By Brian Wright, MBA, CVP

A global pandemic is not an ideal time to plan a wedding. However, my wife and I set September 26th, 2020, as our date nearly 365 days prior and made the difficult decision many couples have had to make this year. We chose to continue with the wedding, recognizing that the act of marriage was the priority, not having a huge party or a large guest list. So during the six months prior to our wedding as COVID-19 spread and longevity was being realized, we went through plans A, B, C & D on all things from scaling down the invite list, spacing out the seating chart, changing venues, ordering PPE, and altering our honeymoon plans.

I was relishing the opportunity to put on my own event as the client/event planner, after ten years of being on the facility side serving the client and guests’ needs. Katie, my wife, had a vision for the weekend, but left it largely up to me, the self-proclaimed “Groomzilla,” to see it through. We adapted as best we could in the COVID environment, requiring masks, offering a Youtube live stream for relatives, contactless meal serving, and an indoor/outdoor reception environment with fire pits and music. However, one element that was always Plan A was having a zero-waste wedding.

Seeing the amount of waste resulting from events early in my career at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga inspired me to start recycling initiatives there and that passion deepened when I moved to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, working under sustainability guru Scott Jenkins. Katie and I practice recycling, reuse projects, and energy efficiency in our own home so we wanted to use our one-day platform to send a message of how simple it is to adopt a zero-waste mindset. Here is how we did it:

▪ Waste: The average wedding produces over 400 pounds of garbage. We could not have that, so we did not source anything that would be sent to landfill or plastics that could not be regenerated in under six months.
o Reusable plates and silverware were rented and only aluminum beer cans and glass liquor bottles were sourced.
o A compost vendor was partnered with to drop off a bin which we filled with food waste and compostable cups, napkins, and appetizer trays.
▪ Decoration: One of the most wasteful elements of many events, we utilized the “reuse” method here.
o Succulents were used as table decoration/nameplates and given to guests as gifts.
o Chinese Paper lanterns were spread throughout the venue as décor, used in our sendoff, which guests then got to take home with them.
o All the signage around the venue I made from pallets and reused to build an entry table for our house.
▪ Transportation: The largest, single contributor toward Greenhouse Gases, so selecting your venues wisely can have a direct effect on the environment.
o We chose a hotel for a room block, rehearsal dinner restaurant and ceremony/reception venue all within walking distance to limit the need for guests to drive.
▪ Vendor Selection: A Greener Economy means buying from locally owned businesses and sourcing food from within a 100 miles.
o We strictly used local, family owned businesses for everything, from event coordinator, photographer, cake maker, etc.
o Our rehearsal dinner restaurant and reception caterer are local, family owned staples in Chattanooga who source all their ingredients locally and were greatly appreciative of the extra business with the COVID-19 slowdown.
Throwing our zero-waste wedding was something we were truly passionate about, so all these decisions came to us naturally and were really fun to plan and execute. The best part was our guests recognized and appreciated it! Our hope now is that our story inspires others to throw their own zero-waste wedding, event, or socially distant cookout.

P.S. Being the face of an event for once, I did not get to participate in the breakdown post-event, which was an odd feeling for me when I woke up the next morning. So, I walked down to the venue and found our bag full of compost and compostables was placed in the landfill roll-off container! I happily removed it and placed it in the compost bin for pick-up. And like a good husband I stopped to bring my new wife back a cold brew coffee, only later did I tell her the real reason for my early morning trip!

Brian Wright, MBA, CVP, is Assistant Facility Maintenance Manager at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

By Shawn Lowery, CEM

Smart City Networks, the nation’s premier internet and telecommunications provider to the events industry, earned the prestigious USTelecom 2020 Broadband Hero Award for its unwavering efforts in providing internet connectivity to 17 field hospitals, testing centers and homeless shelters throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Smart City Networks received this distinguished honor at the virtual Broadband Investment Forum.

As the exclusive provider of telecommunications to 45 public venues across the country, Smart City was

responsible for creating connected spaces allowing frontline workers to care for communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with services such as network design support, internet access, network installations, and unified voice services.

“We are proud to accept this prestigious award as it has truly been an honor and rewarding experience to provide our services to so many frontline workers who are selflessly caring for others throughout this pandemic,” said Mark Haley, President of Smart City Networks. “Although the pandemic halted our traditional work, our dedicated and motivated team has continued to work long hours to provide critical connectivity during this unprecedented time.”

Working 12-hour shifts throughout the crisis, the Smart City Networks team closely collaborated alongside the United States Army Corps of Engineers, local hospitals, FEMA and other government agencies in providing emergency services to the countless community members who relied on the facilities and frontline worker’s services. Smart City’s partner venues provided critical support services including but not limited to testing sites, COVID hospitals, contract tracing centers and homeless support.

The following is a complete list of partner venues: San Diego Convention Center, George R. Brown Convention Center, Santa Clara Convention Center, Atlantic City Convention Center, Greater Columbus Convention Center, Miami Beach Convention Center, Duke Energy Center, Cincinnati Ohio, Los Angeles Convention Center, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Colorado Convention Center, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

Broadband Heroes ensure that communities can continue learning, working and living during unprecedented times and Smart City has now joined this distinguished group of heroes with those intentions. This annual award is presented by USTelecom, an industry association that represents telecommunications businesses within the United States. Members of USTelecom are innovators as they seek to create new opportunities and connections.

This year’s award was presented to Smart City by former Broadband Hero Award recipient Darby McCarty, CEO Smithville Communications, and chairman of USTelecom’s Board of Directors.

Shawn Lowery, CEM, is Senior Director Product Marketing for Smart City Networks – Corporate.

By Mabel Hung

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (“HKCEC”) welcomed the Hong Kong International Dental Expo and Symposium (“HKIDEAS”) from January 22-24, the first exhibition in 2021. With average daily attendance of over 3,000 dental professionals, the three-day event is the first trade exhibition in Hong Kong since the fourth wave of COVID-19 hit the city in late November 2020. Stringent preventive measures were implemented by the organiser and the venue. The success of the event reinforces the irreplaceable value of physical events.

HKIDEAS is an annual recurrent event at the HKCEC and the August 2020 version was postponed due to the pandemic. Exhibitors, visitors, and delegates were thrilled to get together physically after the long wait. Ms Kanas Ng, Associate Sales Director of iTero, Hong Kong & Taiwan, one of the exhibitors, said, “We are eager to participate in HKIDEAS and promote our products at one of the biggest events in the dental industry. With all the comprehensive preventive measures implemented by the event organiser and venue, we feel safe and sound.”

Dr. Century Tsang, President of Hong Kong Dental Association cum Honorary Chairman of Organising Committee of HKIDEAS, was happy with the outcome and attendance. “Thanks to the support from Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management) Limited (“HML”), we are excited to host the physical expo and symposium successfully at the HKCEC to allow face-to-face interactions and exchange of ideas among our members,” he said.

Ms. Monica Lee-Müller, Managing Director of HML, confident with the long-term positive growth of the industry, pledges to stride ‘Onwards and Upwards’ in the New Year. “The well-attended exhibition is a great kick-start of 2021. It clearly demonstrated strong demand for physical events and assured us that physical events cannot and will never be replaced. We are committed to work closely with organisers to implement stringent preventive and social distancing measures to enable events to be held safely. We will also continue our investment in facility renovation and the construction of 5G network. We are fully geared up to welcome events and visitors back to the HKCEC once they are ready,” she said.

HKIDEAS featured 23 parallel sessions and four workshops, which incorporated live video conferencing. It was well attended by industry professionals from Hong Kong, China, UK, USA, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Lebanon, sharing the latest clinical insights and international intelligence.

PHOTO: The three-day HKIDEAS provided an opportunity for thousands of dental professionals to exchange industry intelligence and insights face-to-face.

Mabel Hung is Director – Communications & Sustainability, for the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Alli Stangel, Director of Events at the Rose Quarter in Portland, Ore., oversees the Event Management team and the activation of its two arenas: Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Previously, Stangel pioneered innovative ideas using the unique campus spaces, mentoring the next set of industry leaders through an internship program and finding new ways to support the ever-changing needs of clients. She now leads the Rose Quarter’s Return to Business Taskforce, re-imagining what the business can look like as live events return.

In such a heavy time where there was little positive news, the notification of being chose was such a wonderful surprise that made me feel extremely proud and centered my passion for our industry despite the uncertain circumstances.

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!

Please welcome our newest members who joined IAVM in January 2021. 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 http://www.iavm.org/i-am-venue-management-share-your-story to share your story and photo.

Lakin Barrett, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

William Beekman, Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, Wilkes Barre, PA

Nicholas Brown, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Richard Brown, Lynnwood Convention Center, Lynnwood, WA

Chas Byers, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Michael Chase, OUIVend, Tampa, FL

Rafe Choudhry, Al Rafay Consulting, LLC, Bolingbrook, IL

Emilee Denton, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Matt Donovan, UIC Sports Complex, Chicago, IL

Evan Ellis, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Roberta Engel, Evraz Place (Regina Exhibition Association Ltd.), Regina, SK, Canada

Tammy Enright, ACTN Strategies LLC, Atlanta, GA

Gerry Fischer, Evraz Place (Regina Exhibition Association Ltd.), Regina, SK

Tom Gray, Trail Drive Management Corp./Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX

Nat Grubbs, BancorpSouth Arena and Conference Center, Tupelo, MS

Christian Hahn, Curb Event Center at Belmont University, Nashville, TN

Niya Harris, Missouri State University, Saint Louis, MO

Makenna Irvin, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Sandra Jackle, Evraz Place (Regina Exhibition Association Ltd.), Regina, SK, Canada

Deborah Kemp, ACTN Strategies LLC, Atlanta, GA

Elliott Klein, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Adam Klupp, UIC Sports Complex, Chicago, IL

Perry Kuklin, Lavi Industries, Valencia, CA

Toni Lee, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT

Tyler Lloyd, Evraz Place (Regina Exhibition Association Ltd.), Regina, SK, Canada

Reagan Lowe, Evraz Place (Regina Exhibition Association Ltd.), Regina, SK, Canada

Daniel Lussier, North Carolina State University, Apex, NC

Scott Manson, Evraz Place (Regina Exhibition Association Ltd.), Regina, SK

Farrah Manthei, UIC Sports Complex, Chicago, IL

Pilar Martinez, Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, Appleton, WI

Anna Mattison, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Jackson McLaughlin, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, Charlotte, NC

Kaci McLaughlin, Missouri State University, Macon, MO

Shaunici Morgan, Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex, Raleigh, NC

Bradley Myers, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

Carina Myers, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

JIll Pappas, Curb Event Center at Belmont University, Nashville, TN

Andrew Pollihan, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Jamal Powell, Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex, Raleigh, NC

Elizabeth Powers, Missouri State University, Saint Louis, MO

Sayeeda Powers, Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler, AZ

Shawn Punancy, ACTN Strategies LLC, Atlanta, GA

Nathan Rains, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT

Breanna Ray, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Marlene Rivas, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

Sherry Robinson, ACTN Strategies LLC, Atlanta, GA

Dominic Schneider, Missouri State University, Springfield, MS

Dallas Skulski, Evraz Place (Regina Exhibition Association Ltd.), Regina, SK, Canada

Bailey Smith, Oklahoma City University, Norman, OK

William Sullivan, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Justin Swartling, Onalaska OmniCenter, Onalaska, WI

Sinead Tierney, Evraz Place (Regina Exhibition Association Ltd.), Regina, SK, Canada

Danni Timmons, Missouri State University, Oak Grove, MO

Amanda Verdadero, The Forum, Inglewood, CA

Adam Weaver, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA

Nicole Webb, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Emily West, Missouri State University, Chesterfield, MO

Brooke Willard, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Jaiden Williams, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Ted Woolford, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA), Charlotte, NC

Adrian Zeigler, Trail Drive Management Corp./Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX

Lindsey Zybrick, TIAA Bank Field & Daily’s Place – Jacksonville Jaguars, Jacksonville, FL