Effective this year, what was IAVM’s Graduate Institute has been rebranded Leadership Institute (LI) and will open enrollment to experienced venue leaders, whether they attended Venue Management School (VMS) or did not.

Registration is now open to IAVM members for VMS and Leadership Institute, which will be held June 8-13 at Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa. Nonmembers can apply beginning Jan. 16.

Since the curriculum is all about leadership, and because it is of value to any IAVM member in a leadership role, the name change is simply logical, said Kim Bedier, CVE, SVP and GM, Honda Center/ocV!BE, Anaheim, CA, and Dean of IAVM’s Leadership Institute.

“It was never a graduate year that requires the prerequisite of VMS. You could go to VMS and never go to GI. The curriculum is different enough and has a different enough focus that, whether you’ve gone to those first two years or not, you still get a full experience and get a ton out of it,” Bedier said.

VMS 2022 students at the Opening Reception

Besides that, and “as we are want to do,” it seemed wise to do a little R&Ding (robbing and duplicating) from IAVM’s counterpart, Venue Management Australia (VMA), which named its comparable school Leadership Institute. Several VMS instructors, including Bedier, have taught there the last few years and saw the curriculum as about and for senior leaders who have experience and ideas to contribute while they learn.

While years one and two of VMS are about the basics of venue management, often for young and middle managers, and not usually for people who have been in the profession for a long time, Leadership Institute is for senior managers with at least five years of experience dealing with those skills being taught. “LI is for people who want to take the next step in leadership at venues,” Bedier said.

“We wanted to let IAVM members know, ‘if you are out there and you’re a more senior venue manager, you’ve been in this profession for awhile, and maybe you didn’t go to VMS, you should consider the Leadership Institute.’ It is somewhere they can interact with peers, learn more about themselves and enhance their ability to lead in venues.”

Applicants must be actively employed in the venue industry, working in a venue/working for a company that manages venues or working for an Allied company whose primary service provision is to venues. They must be an IAVM member (or sign up during the registration process), and be Senior Manager (a position that supervises others and has input into strategy) or above at their venue or company. CVE or CVP certification is preferred.

She also noted that LI is different from IAVM’s Senior Executive Symposium (SES), which is a two-year commitment (versus one for LI) and more general in its leadership skills (versus venue specific). A fairly common progression would be VMS, LI, SES, with several years in between to polish and develop the skills learned, Bedier has observed.

LI is never larger than 30 students and averages about 25, making for a very intensive week of getting to know your classmates and “solidifying professional and personal bonds like crazy,” Bedier said. It is a smaller class than either year of VMS and there are pre-class assignments, work that instructors later use in class. There is a lot of small group and partner study and students learn as much, possibly more, from fellow students as they do from the instructors facilitating the school, she said. Bedier has been teaching at VMS and LI for 20 years.

Faculty take time to commemorate another successful year of VMS with a selfie

Asked what he would say to encourage applicants to attend, Steve MacKenzie, CVE, Chief Innovation Officer, Momentus Technologies and an instructor at VMS/LI, replied: “I would go to one of our internal leaders who I felt would benefit from this program and tell them that this program is an opportunity to do a deep dive into subjects they need to know about being a leader in the venue world. There is no other educational offering available that will provide such specific learnings in this area AND that is delivered by experts who still work in this industry. They will come out of it with a massively better understanding of many topics that will make them a better leader, and they’ll build a network of extremely tight confidantes for life that they can rely on to discuss and bounce ideas off of.” 

Those who have already attended Graduate Institute “could come back but they wouldn’t be very surprised,” Bedier added, since the curriculum has not changed. It is focused primarily on human resources. Both MacKenzie and Bedier see this as a one-time experience.

Attendance at two years of VMS, while not required, is still a legitimate enrollment qualification, she added. For those who have not attended VMS, five-plus years at a senior management level is required, “because that way you can contribute to topic discussions. If you haven’t managed at that level, you can’t really contribute.”

It was a confluence of occurrences — contract expiration, expansion project completion, a successful opening year, and turning 68 in April —that prompted Jeffrey A. (Jeff)  Blosser, president and chief executive officer of the Seattle Convention Center (SCC), to announce his retirement effective May 31.

“The timing feels good,” Blosser told Venue Professional. “I’ll be around the first five months [of 2024] to help with the transition.”

Jeff Blosser. SCC – Photo by Alabastro Photography.

An active member of IAVM since 1982 and having helmed the Seattle venue for 12 years, following John Christison, Blosser has seen the center through many changes. The most recent was completion of the 570,290 sq. ft. Summit building, which boasts 248,450 sq. ft of exhibit space, and when combined with the existing 434,988 sq. ft Arch building (205,700 sq. ft. of exhibit space), means 450,000 plus sq. ft. of exhibit space for SCC and the ability to attract new business.

“The issue is not to be bigger. What we do best is the 3,000-person convention, and now, we can do it twice, one moving in and showing, one moving out,” Blosser said. “It’s about making sure we have the right number of events and right number of people. The convention business is heads in beds and generating the tax, but we did $43 million in revenues in the building last year, and we will do more next year.”

SCC is run by the Washington State Convention Center Public Facilities District (PFD), which is responsible for its own debt — land purchasing, bonding and financing — as well as operating expenses. “It’s a different organization now with the new building,” Blosser said. SCC is now a $2-billion venue.

He surmised the SCC’s Board of Directors’ Search Committee, which has just begun to meet, could split his job into two parts – the PFD side of financing and politics, and separately, operations. However, it’s a process, and he has no idea what they will ultimately do.

Crediting 42 years of networking at IAVM with a lot of his career trajectory, Blosser said, “For me, IAVM has always been about the ability to get help from somebody or give somebody help. You can pick up the phone and call any building in the country, and they answer the phone and help out. While buildings may be competitive, we are more about making sure the building operations are as solid as they can be.”

His career has been heavily influenced by IAVM heavyweights like Tom Mobley, Peggy Daidakis, Dan Graveline, Frank Poe, and Roger Dixon, “who was the first one who hired me. But I could talk to anyone – John Adams, Dick Shaff, and they’d give you information. The biggest scenario for improving my capabilities in this industry has been those connections, the camraderie and the professionalism of the association.”

He gave back on the Convention Center Committee for six or seven years, helping work on white papers on booking and relationships with CVB’s. He was on the IAVM Board, repping convention centers for two terms, and he was involved in the Industry Council – lobbying to solve issues around the industry – for five or six years. Blosser received the Lifetime Achievement Award from IAVM’s Convention Center Sector in 2019.

Jeff Blosser. SCC

“It is important for our industry to have a bigger say on things that we can activate or are being acted on to us. We’re in a good spot today with more lobbying efforts at all levels — states, cities and nationally.” Blosser is particularly impressed with the safety and security efforts and IAVM’s Director of Safety & Security Mark Herrera’s collaborations and educational outreach. “It’s a different organization in a lot of ways,” he believes.

With the help of “the best team in the country,” including VP and AGM Linda Willanger, Blosser has seen a lot of changes at SCC. Getting through COVID, more detrimental to our industry than anything he can remember, was a turning point.

He has also been a leader in sustainability issues, proud that SCC’s new Summit building is LEED Platinum, as is his prior haunt, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, which he helped open in 1989, then expanded, before leaving for Seattle in 2011. “I cut my teeth on sustainability issues. We continue to stress that. I think the Pacific Northwest is ahead of everybody.”

Blosser started his career in what was called District 2 (now Region 2), when he worked for the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, then the downtown convention center, and then both state buildings as GM. He grew up in Southeast Ohio, attending Ohio University.

“I was relatively young back then. Watching the dynamics [of IAVM gatherings] was pretty fun,” he recalled. “It’s been a great ride. I’ve enjoyed all the relationships with people in this industry – suppliers, food service companies (Randy Ziegler comes to mind with Fine Host), Aramark. Smart Cities, Edlens. This business is so much fun. I won’t miss the hours, but I will definitely miss all of the people. I couldn’t have done anything better than what I did.”

Blosser plans to stay in Seattle and chase six grandkids, spend more time with family, and improve his handicap, basically “doing nothing” for six months. “I can do what I want, when I want. You can’t beat this place [Seattle] in the summertime.

Applications are now open for the 2024 Education & Service and Venue Excellence Awards.  These awards will be presented during VenueConnect in Portland, OR.  The deadline to submit applications is March 29, 2024.  The application process is extensive, and we encourage venues and organizations to create an “award team” to complete the application process as well as gather photos, etc.  Detailed instructions are found within the application itself.  We invite you to nominate an IAVM member or member venue that has exceeded expectations and risen above the rest. 

Education & Service Award

The IAVM Education & Service Award recognizes member involvement through community outreach, education opportunities, mentorships, and internships that demonstrate excellence within our industry as well as giving back to the community. Some examples that have been shared include: active in high school programs and career development; offering internships for local college students within the company/venue; mentoring through community outreach or within a university setting; educational offerings to staff within the company/venue; community involvement with youth and young adults.

IAVM takes pride in its members that excel in providing their communities with an enjoyable space for all types of events and educational opportunities. Professional members, university faculty, allied companies as well as retired members are encouraged to apply. The IAVM Education & Service Award is given annually to no more than two companies/universities/venues and one individual who meets the criteria outlined below.

NOMINATE NOW →

Venue Excellence Award

The Venue Excellence Award recognizes five IAVM venues of any type within the membership which demonstrate excellence in the management and operation of public assembly venues. This includes but is not limited to amphitheaters, arenas, auditoriums, complexes, convention centers, exhibit halls, fair/festival grounds, performing arts centers, racetracks, stadiums & university venues. IAVM takes pride in its members and member venues that excel in providing their communities with a safe and enjoyable space for all types of events and educational opportunities.

Any venue publicly or privately owned and operated, that has demonstrated excellence within the last calendar year and has at least one current employee who is an IAVM member in good standing may apply. Venues are eligible to win multiple VEAs; however, previous winners are eligible to apply in the third year following their most recent award. As an example, a venue that wins in 2024 may apply for the 2027 award.

NOMINATE NOW →

Those who attended IAVM regional meetings in the 80s probably remember Gary Horvath as host of the Volume Services hospitality suite and ubiquitous card game.

Those who worked with him over the years recall his skill at concessions operations, and particularly, hiring the right people, people who had a heart for hospitality like he did.

Gary L. Horvath, 77, of Aiken, S.C., passed away on Sept. 7, with his wife of 48 years, Donna, by his side.

Concessionaire and minor league baseball team owner Ken Young first met Horvath in 1976. Both worked for Volume Services, Horvath at Dane County Coliseum in Madison and Young in Kansas City. “Our career paths were similar for the first 15 years,” Young said. They both became regional vice presidents, and soon enough, presidents, with Horvath in charge of the Western half of the U.S, Young the Eastern.

Tom Marchetto, with Aramark at the time, with Gary Horvath, Ovations Food Services, Bethel, Conn., at the IAVM trade show in 2000. (Photo courtesy of Amusement Business)

Horvath later left for Service America, and Young started his own business.

The business was different back then, not nearly as mature as it is now, not as much competition. “We joined Volume Services right before they stated their mercurial rise,” Young recalled. “We picked up account after account. Vince Pantuso headed up sales and marketing and Roger Jahnel operations.”

It was also a close-knit industry, everyone got to know each other and even when competing for accounts, “we were happy for each other. If you lost an account to some upstart, we’d think, he needs the business,” Young said.

A lot of people in that industry owe their careers to Horvath, who was “tremendous with employees, mentoring and hiring. He gave people opportunities.”

When Young started Ovations Food Services with Todd Wickner, and the company immediately signed up five baseball accounts, they turned to Horvath for help. He helped them kick off business, most particularly with the Zephyrs baseball team in Metairie, outside New Orleans. “Gary knew operations as well as anyone out there,” Young recalled.

Five years later, Horvath retired at an early age, 57, and moved his family to warmer weather in South Carolina.

He began his career in amusement park concessions, noted Chris Bigelow, The Bigelow Companies, also part of the old Volume Services gang. He started his career in Sandusky, Ohio, at Cedar Point, where he worked for Interstate United Corp. IUC eventually bought Volume Services in 1974.

“As Gary always said, he couldn’t have started any lower. He was a dishwasher in the employee cafeteria. He didn’t even interact with the guests,” Bigelow said. It was a humble start for a guy who’d played football in Youngstown State University and was a sergeant in the Army.

When Horvath was promoted and sent to Kansas City, Bigelow was already there, running concessions at the ballparks and Kemper Arena. “John Lamkin was our sales guy. We were all connected,” Bigelow said of the industry back in the day.

As best he could recall, John Dee got Service America going, and Horvath left Volume to become president of Service America. Larry Hatch and Barry Frielicher ran Volume. In 1985, Canteen bought Volume Services, followed by a merger between Volume Services and Service America, which became Volume Services America.

“It was one merger after another. The joke was, ‘if my new boss calls, get his name,’” Bigelow said of the players in that day.

Besides being a constant presence at IAVM region meetings for Volume Services, Horvath also served as president of the National Association of Concessionaires, Bigelow recalled. As did Pantuso and then Bigelow.

Gary Horvath with stadium manager Larry Staverman in 1995. (Photo courtesy of Amusement Business)

“One thing I remember, Vince always had us sponsor the women’s programs at the IAAM national,” Bigelow said. “He’d say, ‘if I get to know these people through the wives, they’ll ask their husbands, ‘how come we don’t have that wonderful Volume Services guy.’” Horvath was there. All the wonderful Volume Services guys were at those spectacular luncheons for the spouses and with their own spouses. Pantuso insisted his staff bring their own wives to IAVM, citing the number of hours they were already away from home because of the job. Therefore, Bigelow got to know Donna Horvath; Horvath got to know Marsha Bigelow, etc.

Volume Services and Kreuger Seating also hosted a major hospitality suite at IAVM. That, Bigelow remembered, was a lot of work. Horvath took his turn. It was definitely a different day.

“Everybody loved Gary,” Bigelow said, continuing his litany of people who did.

Horvath was born in Sandusky, Ohio on July 16, 1946. He attended Youngstown State University on a football scholarship and was drafted into the Army as soon as he graduated. He received orders twice for Vietnam, was sent back for further training and eventually ended up being deployed to serve in Korea on the DMZ as a Sergeant. He spent his career in the concessions industry running the food services for stadiums, arenas, and convention centers nationwide.

The Horvaths moved from Bethel, Conn., to Aiken, S.C. in 2005 to get out of the cold and into the warmth. Horvath enjoyed playing golf year round.

He was preceded in death by his parents Alex and Dorothy (Toni) Horvath and brother Tim Horvath. He is survived by his loving wife Donna, son Jason Horvath (Stefanie), granddaughter Charlotte Horvath, daughter Erica Gonzalez (Wilson) and sister Candy Clark.

Give the Gift of Membership is a year-round opportunity to introduce someone to IAVM. In the season of giving, it can be even more meaningful to recipients.

Alexis Berggren, Chair of the IAVM Membership Committee states ‘Give the Gift of Membership’ is a wonderful way to help someone become a part of the venue management community and experience the value of belonging to IAVM. The educational and networking opportunities IAVM offers have been invaluable to me personally. Help a deserving person accelerate their career and experience IAVM in its 100^th year of providing incredible benefits and services to its members.”

Click this link to provide the information for your beneficiary. Member Services will reach out to your candidate to finalize the application and notify you when the dues are ready to be paid. If you have questions, contact membership@iavm.org.

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