By HCC Editorial Team

The Hawai‘i Convention Center welcomes Hector Morales as its new executive chef.

Morales has 25 years of culinary leadership experience in Hawai‘i. He most recently served as the chef de cuisine at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Island of Hawai‘i. He also founded a food service consultancy, working with well-known restaurants in Hawai‘i and Nevada.

Morales previously served as the executive chef at the Polynesian Cultural Center for eight years, overseeing culinary and food services for thousands of guests daily across luaus, restaurants, and concessions. He started his Hawai‘i career at O‘ahu’s Turtle Bay Resort, where he was executive chef for 16 years, managing the resort’s three restaurants, as well as the culinary operations for a variety of large-scale events. Morales also advised food and beverage teams at Turtle Bay Resort partner properties throughout the country.

In addition, Morales has extensive international experience. He worked as a chef at the SAS Norway and as the banquet chef for the King of Norway. He also worked as chef de cuisine at The Regent Sydney in Australia.

Morales is a graduate of the Johnson & Wales University Culinary Arts program. His achievements are recognized by the James Beard Foundation and Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs.

“The Hawai‘i Convention Center is widely known for its culinary innovation, sharing the authentic flavors of the Pacific with meetings and events guests from around the world. We are enthusiastically looking forward to Hector’s leadership and extensive experience as we continue to welcome guests back,” said Teri Orton, general manager of the Hawai‘i Convention Center, managed by ASM Global.

Allen (TX) Event Center, one of the most diverse arenas in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, has a new
name and look. The 7,000+ seat facility is now called the Credit Union of Texas Event Center.

The seven-year naming rights agreement became effective on October 15. The deal is worth #2.2 million over seven years. Since 2018, Allen-based Credit Union of Texas has sponsored the city’s parks and recreation department, according to Allen City Council documents.

The arena unveiled its new brand at the Allen Americans Professional Hockey Club’s Home Opener on October 23. Fans were not only part of the first official event at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center, but they were first to experience the facility’s new lighting and audio/video systems. Upgrades include a new LED Musco Lighting system that allows the hockey team to turn the arena into a “Rink of
Red.”

In this time of gratitude and thanksgiving, I am asking you to join me in supporting the IAVM Foundation on this #GivingTuesday. #GivingTuesday is an opportunity to solidify our industry by supporting the IAVM Foundation and their commitments. These commitments include those that help develop our future industry leaders. Programs like 30|UNDER|30 and other annual scholarships help bring these future leaders to industry events and aid in the their career growth. Your #GivingTuesday support is more than just a donation, it’s a chance to make a difference in someone’s future.

I am challenging us all, as part of the IAVM family, to give $25 (or more) to help us reach our goal of $5,000!

The challenge is simple…

• Click HERE and donate! Any gift, no matter how much, helps your Foundation provide opportunities for industry development.
• Challenge others! Simply copy and paste this message as your own challenge, or tag others on social media with the message – I accepted the IAVM Foundation #GivingTuesday challenge! Join me and make a difference too! Donate here! https://bit.ly/3x2OAAH
• Anyone who donates $100 (or more) will also be entered into a drawing for a Samsung 40″ Series 5 Full HD TV! (Special Thanks to Bill Bavirsha at University of Illinois Chicago for that donation!)
• Anyone who makes a monthly recurring donation of $10 (or more) will also be entered into the drawing for the TV! After you add your donation to the cart, you will be asked if this should be a recurring donation.

I wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I wish you time off to spend with your family and friends, though I know how that can go in our business. Still, there are usually days at this time of year when the schedule eases up, and I wish you wonderful rest of your holiday season

Thank you for helping me reach this year’s #GivingTuesday challenge goal!

Jim Wynkoop, CVE
Chair, Board of Trustees

From UBS Arena

UBS Arena at Belmont Park and the New York Islanders have teamed up with Venuetize, leaders in mobile-first and advanced payment technology, to deliver a new mobile experience. Now available for download in the Apple Store and in Google Play, the UBS Arena App delivers new ways to interact with UBS Arena and the New York Islanders through enhanced experiences for event goers.

The UBS Arena app is your key to unlocking your experience at UBS arena. It allows users to:
● Easily retrieve Ticketmaster tickets and parking passes
● Order food, beverage, and select merchandise items
● Transact using the Mobile Wallet or pay with Apple Pay at point-of-sale and for mobile ordering
● Access Season Ticket Member benefits through UBS Arena and Islanders
Member Pass, as well as stored and loaded value integrated into the Mobile Wallet
● Get quick answers to questions via Chatbot (ask UBS Arena)
● Leverage interactive maps, as well as travel and transportation information to help get from point A to B throughout your visit

“UBS Arena guests are already benefiting from a more personalized and enjoyable mobile experience powered by Venuetize,” said Lindsay St. Lawrence, Chief Product Officer at Venuetize. “This partnership between our organizations enables more ways to engage and reward guests, including the ability for mobile ordering and payments during their visit.”

“We are hyper-focused on the experience of those who walk through our doors,” said Ethan Brown, Sr. Vice President, Marketing and Community Relations for UBS Arena and the New York Islanders. “Mobile plays a key part in unlocking all that is available at UBS Arena and we look forward to working with Venuetize to continue to bring the latest in mobile-first technology to all visitors of UBS Arena.”

By Doug Potter

To help venues manage their reopening, VenuMax has added a free COVID-19 Wellness Tracker. Prior to the event, this module surveys attendees to record their adherence to state or venue-specific health guidelines for COVID. With this information, the venue can document its compliance or risk with respect to vaccination rates, natural immunity, and other factors indicated by the Tracker’s survey.

The Wellness Tracker surveys event attendees before the opening of the event, then it compiles the survey results so the venue can show attendees of any event what the level of COVID wellness is among the group attending the event.

The survey questions are specific to each event, and the Wellness Tracker reaches out to them by email. This process starts with the customer’s event coordinator submitting a spreadsheet of attendee emails. Each attendee then receives the survey and responds by electronically.

The Wellness Tracker records all responses confidentially and summarizes each survey’s results to management in a dashboard display panel. See www.VenuMax.com for more details.

Doug Potter is with VenuMax Sales.