Many thanks to our volunteer members who are actively recruiting new members to the Association. Current leaders of the campaign are:

• Andrea Smalls – Georgia International Convention Center/GICC – 8 new members
• Jim Brown – First National Bank Arena – 3 members
• Doug Booher – Indiana University – 2 members
• Tim Hemphill – New Orleans Ernest M. Morial Convention Center – 2 members
• Erin Wylie – Kennesaw State University – 2 members

The annual recruitment campaign gives IAVM’s volunteer leaders the opportunity to recruit one new member. Who makes up the IAVM Leadership? The IAVM Board of Directors, Foundation Board of Trustees, Regents, Governors, Committees and Task Forces spread the word about the value of IAVM membership.

The previous JustOne effort ended on 12/31/19 and delivered 95 new members. Your leadership and commitment to IAVM’s growth is evident in the results!

 GOAL: We have 298 individuals involved in IAVM’s governance. If all volunteers recruit just one new member, your efforts will give us 100% participation by our leadership in 2020-2021, potentially adding another 298 new members.

Members are our best advocates in promoting membership. As of today, we’ve brought in 21 new members since we launched the campaign on August 1, 2020.

Why is this important? In these challenging times, our collective voices make a difference with our advocacy efforts. Also, IAVM’s governance is also working hard to identify the next round of leaders that will propel IAVM into the future, but more importantly, provide you with expanded connections to give you more vibrant experiences and discussions at our schools and conferences, face-to-face and virtually.

REWARD: The Board, Committee, Council, Task Force, Region and individual that refers the most members will be recognized at VC21 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Campaign Deadline: March 31, 2021.

Questions, contact Member Services at membership@iavm.org; or email either of us at: Gina Brydson, Summer Beday or Robin Covington.

By Nan Marchand Beauvois and R.V. Baugus

The Meetings Mean Business Coalition and Lets Meet There continues to focus on industry recovery and moving forward together. To that end, the organization’s are pleased to share a Meet Safe platform.

The platform, developed in partnership with Simpleview, is designed to showcase that with the proper adherence to state and city gathering limits and health and safety best practices, in-person and hybrid meetings and events can take place now and into the future.

Event hosts, hotels and venue operators, planners, destination marketing professionals and suppliers can submit detailed information about their in-person or hybrid event which will be showcased on this page.

This resource will help planners, future meeting hosts and attendees learn best practices for meetings and events and ultimately showcase how professional meetings and events are organized responsibly with health and safety top-of-mind.

IAVM is happy to share this resource with our members and believes it is important for to gather as many examples as possible across the U.S. The goal is to use this platform to advocate on behalf of meetings and business events in several ways:

Show companies that meetings are taking place and doing so safely by showcasing a multitude of examples.

Use this tool with our elected officials to prove that business meetings and events should not be classified as a generic “gathering.” End game is to ease the restrictions and limitations to meetings and business events across the U.S.

Please visit this page with as many details as possible. Check out the best practices for submissions here and reach out to Caroline Campbell ccampbell@ustravel.org with any questions.

Nan Marchand Beauvois is Senior Vice President, Membership and Industry Relations, GM ESTO, Managing Director MMBC for U.S. Travel Association.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has confirmed that the entirety of this year’s March Madness basketball championship will be played in the state of Indiana, with the city of Indianapolis to stage the majority of games.

The NCAA first detailed the plans back in November and a tentative schedule has now been finalized. The decision to stage the showpiece event in one location is designed to enhance the safety of the tournament amid the ongoing difficulties posed by COVID-19.

Selection Sunday is scheduled for March 4 and the NCAA plans on staging the Final Four on April 3 and 4, with exact preliminary-round dates to be determined. Indianapolis had already been penciled in to stage the Final Four.

Under the new plans, games will be played on two courts inside Lucas Oil Stadium (pictured), home of the NFL Indianapolis Colts. Further games will be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home of the NBA Indiana Pacers, as well as Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Mackey Arena and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

The Indiana Convention Center will be used as a practice facility, with multiple courts to be set up inside the venue. Most of the tournament teams will be housed in Marriott properties, which will be connected to the convention center via skywalks and within a controlled environment.

The NCAA is partnering with a local health provider to administer COVID-19 testing within the controlled environment for players, coaching staffs, administrators, and officials.

The NCAA said it would continue to work with local officials to determine the feasibility of having fans attend games at any of the venues. A limited number of family members of each participating team’s athletes and coaches will be permitted to attend.

“This is a historic moment for NCAA members and the state of Indiana,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement. “We have worked tirelessly to reimagine a tournament structure that maintains our unique championship opportunity for college athletes. The reality of today’s announcement was possible thanks to the tremendous leadership of our membership, local authorities and staff.”

“The 2021 version of March Madness will be one to remember, if for no other reason than the uniqueness of the event,” said Dan Gavitt, NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball.

“With the direction of the Men’s Basketball Committee, we are making the most of the circumstances the global pandemic has presented. We’re fortunate to have neighbors and partners in Indianapolis and surrounding communities who not only love the game of basketball as much as anyone else in the country but have a storied history when it comes to staging major sporting events.

“This is going to be complicated and difficult; there’s no question about that. We appreciate the collaboration among the Men’s Basketball Committee and staff, our hosts and local organizers, the staffs at each practice and competition venue, and our broadcast and corporate partners. We will all pull together and stage a terrific national championship.”

The NCAA is also working with the city and the state to promote “Mask Madness,” an initiative to promote health and safety by practicing social distancing and wearing a mask. Through the program, the NCAA will donate thousands of masks throughout Indiana leading up to the tournament.

The NCAA was forced to cancel last year’s March Madness due to COVID-19.

By Zack Yohman

Armored Things, the crowd intelligence software company, and the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), announced a new technology collaboration to help ensure the safe return of fans and staff to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The team will deploy Armored Things’ crowd intelligence solution at the FieldHouse to manage fan density at key entry and gathering points and enable smarter decisions related to staffing, security, and sanitation. The software will also be deployed in the team’s business offices at the venue to help maintain safe spacing in common areas.

Just before the New Year, the Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse received approval from the State of Ohio to host up to 10% of the venue’s seating capacity, or nearly 2,000 fans per game. This is an increase from the State-restricted 300 fan limit to begin the season. The larger capacity for fans will begin Monday, January 11th when the team opens a three-game homestand.

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is home to both the Cavaliers and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL), as well as more than 200 diverse ticketed events and 1,400 private events that draw over two million patrons to downtown Cleveland each year. The venue is well recognized for its progressive initiatives and certifications to assure the health and safety of visitors and for its use of technology to optimize the fan experience.

With Armored Things’ AI-powered Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution, the venue’s facilities and security teams will be able to leverage their existing Wi-Fi and security systems to gain an accurate, real-time understanding of how many people are gathering and moving around specific locations in the FieldHouse. The information will be available in the venue’s command center and via mobile devices to alert staff to potential congestion and make better decisions related to fan and staff health safety and experience. FieldHouse staff will also have access to valuable data trends to assist in planning.

Armored Things announced a similar partnership with major league soccer club LAFC as part of its reopen strategy at the Bank of California Stadium in Southern California.

“As we continue to welcome additional fans back to live events at the FieldHouse, Armored Things can help us provide a safer experience for fans as well as our staff, no matter the number,” said Michael Conley, Chief Information Officer for the Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. “COVID is a pressing issue right now, but this is also an important investment in our long-term security and operations infrastructure. The ability to understand the flow of people in the venue equips us to stay one step ahead of their needs, deploy resources more intelligently, and optimize the event environment .”

“The Cavaliers organization is leveraging all the tools at their disposal to bring people back to live events safely,” said Julie Johnson Roberts, Armored Things co-founder and CEO. “Working in concert with the security systems already in place at the FieldHouse, we are able to help their team understand patterns and trends, and alert them to sudden changes so they can respond accordingly. The end result is safer, more informed operations and a better fan experience.”

Zack Yohman is Director of Business & Strategic Communications for Cavaliers Operating Company, LLC.

Danita Johnson has been named president of business operations at Major League Soccer franchise D.C. United.

Johnson becomes the first black president of an MLS club and is believed to be only the third woman in league history to serve in the role.

Johnson joins the club from Women’s National Basketball Association franchise the Los Angeles Sparks, where she spent the last two years serving as president and chief operating officer. She previously developed and led the ticket sales and service department for the Washington Mystics while with Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

Johnson also has NBA experience with the Los Angeles Clippers and helped launch NBA G League team Bakersfield Jam in 2006 and WNBA outfit Tulsa Shock, which relocated from Detroit in 2010.