By Convention Center Staff and R.V. Baugus

Working in the public assembly venue industry, we all know, can get into one’s blood, regardless of the position served and regardless of the sector type.

The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center would like to extend gratitude and congratulate Mr. Willard Trosclair, the Facility Attendant in the Building Maintenance Department, on his retirement after an admirable 36-year career. Trosclair joined the New Orleans Convention Center in January 1984 prior to the facility’s first use as the Louisiana Pavilion of the World’s Fair in May 1984.

MTrosclair is the longest tenured employee at the Center and is a well-known presence around the facility. He celebrated his final day at the Center on January 13 2021.

“Being employed at a single establishment for more than three-and-a-half decades is an outstanding accomplishment. We are so proud of our entire team for fostering a culture of dedication and achievement, and Willard Trosclair epitomizes what it means to be a loyal, tenured part of our extraordinary team,” said Michael J. Sawaya, Convention Center President.

“Willard has been a staple of our facility for the last 36 years. While we are sad to see him go, we are incredibly grateful for his service and wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement,” Sawaya continued.

By ISSA and R.V. Baugus

Raymond James Stadium plans to welcome about 22,000 spectators for the championship game on Feb. 7, 2021, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the city’s very own Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Meanwhile, Lucas Oil Stadium will host the NCAA quarterfinals in late March and the semifinals in early April. Each stadium fulfilled 20 program elements to achieve accreditation and display the GBAC STAR accreditation seal.

The latest list of facilities to achieve GBAC STAR™ accreditation also includes the world’s first children’s museum and arboretum in Salt Lake City’s Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum and Red Butte Garden and Arboretum.

“The goal of GBAC STAR accreditation is twofold. First and foremost, it helps protect frontline employees and cleaning staff from biological risks,” said GBAC Executive Director Patricia Olinger. “It also gives the public confidence to enter these accredited facilities knowing that they understand how best to clean, disinfect, and prevent infectious disease outbreaks.”

GBAC STAR teaches the proper protocols, correct disinfection techniques, and cleaning best practices for biohazard situations like the novel coronavirus. The accreditation is valid for one year, at which point facilities undergo a reaccreditation process to showcase their ongoing commitment to maintaining safe and clean spaces. To date, more than 1,100 facilities around the world have achieved GBAC STAR accreditation and an additional 2,700 are currently pursuing the designation.

This week, the following facilities have earned GBAC STAR accreditation, the gold standard for facility preparedness:

Arenas and Stadiums
Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, home to the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa Sports Authority) in Tampa, Fla., home to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Olympia Entertainment, Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, home of the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons
Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas

Convention Center
Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas
Greater Richmond Convention Center in Richmond, Va.
Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine, Texas
Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis

Performing Arts Centers
Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Vina Robles Amphitheatre in Paso Robles, Calif.

Theaters
Riverside Theater in Milwaukee.

“As the novel coronavirus pandemic demonstrates, infectious disease can spiral out of control when we’re ill prepared,” said ISSA Executive Director John Barrett. “With GBAC STAR accreditation, we’re giving facilities the tools to prepare for, respond to, and recover from outbreaks so they can protect their customers and employees, even during times of uncertainty.”

For more information about GBAC STAR™ facility accreditation, visit gbac.org/star

To locate facilities that have achieved or are in the process of earning accreditation, visit the GBAC STAR Facility Directory at gbac.org/directory.

IAVM members seeking to apply for accreditation through GBAC, please use the link https://gbac.issa.com/iavm/!

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