By Lorianne Walker

WESS, a GardaWorld company and nationwide provider of event staffing and security services, announced its rebrand to BEST Crowd Management. BEST Crowd Management will carry the longstanding expertise and demonstrated success of WESS, providing guest services, gate management, perimeter protection, security response and field intrusion teams, access control, parking management, and executive protection and consulting services.

Who is BEST?

• Decades of experience providing world-class security solutions for crowd management solutions.
• Current partners include the country’s largest stadiums professional sports teams, college sports teams, major concert venues, and convention centers for corporate events.
• Present in more than 27 markets and a growing footprint that reaches from California to Las Vegas, Florida and New York.

“The decision to rebrand follows from decades of experience and demonstrated success in providing the BEST for our clients. It’s time we updated our branding to reflect our standing,” said Jeff Spoerndle, Vice
President of BEST Crowd Management.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, BEST Crowd Management has demonstrated its leadership, flexibility and adaptability, introducing services including temperature screenings, social distancing supervision, capacity monitoring and vaccination checks.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought crowd management to the forefront,” said Spoerndle. “Event staffing and security is no longer just about ticketing or physical security—it’s about securing staff and guests from an invisible health threat. As a result, sports venues, corporate events, and even nontraditional event venues and organizations require a partner that brings highly-cultivated expertise with adaptable skill sets and services.”

“We’re proud to announce the rebranding of WESS to BEST Crowd Management Services,” said Prentice Robertson, Chief Operating Officer, Security Services, U.S. at GardaWorld. “BEST represents the very core of the GardaWorld family, bringing energy, innovation and world-class expertise and resources to deliver highly customized security solutions.”

To learn more about BEST Crowd Management and its services, visit https://best.garda.com/.

Lorianne Walker is with Abel Communications for GardaWorld.

By Lindsay Church

Florida Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field in Gainesville, Fla., designed by Populous, recently debuted its enhanced player and fan experience. The new ballpark replaces McKethan Stadium which opened in 1949 and hosted its last game in 2020. The $65 million ballpark is prominently located on the southwest part of campus, at the intersection of Museum Drive and Hull Road. The Gators, the unanimous preseason No. 1 in all recognized collegiate baseball polls, open the 2021 season with a three-game series against the University of Miami.

The ballpark’s collegiate gothic style is inspired by the prominent architecture of the University of

Florida campus. Designed with a variety of seating types and viewing areas, the ballpark allows fans 360-degree access around the venue without losing sight of the field and features a tiered seating bowl allowing fans to be closer to the action. In total, Florida Ballpark can accommodate 7,000 fans across 3,400 lower bowl chair backs, 800 club seats, two grass berms with capacity for 2,800 people, as well as an open concourse. The berms are located down the left and right field lines and wrap around both outfield foul poles.

Florida Ballpark was designed for maximum fan comfort. The ballpark is situated on the site to maximize shading throughout the seating bowl while shade canopies wrap the lower and upper seating bowl. Ceiling fans throughout the concourse also protect guests and staff from the hot Florida sun, offering an improved, comfortable game day experience. In addition to an open club space, the view level includes two suites and a party deck. From these seats, fans can see the football stadium off in the distance.

Populous created social areas in and around the outfield where fans can experience additional seating options in the Dizney Grove which is situated at field level just beyond the outfield wall with views back to the field. Among the Adirondack chairs and palm trees, fans will have access to a variety of concessions and food trucks throughout the season. This fun, relaxed zone offers an additional area for fans to congregate and watch the game.

“The Florida Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field was designed to change the experience for our future, current and former student-athletes, staff and fans,” said University of Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin. “Our baseball program will enjoy state-of-the-art student-athlete and staff amenities, while more fans will be able to enjoy the game in a more intimate setting, with shade structure and multiple seating and game experience options within the 360-degree concourse layout. We are excited about the memories that await both our players and fans in the new ballpark.”

In addition to having first-class fan amenities, the ballpark is also the year-round home to Florida Baseball and was designed for the student-athlete. The elite training areas feature four indoor hitting cages, two indoor pitching tunnels, a full-size artificial turf infield, hydrotherapy and athletic training spaces. A new 1,400-square-foot player lounge features a Gatorade nutrition station and is located next to the locker room which has direct access to the field. The ballpark features some of the largest dugouts in the NCAA and has separate meeting and video rooms. The bullpens include covered bench areas for both the home and visiting teams. Coaches’ offices overlook the field and are located along the main concourse.

“The new Florida Ballpark is a game changer and what you expect a successful program like the University of Florida to call home. The ballpark’s focus is on the student-athlete, providing state-of-the-art amenities to train and perform at the highest level,” said Jason Ford, senior architect and associate principal at Populous. “Gator fans will also enjoy a variety of seating options including chairback and berm seating, all with socializing opportunities, direct views to the field and most importantly shade provided throughout.”

Lindsay Church is with Great Ink Communications in New York, New York.

Jennifer Tuchband is a Consultant at Keen Independent Research. She joined Keen Independent Research after completing her MFA in Arts Entrepreneurship and Management to help the arts thrive in communities and venues throughout the country. She has played a pivotal role in feasibility and management studies for cities such as Phoenix, Arizona and Waco, Texas as well as venues including the Denver Performing Arts Complex, Wheeler Opera House, Ent Center for the Arts, May Bonfils Staton Theater and JCC Mizel Arts and Culture Center.

I was ecstatic to be named a recipient of the 30 Under 30 Award this year. While I was grateful that my boss, Steve Bedard, had the confidence in my abilities to nominate me for this honor, I was also grateful to IAVM for announcing the awards and injecting a small slice of normalcy in the midst of the current pandemic. These are trying times for our industry with many organizations in turmoil due to cancellations and associated cutbacks that could serve to reduce the opportunities available to young managers in the short-term future. I look forward to a time when the Class of 2020 can together grow the skills needed to help our industry weather these times and thrive in the future.

Join your Foundation in congratulating Therese on being honored as one of the 30|UNDER|30 Class of 2020 and don’t forget to come back each Thursday as we spotlight another honoree!

Submitted by Washington State Convention Center

Although Washington State Convention Center (WSCC) did not as a governmental entity qualify for the first round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans offered last spring, they were determined to apply again when the Second Draw PPP Loans opened in January.

The Center’s hopes were lifted when they learned from their general counsel that loan regulations had changed and, as a Public Facility District, WSCC could apply as a destination marketing organization in this round.

They also understood finding the right bank to apply through was critical. After vetting various institutions and tapping into professional networks, they went with a local community lender. First, the lender was familiar with the Small Business Administration (SBA) loan process and were already prepared with web forms. Second, unlike the First Draw PPP Loans, the SBA accepted PPP loan applications only from community financial institutions at the beginning of the Second Draw to ensure a more equitable distribution of funds.

Another element that helped move the process along was providing thorough documentation. This made it easy for the bank to identify how WSCC qualified for the loan, and the bank could quickly verify accuracy of the Center’s financial information with payroll and tax back-up documentation.

“Awareness, preparation and persistence are key elements in situations like these. We were ready to act when the opportunity presented itself,” said Sam Hecker, WSCC Director of Finance/CFO.

“We appreciate the tremendous support of IAVM leadership to amplify the knowledge-sharing regarding these programs with venues,” said WSCC CEO Jeff Blosser. “It’s important for the collective recovery of our business to maintain a strong network among IAVM members.”

By R.V. Baugus

With another GuestX having completed, this time in a virtual environment, three attendees to IAVM’s premier meeting on all things involving the guest experience got an educational indoctrination courtesy of the Diversity & Inclusive Leadership Committee’s awarding of scholarships to these very deserving individuals.

Scholarships were awarded to IAVM member Shaunici Morgan, Maintenance and Ops Crew Supervisor, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh, NC; non-member Agmar Varela Lopez, Guest Services Supervisor, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas NV; and student James Mark Dodd, graduate student at The University of Southern California in the Annenberg School for Journalism & Communication with pursuit of the Master’s degree in Communications. We contacted all three both before and during GuestX to get their thoughts about their experience at this valuable educational offering.

How did you take advantage of your attendance at GuestX?

SHAUNICI: I did so by attending all sessions, asking questions, and taking notes. Put on my listening ears and took as much away from this conference as possible.

AGMAR: Outside of participating as much as possible and attending every event, I wanted to focus on taking the time to make genuine connections. I’m thrilled to be around other members of the live entertainment community once again and look forward to sharing our stories.

MARK: With this being my inaugural experience with this conference, and being that I am a scholarship recipient from the University of Southern California, I feel a moral, ethical, academic, professional, and scholastic obligation to attend as many conference sessions as possible to holistically experience this global conference. It is an honor as a graduate student to be afforded these opportunities, and in order to be enriched, learn, grow, develop, and be inspired I must attend the various sessions to embrace the vision, purpose, and mission of the conference.

Are there any sessions that held particular interest for you?

SHAUNICI: I really looked forward to hearing Fanny Dunagan speak on Leveraging Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for Guest Service.

AGMAR: They were all fantastic and most importantly, timely. But I looked forward to Fanny Dunagan’s session on Leveraging Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for Guest Service. It makes perfect sense to look toward psychology to explore new tools that may help us navigate the fast-evolving guest experience climate. Also, as a huge Disney fan, I am ridiculously excited for Disney trivia night.

MARK: Yes, I was fortunate to attend a session where an amazing moderator and speaker used technology to show venue managers innovative and alternative ways to visually showcase their venue to their clients, especially during this pandemic. This technology was so sophisticated and illustrated the venue in such a manner that was both an excellent marketing tool, but also informative to answer questions that would attract clients. The session also spoke to immediate changes to support safety guidelines as we face an on-going challenging pandemic that has impacted venues from around the world from sports, theater, trade shows, conferences, and special events. As an Executive Producer and Chief Creative Officer this session was both interesting and practical to me as a professional on both the operations and creative side. I felt that this session would be so beneficial to producers, directors, and creative minds that play a vital role in the decision process of what venue over another for an event or season for a show. I felt this inclusion would enhance another level of education among producers that would give them intellectual knowledge without deferring exclusively to the technical or production team to make the decision about specific venues, but this knowledge would bring them into the narrative on making those decisions with accurate knowledge.

GuestX as its title implies deals largely with the guest experience and crowd management. How do you work at your job to make for a better guest experience (at least once we are again able to have large audiences after COVID!)?

SHAUNICI: Since I am over cleaning and set up, I want guests to feel safe coming into our venue. Make my team more visible to show the guests that the building is clean and getting disinfected. We will provide certain PPE if that is what guests feel that they need while attending a show. We will show that we are here to serve them.

AGMAR: By prioritizing and empowering staff via specialized training, recognition programs, and development initiatives. This quote from Disney’s Approach to Employee Engagement course says it all: “The extent to which you genuinely care for your people is the extent to which they will care for your guests and each other.” The guest experience starts and ends with the staff. I can’t expect the team to create unique and magical experiences if they feel undervalued and unsupported. You have to earn their buy-in and nourish it by remaining clear, consistent, and showing genuine care. I am very lucky to be part of a leadership team that truly embraces and adopts this philosophy.

MARK: This conference has embraced the customer/guest experience with considering the apex of safety while working to reopen its venues and follow strict safety guidelines. I will learn how to manage large crowds, how to make guests feel safe with safety checkpoints, how to social distance in the space, how to understand the capability of the space to ensure guests get the best experience. Outside of safety with incorporating pandemic guidelines, there is still the premium customer service and attention to details that cannot be compromised, and I hope to incorporate that into my next major event.

Would you share any comments for the Diversity & Inclusive Leadership Committee that helped make these scholarships available?

SHAUNICI: I personally would like to thank the DILC for having these scholarships available. If it wasn’t for these scholarships it would be hard for people like myself to attend these conferences. The scholarship questions do make you put yourself out there if you are not comfortable with yourself. With these scholarships, I know that you are looking for something different. People like me get looked over all the time. This gives me hope, makes me feel like I actually have a chance to compete. I worked really hard to get where I am today and attending these conferences will help me grow and learn in the long run. Thank you for this opportunity.

AGMAR: I am incredibly grateful to DILC for granting me room to grow in my craft during a time of complete career uncertainty. For me, leadership and guest services are duties of care, and part of caring is putting in the work and developing your skills so that you can best support your team. Thank you also to IAVM for providing me with the resources to do so. For the first time in my career, I am part of a completely diverse management team. I have two inspiring female leaders, Eboni and Sam, who support me, believe in me, and have given me opportunities I may not have had otherwise. My counterpart Ken and I are able to thrive because we have that kind of support behind us. Representation matters. With the skills I learn from this experience, I commit to creating space for others and being a champion for inclusivity and representation.

MARK: As an African-American male at a majority institution, The University of Southern California, I am grateful that the board of trustees, administration, and senior leadership of the university has embraced the understanding for diversity, equality, inclusion, and enrichment, especially for people of color. I am a member of the USC Black Alumni Association as a scholar. I learned of this opportunity via my organization. I am humbled that the leadership and board members of GuestX and its board of sponsors understand the need for providing scholarships of diversity that will enhance the professional development for minority professionals. As a minority professional and graduate student I have benefited from the decorium, knowledge, and information from a conference of this magnitude. To continue offering such diversity scholarships affirms the values, corporate social responsibility, and commitment to the diverse community by which we live to be a part of enhancing it with these opportunities. Again, it was an honor to participate. I look forward to hopefully attending next year to continue my professional growth and development. Thanks for this amazing experience, and in the words of our Trojan family, Fight on!