By Maren Dougherty

The San Diego Convention Center Corporation announced the 2021 officers of its Board of Directors. Hospitality executive and entrepreneur Elvin Lai will serve as Board Chair.

“My top priority as the incoming Chair is to build and execute a strategic recovery plan,” Lai said. “Knowing the vital role the San Diego Convention Center plays in our region’s economy, I am dedicated to ensuring the sustainability and success of this organization for our community’s benefit.”

Lai assumes his leadership role during the COVID-19 pandemic, with SDCC continuing to serve as an emergency shelter in support of Operation Shelter to Home to assist individuals experiencing homelessness. In addition to serving as a shelter since April 1, 2020, SDCC has supported other essential activities, including hosting a super polling location for the 2020 Presidential General Election. With the distribution of vaccines now underway, industry professionals expect convention activity to resume this year.

“2021 will be a critical year as we prepare to safely reopen. We are encouraged by the interest we continue to hear from meeting planners and attendees about returning to in-person gatherings, and we are prepared to evolve aspects of our operations to meet new guidelines and expectations,” said Rip Rippetoe, CVE, SDCC’s President and CEO as well as IAVM Chair. “With our capable and innovative team of staff, board members, and partners, I believe in our ability to rise to challenges and return to our primary role as an economic engine for San Diego.”

Maren Dougherty is Director, Marketing & Communications for the San Diego Convention Center Corporation.

Alex Soltero is a Security Manager at the Los Angeles Convention Center where he coordinates, manages, and helps execute security plans for a variety of events. He has had the pleasure of working with numerous high-profile clients and dignitaries, as well as local and federal agencies to deliver safe and successful experiences. He looks forward to growing within the industry and continuing to build relationships with his peers.

When I learned that I would be included in IAVM’s 30|U|30 Class of 2020 I felt extremely honored and humbled. It felt surreal to have been chosen for the honor from among a group of incredibly talented and influential candidates.

Join your Foundation in congratulating Alex 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!

By PR Newswire, Bandit Lites, and R.V. Baugus

In a letter to President Biden on Tuesday, January 26, AEG, Bandit Lites, Broadway League, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), Live Nation, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO), the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), Oak View Group (OVG), and We Make Events formally offered their venues, staff, and expertise to the COVID-19 vaccination effort. The live event industry is in a unique position to help – the pandemic has fully shuttered operations, leaving venues empty and the furloughed crowd-management oriented staff who operate them eager to help out and get back to work.

The press that the industry garnered immediately went beyond impressive.

The Live Events industry announced the launch of COV-AID, an effort to assist with increasing the speed and efficiency of vaccine inoculations for COVID-19 in the United States.

The COV-AID Leadership Team is connected with the Biden Transition Team, the HHS, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, the National Governors Association and several Senators and Representatives across the nation.

Using the infrastructure already in place from We Make Events North American network, regions will help identify a venue or multiple venues as potential sites for inoculation. Local health and medical officials will work with Live Event people to design the set up for each area. The Live Event teams will execute the physical set up and provide needed infrastructure from local production firms. The local Live Event staff in each market will serve as labor (directing and coordinating ‘people traffic’) each day while the local medical staff handle all the actual medical details.

“The millions of people in the Live Event Industry stand ready to assist the White House, the HHS and the medical community to deal with the logistics of people flow,” said Bandit Lites Chair, Michael T. Strickland. “This will free up medical staff that are currently not able to assist with giving shots. This alone will be a huge win and increase the number of vaccines given.”

There is an expected supply surge of vaccines in mid to late February as Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson should all make such available. The AstraZeneca solution is thought to be close after that.

A coordinated effort by the medical teams with the Live Events Industry will assure the fastest, safest delivery of vaccine inoculations in the U.S. by managing large crowds in a manner which the Live Event Industry do, virtually every day!

Coverage of COV-AID can be found below:

Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/music-industry-offers-up-venues-for-covid-19-vaccinations-11611673340

AP Wire: https://apnews.com/press-release/pr-newswire/business-public-health-diseases-and-conditions-immunizations-health-care-industry-cb0aafe2235f1d0137fc1733319f4e3a

Live Design: https://www.livedesignonline.com/business-people-news/us-live-event-industry-offers-collective-covid-19-vaccination-infrastructure

Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/01/26/government-can-use-arenas-theaters-for-covid-19-vaccinations-live-event-groups-tell-biden/?sh=24a88d8b456a

Radio.com https://www.radio.com/wpgc/news/your-favorite-music-venue-could-be-a-covid-19-vaccine-site

NY Daily News: https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-covid-vaccination-sites-entertainment-venues-20210126-iuqddwsjyjepvk6gnrsps6gq5u-story.html

Broadway World: https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/NIVA-and-US-Live-Event-Industry-Band-Together-To-Offer-Collective-COVID-19-Vaccination-Infrastructure-20210126

Pollstar: https://www.pollstar.com/article/live-industry-leaders-offer-covid-vaccine-distribution-aid-in-joint-letter-to-president-biden-147220

Relix: https://relix.com/news/detail/niva-nito-and-more-offer-vaccine-infrastructure-and-staff-in-letter-to-president-biden/

Variety: https://variety.com/2021/music/news/live-event-covid-19-vaccinations-venues-1234892302/

The Patriot AM 1150 https://patriotla.iheart.com/content/2021-01-26-live-event-industry-to-biden-use-our-venues-staff-in-vaccination-effort/

Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/niva-aeg-live-nation-biden-letter-vaccine-distribution-help-1119230/

MXDWN: https://music.mxdwn.com/2021/01/26/news/national-independent-venue-association-live-nation-aeg-and-more-send-president-joe-biden-letter-offering-support-for-vaccine-rollout/

Digital Music News: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/01/26/aeg-live-nation-vaccine-distribution/

MetalSucks.net: https://www.metalsucks.net/2021/01/26/live-events-industry-offers-to-help-with-covid-19-vaccination-efforts-in-letter-to-president-biden/

NEPA Scene: https://nepascene.com/2021/01/live-event-industry-offers-venues-workers-help-covid-19-vaccine-rollout-letter-president-biden/

NME: https://www.nme.com/news/music/us-live-events-industry-offers-to-help-with-coronavirus-vaccination-effort-in-letter-to-joe-biden-2865219

Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/some-us-biggest-arenas-offer-become-covid-vaccine-sites-supply-shortages-loom-1564593

The Music Universe: https://themusicuniverse.com/us-live-event-industry-offers-president-biden-full-covid-19-vaccination-support/

Yahoo: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/niva-aeg-live-nation-more-164901690.html

PLSN: https://plsn.com/featured/featured-slider/u-s-live-event-industry-comes-together-to-offer-collective-covid-19-vaccination-infrastructure-and-staff-in-letter-to-president-biden/

Thank you all for everything you do.
Be safe.
Michael T. Strickland

The Diversity and Inclusive Leadership Committee is proud to announce our first scholarship application for 2021.

We are committed to providing financial support for IAVM sponsored events and training to increase diversity and awareness of our industry. Please take a moment to complete the DILC GuestX Scholarship Application.

Diversity Scholarship Application Criteria

The diversity scholarship focuses on broadening the number of traditionally underrepresented groups in the venue management industry.  

• Applicants must be American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Latinx, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, LGBTQIA, or a person with disabilities.
• Applications must be completed online and submitted no later than the deadline of January 29, 2021.
• Recipients must be able and willing to attend GuestX 2021
• Recipients must be willing to support the Foundation’s fundraising initiatives by providing testimonials, blogging about their experience and participating in speaking opportunities as an advocate for the Foundation as requested.

Note the application deadline is coming up quickly: Friday, January 29. 

Don’t delay. APPLY today.

IAVM is pleased to welcome Dr. Justin Anderson, the founder and CEO of the industry leading, sport and performance psychology, Premier Sport Psychology as a workshop speaker to virtual GuestX 2021!

Workshop Title: Building a Resilient Mind: Applying Mental Strategies That Elite Performers Utilize to Manage Highly Adverse Situations

Description: We live in a world where everything we do demands results. In business, sport, or even personal relationships, we face daily challenges that require us to perform at our best and give everything we have (and then some). But what happens when we are stressed and depleted? How do we find the extra energy or a path forward? Many of our best athletes and performers now turn to sport psychologists for strategies to build a more resilient mind and to optimize their functioning. In this session, Dr. Justin Anderson (sport psychologist for teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB) will discuss several strategies that can optimize our mindsets to improve our mental-toughness and well-being – even when we are fatigued, over-stressed and under pressure.

“We spend what seems like an infinite time training in various areas of our lives; training for our careers, for our bodies and for our spirituality or relationships… But how much time do we spend intentionally training our minds?” stated Dr. Anderson. “Effective concepts derived from sport and military populations have advanced the field of performance psychology and are now being applied to anyone who wants to perform more optimally, think better, and feel healthier. This session will give the attendees at the GuestX Conference a few fundamental tools that the best of the best use to develop a more resilient mindset as we prepare to return to life and work in a post-pandemic world.”

If you have not already registered for GuestX 2021, there’s still time! Simply click here to register now! We hope to “see” you at virtual GuestX 2021!