wundrock, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Wade Yang, Ticketingbox, Duluth, GA

Jeremiah Yolkut, Vice President, Global Events for Major League Baseball, has a message that befits his title: we might be coming soon to a venue near you. Maybe not as the league’s newest franchise, but to play a one-off series involving two MLB teams.

Yolkut, the Stadiums Keynote Speaker, has been instrumental in the League’s recent forays into markets like Rickwood Park in Birmingham (AL) to honor the Negro Leagues, Omaha (home to the College World Series), and beyond borders and across ponds in Mexico City, London, Seoul, and Tokyo.

“These are special event games where we bring to places you really can’t get baseball coming out,” he said. “Like when we started playing at Field of Dreams, we are focused on future sites.”

Yolkut graduated from Boston University with a major in communications and immediately went to work for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) before moving over to MLB. As with tennis, baseball is a true international sport with many top players from Mexico, Latin America, and Japan, among other places.

As MLB considers future international destinations to play, Yolkut noted there are two strategic approaches.

“The first is we look for a baseball-rich culture, such as Asia and Latin countries,” he said. “Second, we look for media-rich markets, such as London, Seoul, and Mexico City. You have to tell the story more in those markets and explain the game to the fans, which we did in London.”

For example, Yolkut said that instead of a dot race between innings, overseas the message might be on exactly what a walk-off home run means in a game.

“These are markets we want to play in and build the MLB brand,” he said.

Yolkut said that stateside All-Star Games are planned three to four years in advance, while future site games take closer to five years to pull the special game together.

Following the session, several members posed questions to Yolkut, some not so subtly indicating their city might be the next perfect location for the league to expand. While Yolkut understandably could not commit to something like that happening, he did say that MLB likes to keep its doors open to new ideas.

After this uplifting session, expect those ideas to roll in fast and furious.

The panel of IAVM veteran storytellers pose with 30|UNDER|30 members who introduced the panelists.

Being kind-of, sort-of retired for almost a year now after serving for 22 glorious years as editor of Venue Professional magazine has been quite a fun adventure. Plenty of that fun has come from continuing to contribute as a freelance writer to the magazine. An even bigger thrill is being at VC24 in Portland to not just reacquaint with member friends, but to help provide some coverage of the Association’s 100th year, as well as do some voice over – and especially to be on the Monday morning 8 am panel with industry luminaries past and present to share some fun stories through the 100 years of IAVM. OK, none of us are actually 100, but the spry Barbara “Mother” Hubbard is 97 and rocking and rolling like nobody’s business, still booking and mentoring students at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

Once the nyuk nyuks died down and the session ended, I had some time to reflect. Specifically, on badges worn by my colleagues on the dais. Most indicated the venue or business where the individual works. Larry Perkins, though, had the word RETIRED on his badge. It was natural to ask Larry how the lazy world of retirement was going, only to have Larry remark that he is now serving on eight boards. Retirement? What is that?

I can happily relate. As mentioned, I continue to be fortunate to write for the magazine. There are a couple of other things I continue doing that I have for years, including announcing high school football games and leading a Grief Share class at our church. Retirement? What is that?

As I walk around the beautiful Oregon Convention Center and bump into friends of decades past, many of them also wear RETIRED on their badges. More of the conversations with my fellow elders tend to center on health issues and what a joy the grandchildren are.

While these conversations take place, I look around and see much distinctly younger folks chatting amongst themselves. I often think about how cool it would be if one of us geezers just walked up to one of the youngsters and started up a conversation about the job and life. How beneficial it would be for us both!

There is a saying that “Likes like Likes,” which I translate to mean that we are most often comfortable with those like us. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but again the opportunities we miss by not getting to know other generations better, and even for them to know us and our infinite wisdom (ha!) better.

I worry not for the future of the industry, though. The 30|UNDER|30 program and the talent pipeline coming up in the industry tells me this profession is in more than capable hands for decades to come. IAVM is poised and positioned for great things as the next 100 years settle in.

Speaking of settling in, time to get down to the trade show floor. I have more work to do.