A Warm Welcome To Our Newest Members
Please welcome our newest members who joined IAVM in March 2020. 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.
Paul Anton, Gogue Performing Arts Center, Auburn, AL, United States
Anthony Ary, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
Melissa Barrera, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
Bernadette Bascom, Moss Arts Center, Blacksburg, VA, United States
Mike Baxter, Busch Systems, Barrie, ON, Canada
Joshua Beaudoin, Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams, Inc., Carrollton, TX, United States
Cecily Bednarek, Sarah Belk Gambrell Center, Charlotte, NC, United States
Khouloud Ben Khalifa, The Arena Kuwait by Live Nation, Safat, , Kuwait
Ray Blanton, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
James Bullo, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI, United States
Darlene Burgess, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
Chris Burke, Gogue Performing Arts Center, Auburn, AL, United States
Melinda Carmichael, 22nd DAA/Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA, United States
Eugene Carr, ALO.ai, New York, NY, United States
Stephen Cassidy, POS Upgrades, Winter Springs, FL, United States
Antoinette Clay, Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA, United States
Mellissa Cleveland, Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA, United States
Jessica Coale, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Decatur, GA, United States
Dawn Collins, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
Haley Cornell, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
Andrea Crane, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
David Douglas, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa, FL, United States
Michael Dowd, Space Needle, Seattle, WA, United States
Michelle Dunn, Busch Systems, Barrie, ON, Canada
Taylor Dyleski, Gogue Performing Arts Center, Auburn, AL, United States
Deborah Ferree, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa, FL, United States
Guillermo Flores, Shared Space LA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Kristen Foster, Edmonton Convention Centre, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Kate Galbraith, Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA, United States
Amy Gorbey, Cheyenne Civic Center, Cheyenne, WY, United States
Kandy Grzebyk, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
Pauline Houbigand, Brisbane Racing Club Limited, Hamilton Central, QLD, Australia
Crystal Huante, Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA, United States
Andrew Jackson, Stadium People By Innovative, Dallas, TX, United States
Tyson Jeffery, Edmonton Convention Centre, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Maureen Jones, PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Gaurav Khatale, Brisbane Racing Club Limited, Hamilton Central, QLD, Australia
Andrew Luft, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Saint Paul, MN, United States
Emily Macaluso, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago, IL, United States
Terri Mainprize, Busch Systems, Barrie, ON, Canada
Tom Marcoux, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
Paul McKeever, tvsdesign, Atlanta, GA, United States
Rebecca Michaels, Pepsi Center, Denver, CO, United States
Olaf Miede, Edmonton Convention Centre, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Joice Milare, Gogue Performing Arts Center, Auburn, AL, United States
Geordie Miles, Spark Event Group, South Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Amy Miller, Gogue Performing Arts Center, Auburn, AL, United States
Nathan Nguyen, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
Jerry Noe, AMK9, Moyock, NC, United States
Robert O’Keefe, tvsdesign, Atlanta, GA, United States
Melissa Orr, Venues Canberra, Jamison, ACT, Australia
Jonathan Osborne, Gogue Performing Arts Center, Auburn, AL, United States
Tim Padgett, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI, United States
Bonnie Jean Paulish, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa, FL, United States
Doug Peters, Zamboni & Co., Paramount, CA, United States
Nicha Petrakos, Scope Arena, Norfolk, VA, United States
Emma Pietroleonardo, Edmonton Convention Centre, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Zach Pritchard, Durham County Memorial Stadium, Durham, NC, United States
Izzy Randall, Gogue Performing Arts Center, Auburn, AL, United States
Melanie Roehm, Gogue Performing Arts Center, Auburn, AL, United States
Andrew Roesch, Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA, United States
Christine Rucker, Scope Arena, Norfolk, VA, United States
Carolyne Savini, Nolan Partners, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Brian Sholty, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
Destiny Smith, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
Dianny Sobojinski, Hufcor, Inc., Janesville, WI, United States
Mike Soliven, Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA, United States
Jessica Sopko, Old Dominion University, Chesapeake, VA, United States
Terri Strozier, The Lone Star Convention & Expo Center, Conroe, TX, United States
Darren Tait, Te Pae The Christchurch Convention Centre, Christchurch, , New Zealand
Marcellaus Taylor, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
David Tucker, Edmonds Community College, Gresham, OR, United States
Viju Vasudevan, Edmonton Convention Centre, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Jeremy Vaux, STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Boris Vortsman, Busch Systems, Barrie, ON, Canada
Zac Vredeveld, Wisconsin Center District, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Karly Watson, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, CA, United States
Jessica Williams, FOH, Inc., Miami, FL, United States
Ashley Williams, 22nd DAA/Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA, United States
Bryan Wojcik, Busch Systems, Barrie, ON, Canada
Adam Woodfin, Gogue Performing Arts Center, Auburn, AL, United States
In Memoriam: Neil M. Campbell, CVE
By R.V. Baugus
I first met Neil Campbell back in 1990 or 1991. I take that back, we didn’t actually “meet” but it was through phone calls and likely even a fax or two. I told you it was 1990 or 1991.
Neil oversaw the Kingdome in Seattle, home to the NFL Seahawks and MLB Mariners. Neil was already a giant in the public assembly venue industry and for me just starting as editor of Facility Manager magazine, it was an honor to get to know someone of Neil’s stature. I always remember just how gracious, kind, distinguished, and gentlemanly Neil was. He could immediately put to ease anyone he was meeting or talking to for the first time.
The reason for our visit was that the Kingdome had come up with this very innovative “recycling” plan by utilizing worms as a composting measure for the leftover food at the venue. It was definitely an out-of-the-box story, and I had fun writing it and hearing Neil recount everything that went into this well-hatched plan.
Today, 30 years later, I like all of his friends and colleagues in the industry mourn the passing of Neil Malcolm Campbell, CVE, who 
passed away on April 5 at the age of 79.
Neil was a fixture in the Seattle area both at the Kingdome and later as vice president of ballpark operations for the Mariners.
“Neil injected a superb level of professionalism into facilities across Canada and the United States,” said long-time friend Warren Buckley. “He had the uncanny ability to read and work with people reacting to situations in a calm and deliberate manner. Neil ‘wrote the book’ on integrity and his soft and gentle demeanor fostered a team approach in the workplace. Those of us who had the pleasure to have worked with Neil will have benefited from the best in our industry. It is hard for me to contemplate life without Neil Campbell. He was a great colleague and dear friend who shall be remembered by many.”
Neil shared his love of the industry with his children, Susan and Colin, who have both gone on to success venue management careers.
“The first time I ever got exposed to (then) IAAM was in 1986 with the national meeting was in Edmonton, said Susan, now executive vice president, general manager, Rogers Place at Oilers Entertainment Group. “He was helping to host that. My little brother and I worked the hospitality suite for the local host committee in Edmonton. Colin was a rink rat and my step-sister and I were both usherettes, which is what they called us back then. My first job was in the Northlands Coliseum at 14. He always said, don’t tell ‘em nothing!”
Added IAVM member John Christison, CVE, another long-time Seattle venue leader at the Washington State Convention Center: “There are a lot of members who knew Neil pretty well. He wasn’t real outspoken and never really sort of stood out or looked for accolades, but he was always one of those guys that was there if you needed something or you could call and he would go out of his way to try to help you. That’s just the kind of guy Neil was. People will remember him as being a good friend and someone you could always count on if you needed something.”
Christison noted that when his son graduated from college “unbeknownst to me went and had an interview with Neil and Neil hired him as an event coordinator. About a year before that I ended up hiring Neil’s daughter, Susan, and she worked for us as an event coordinator. We never talked about it, but that was pretty interesting.”
Indeed, the family affair took on even more interesting dimensions throughout the Pacific Northwest and Canada.
He wanted to be remembered for the daredevil he was, Susan said. “In addition to being my father, he was my mentor, 100% my mentor. Because we had different last names, I’m Darrington and he’s Campbell, I ended up working at the Seahawks across the street and they didn’t know for six months that we were related when we were both running buildings across the street from each other. I ended up getting the job to open up Rogers Place. It was the day of the press conference and my dad was so excited and they said, so what did your dad do? I said, well, he opened up Northlands Coliseum.”
Susan thought about her dad’s impact and shared that it went far beyond just family ties, but how everyone in his venue became extended family.
“I think the hallmark for me of who he was and what I learned is everything in that building is important,” she said. “He knew people from the parking entrance gates to the housekeepers to the ushers. Those were his family and when he opened a building and had an event that was your home and you treated people like guests in your home. That’s how I always modeled my career. You just knew everybody.”
Much about Neil was interesting, and, yes, daredevilish. Christison also remember the experiment with the worms.
“They had a great big old contraption back behind the Kingdome where they were throwing old hot dogs and stuff and letting the worms have at it,” he said with a laugh. “I think I had just got to Seattle in 1990. I remember Neil calling me and saying, ‘we’ve got this really cool idea.’ But a lot of people came and looked at that and tried to replicate it.”
Whether it is replicating or imitated, there is the old saying of “often imitated, never duplicated.” Indeed, there is only one Neil Campbell, and he will be missed by so many.
Neil is survived by wife, Loree; daughter, Susan; son, Colin; and his adoring family.
“That is the hardest part of this pandemic right now is my mom so wants to be able to honor him,” Susan said. “He will go back to Canada but we just aren’t able to do anything right now. Hopefully in the summer we might be able to do something.”
Pictured: With daughter, Susan Darrington, on the ice of the Edmonton Oilers.
The Real Emotions Behind Having to Lay Off Employees During COVID-19
By R.V. Baugus
If you know Robyn Williams, CVE, first, you should consider yourself fortunate. If you do not know the past IAVM President (Chair) and her great work leading the Portland’5 Centers for the Arts, trust us when we say there is no more compassionate person not just in the industry but walking the face of the earth.
With leadership comes difficult decisions as well, none greater than what many venue executives around the world have been facing in 
the loss of event income as it relates to staffing. Some creatively manage to keep staffs intact, but numerous must deal with the aspect of either fully terminating employees or furloughing them with the expectancy to return them to their position once the pandemic has run its course.
The trick, of course, is no one can point to a day or date on the calendar and say that all is 100% well. There is the “ramp up” process that has to come into play as well for venues. With all that in mind, and herself having to make decisions that have brought Robyn to tears, we were fortunate to get a minute of her time to talk about such decisions along with other aspects of working through COVID-19.
As a leader over so many people, what is the most difficult aspect of the job when you have to share “bad news” about a furlough or full-time job loss for employees?
It can be crushingly emotional and personal. One of the things I’ve realized over the years is how close venue managers are to their staff. They are family as well as friends to us. I haven’t found this to be as true in other lines of work I’ve been involved with. Maybe it’s because we often spend more time with them than we do with our family and friends.
People think it must be great to be the leader, but what types of stress can these decisions put leaders under?
I really believe the buck stops with me. I’ve been going over and over in my head about what I could have done differently that would have made us less vulnerable to such catastrophic business loss. I should have built a bigger reserve that would have allowed us to weather this storm. I feel personally responsible for these layoffs.
How far out do you project with this virus when it comes to if further difficult decisions have to be made?
The problem is not knowing when we can expect to reopen. I’m a numbers person and I have a really excellent budget analyst. The operations team is doing everything possible to shed costs at the venues. We’ll keep watching the numbers and make decisions as time progresses.
Is there anything you are doing to help in any way with those you have had to release?
We’ve sent them a lot of information on resources they can tap into. I also stay in touch with them to let them know they haven’t been forgotten.
How difficult is it working from home, or do you occasionally get to the office?
We have a policy that only the most essential folk-custodians, security, and engineers are in the venue at the smallest number possible. If everyone was coming and going at will there is no way we could keep up with sanitizing everything. Plus I’m a huge believer in what the CDC is saying in terms of what you need to do to slow the virus. I have only been out in public once in the past three weeks. I’m a social person by nature so I feel very isolated working at home. Thank heavens for video conferencing, though. It allows us to at least see each other. And I’ve participated in IAVM’s virtual happy hour for performing arts centers recently and it felt really good to see my venue friends.
There has to be some good that one day will come out of all this. You are an optimistic person, so what is the good that you foresee?
I have been very guilty of saying things like “Hey, let’s get together soon” or “Let’s go do (whatever) soon, I’ll call you” and then six months or a year goes by and I never did anything. I’m trying to call friends, family, and colleagues out of the blue now. I think I’ll do more to stay connected to everyone after this is all over. I’ve started to realize how short life really is and how precious people are. So, if you don’t get a call from me, call me!!
Operation Shelter to Home: San Diego Convention Center Transforms into a Temporary Homeless Shelter for Neighbors in Need
By Maren Dougherty
“The Convention Center is a centerpiece of San Diego’s economy. During this pandemic, it will be a centerpiece of our fight against the coronavirus.” – San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer, 3/23/2020
This Spring our San Diego Convention Center went from serving as a bustling economic engine for our region to becoming a temporary homeless shelter for more than 800 individuals through a collaborative San Diego regional effort referred to as Operation Shelter to Home.
This transformation began in March, when our team coordinated with customers on the cancellation or postponement of more than 30 
events, with total attendance exceeding 100,000 and a regional economic impact in the hundreds of millions. Like many of our IAVM colleagues, we soon realized we would probably not host a single event in late March or April, and possibly longer.
All the while, our President and CEO Rip Rippetoe, CVE, had been in discussion with San Diego leaders regarding the potential repurposing of our Center as a temporary shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness. We had space, staffing, expertise in planning large-scale operations and outdoor areas that could accommodate equipment such as trailers with showers and laundry facilities. Opening our building for this purpose would allow for greater physical distancing within existing shelters and ensure that more homeless individuals in our region would have access to health services, mental health support and reliable food sources during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are taking everything we know and everything we’ve learned to pivot into a shelter operation—an urgent, large-scale effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among our unsheltered neighbors.” – San Diego Convention Center President & CEO Clifford “Rip” Rippetoe, 4/1/2020
Our operations staff worked closely with leaders and staff from the City, County, San Diego Housing Commission, Regional Task Force on the Homeless and homeless service providers to create diagrams, staffing plans, policies and procedures for this initiative. Clients and staff would be screened daily by temperature check and verbal questionnaires by homeless service providers or San Diego Public Health Nurses. Everyone would also be instructed to wash and sanitize their hands upon each re-entry into the facility.
The teams decided to move in clients using a phased approach, beginning with groups that were previously living in close quarters at City shelters and then, after assessing capacity, expanding operations to include unsheltered San Diegans. Over one week, April 1 to 7, groups of 150-350 moved in at a time, eventually bringing the total number of clients to more than 800 people across five exhibit halls. Clients are living in exhibit halls C, D, F, G, and H, with Hall E serving as a centralized medical facility.
As you can imagine, uprooting yourself and your belongings from the place you have come to know as your home can be difficult. With the great nonprofit teams, who have created a community and family-like atmosphere within their shelters, the move went smoothly and clients have been adjusting nicely to the new space given these unusual circumstances. Now three homeless service providers—Alpha Project, Veterans Village of San Diego, and Father Joe’s Villages—are operating shelters side-by-side in our facility, working closely with the City, County and SDCC on logistics, including meals, most of which are prepared by our food and beverage partner, Centerplate. All clients have access to Wi-Fi, outdoor spaces and projection TVs.
“The Convention Center intervention demonstrates the true impact we can have when innovation, leadership and compassion come together.” – Father Joe’s Villages President & CEO Deacon Jim Vargas, 4/7/2020
One of the most important pieces to this entire project is the emphasis the operations team will be putting on finding and connecting individuals to permanent housing. The team has identified a number of exit strategies to quickly transition people into permanent housing solutions—ultimately reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Diego.
Maren Dougherty is Director of Marketing & Communications for the San Diego Convention Center.
Simmons Bank Arena Announces “And The Beat Goes On Arkansas” with a Live Streaming Event This Saturday
By Jana DeGeorge
Simmons Bank Arena is proud to announce And The Beat Goes On Arkansas – A Live Streaming Event presented by Simmons Bank and benefitting The Feeding America Food Banks in Arkansas and Hunger Relief Alliance as they work to provide aid to those affected by the COVID -19 pandemic. This unique concert will take place in various locations and emit from Simmons Bank Arena. Join country music artist and Arkansas’ own Justin Moore (pictured) as he streams live from Simmons Bank Arena. Connecting from remote locations are fellow country music artists and Arkansans: Tracy Lawrence, Joe Nichols, Adam Hambrick, and Heath Sanders.
And The Beat Goes on Arkansas is proudly presented by Simmons Bank. “During these uncertain days, we at Simmons Bank are sure of one 
thing: that this is a time to come together in support of our state’s most vulnerable populations,” said Freddie Black, Chief Business Development Officer at Simmons Bank. “We are proud to help make this event possible and encourage everyone to give what they can to assist the Arkansas Foodbank. As our state’s largest hunger relief organization, the Foodbank feeds more than 280,000 Arkansans across 33 counties – the importance of their mission cannot be overstated, especially today. We applaud all they do, and also thank the artists who have generously shared their talents in support of this cause.”
The Feeding America Food Banks in Arkansas and Hunger Relief Alliance consists of multiple outlets throughout the state. Donations from this event will be distributed and allocated to these various locations. “The food banks in Arkansas appreciate the support this concert provides us. We are working in every county and community in the state to provide emergency food to those affected by COVID-19. Your support will help your friends, neighbors and family members who are struggling during this difficult time,” said Rhonda Sanders, CEO at Arkansas Foodbank.
This live streaming event will take place Saturday, April 11th at 7pm. Viewers will have the option through the following link to donate. or by texting FEED to 501501 for a $10 donation. All donation proceeds will benefit The Feeding America Food Banks in Arkansas and Hunger Relief Alliance. Watch on YouTube Live here.
Jana DeGeorge is Director of Marketing at Simmons Bank Arena. Contact her at 501-975-9038 or janderson@simmonsbankarena.com for more information.