The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council met at the Baltimore Convention Center from June 25-27. The WBENC is the largest conference of its kind for women business owners in the U.S. with more than 2,000 in attendance.

A signature event, the National Conference & Business Fair features innovative educational programming, inspiring keynotes, 1:1 MatchMaker sessions, networking opportunities, and an unrivaled Business Fair.

WBENC’s event is attended by women business enterprises, senior executives and procurement representatives from the Fortune 500, U.S. Government and select partner organizations whose missions align with WBENC’s vision of expanding women’s business opportunities in the marketplace.

In honor of the event, Baltimore Convention Center Executive Director Peggy Daidakis gathered the business women of the Baltimore Convention Center for a photograph.

IAVM has partnered with Team Coalition to bring you a webinar on how to Turn on the Taps Responsibly and Profitably! Be sure to secure your spot now!

Date: Tuesday, June 25th

Time: 3:00 – 3:45 EDT

Topic: Join collegiate facility managers as they share the best practices and reasonable efforts they implemented to successfully serve alcohol through general concessions at the collegiate level. Lean what pitfalls to avoid. Consider the keys to success from those who have rolled out alcohol service responsibly and profitably.

From Chase Center

He wanted a statue, but got a urinal instead.

Former Warriors player Tom Tolbert took a tour of Chase Center on Thursday. After jokingly asking for a statue in his honor to be on the premises of the soon-to-be Warriors’ new home, Tolbert was instead “honored” with a ceremonial first flush in the venue’s media room restroom.

“Tom, as General Manager of Chase Center, it is my distinct pleasure to dedicate a urinal to you,” said Chase Center General Manager Kim Stone. “The sign reads, ‘Chase Center, the Tom Tolbert Urinal. Chase Center First Flush, June 17, 2019.'”

“That’s my urinal. Fantastic. Look at that!” Tolbert responded. “Oh. It’s sticky.”

While some might view it as a dig, that wasn’t the case for the good-natured Tolbert. Instead, the longtime Bay Area sports radio host who played three of his seven NBA seasons with the Warriors (1989-92), and former Warriors radio analyst, took the honor in stride.

“I’ve got to tell you, it’s quite an honor. Ever since I was a little kid, I never dreamed of playing in the NBA, that dream was too big for me, but to have my own urinal, wow,” said Tolbert. “The only misgiving I have is that I went to the bathroom right before I came, so I won’t be able to dedicate it in the manner that’s appropriate for a urinal. So, we’re gonna do the best we can.”

“Where are we going to put this [plaque]? We want people to see it. When they walk in here, right? I mean, all the greats — Tim Kawakami, Marcus Thompson, Bruce Jenkins, Scott Ostler — they’re gonna be in here, and when they’re taking a whizz they’re going to be looking right at me.” Tolbert added. “It’d be great if there was a picture. Talk about stage fright. They probably wouldn’t be able to go at that point.”

“Like a lot of people have said: When you urinate, you think Tom Tolbert. That will never be more true than right here in the media restroom.”

(Editor’s Note: As for a Facebook from Stone, she simply called it the “funniest day ever!” We see why.)

We all want to reach higher when it comes to attaining our potential. Those attending the Performing Arts sector keynote session led by Jonathan Fries at VenueConnect will be able to do just that after hearing a presentation on “Focus and Flow: Keys to Achieving Your Highest Potential.”

Fries, a professional consultant with Flowcess, specializing in leadership and executive development in the areas of business, education, and athletics, comes from a research and technology company that specializes in facilitating organizations beyond engagement towards generative culture communities.

Fries is an accomplished musician, writer, and composer having toured throughout the U.S. and Canada noting highlights such as playing for the X-Games in Aspen, CO, and opening for five-time Grammy award-winning Green Day before joining the Just Thinking team.

Between thinking and his music, Fries took a few minutes to share some about the upcoming session and what attendees can expect.

We understand you specialize in leadership and executive development in the areas of business, education, and athletics. That is quite an interesting mix! Are there similarities there in those professions when it comes to leadership and development?

In all three areas, leadership ability is judged by the performance of others and this can only be intentionally achieved through development. The ultimate performance is Flow. There are three conditions required for Flow. For example, one of these: Focus. You can’t Flow if you have no thoughts and you can’t Flow if you have two or more thoughts. The reality is the leader needs to first be in Flow before they are able to help others get in Flow.

You have a very impressive musical background as well. This might be a stretch, but same as above can we derive ways in which music soothes the soul and can help leaders and top executives perform better?

Music is the perfect universal illustration of Flow! It is difficult for music to soothe the soul if someone is distracting you with additional thoughts. Last year, numerous universities shared research proving humans physiologically sync up their thought processes. I love to ask athletic coaches, “What is momentum?” Even though they feel it and talk about its importance, none of them can define it. Momentum is when a group of people sync up their thought processes. Music is one of the easiest ways for a group of people to physiologically sync into Flow. It is one of the things that makes us human! Robots are unable to experience this.

What are some of those keys to leaders achieving their highest potential?

A lot of my executive coaching is focused on helping the individual understand their uniqueness including their unique process for Flow. Once this is understood, we look at their work context. The key to achieving your highest potential depends on your ability to find or modify your context to match your uniqueness. When it comes to leading others, two-thirds of their ability to Flow is in your control. Is it any wonder research shows 70% of an employee’s engagement can be directly attributed to their boss? Leaders unwittingly take the people they lead out of Flow by altering the context of these employees.

Do leadership styles have to evolve to stay relevant with newer generations?

The only challenge unique to the younger generation is their attention span, but the same was said about the current generation. Everyone does everything through a thought process. If a leader is in Flow and they approach a member of the younger generation in their uniqueness, the response will be beyond engagement. Remember, people want to sync up their thought process to yours. Where is your thought process?

What challenges do most work places face today when it comes to the communication between leaders who aspire to accomplish organization objectives and the people who carry out many of those objectives?

Again, the key is to use your words to reach the uniqueness of the individual. I help teachers communicate with pre-teens and teenagers suffering from emotional and behavioral disorders with diagnosed mental issues. When the teacher speaks according to their uniqueness, the student becomes upset if they aren’t allowed to complete the task. If the teacher speaks the opposite of the student’s uniqueness, they have ended up leaving in handcuffs. If the teacher speaks any other way, the student loses energy and doesn’t do the task. The same results, in a less extreme fashion, happen with everyone you lead.

What lasting takeaway would you like IAVM attendees to your session carry back to their venues?

My goal is for people to experience Flow and its transformative nature. Once these leaders understand their goal is providing Flow experiences to groups of people, I would hope they will be more energized to return to work knowing they are in a business that truly has the ability to heal our world.

By Billy Warden, GBW Strategies

More than ever, the safety and security of event goers is on people’s minds. On Wednesday, June 19, the Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex along with the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) hosted the region’s first ever all-inclusive Security Day, bringing together competing venues for a greater good, namely guest safety.

Roughly 300 event planners and first responders attended. They reviewed guidelines on how to safely manage large crowds and discussed best practices for protecting people in any kind of emergency. Specific topics included Situational Awareness and Risk Mitigation, Trained Crowd Management, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Stop the Bleed, and Active Shooter Training. All attendees also received a three year Trained Crowd Manager certification.

Raleigh, NC’s capital, is home to some of the largest, most popular venues in the state. This includes the Raleigh Convention Center, the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Red Hat Amphitheater, which share an interlocking downtown campus. Combined, the Duke Energy Center and Red Hat Amphitheater offer nearly 11,000 seats, with the convention center able to accommodate up to 22,000 people simultaneously. Not far away, the PNC Arena seats 8,680 for hockey and more than 19,500 for basketball and concerts.

“As venue managers, my team and I are keenly aware of our responsibility to keep our customers and visitors safe,” said Kerry Painter, CVE, who signed on as general manager and director of the Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex in December 2018. “We were delighted to host this summit for colleagues from throughout the region, and heartened by their enthusiastic and thoughtful participation.”

Supporting sponsors of the event included IAVM, Centerplate, Live Nation, the Durham Performing Arts Center, Cary’s Booth Amphitheater, the Durham Convention Center, and American Audio Visual.

Photos by Mary Deifer – Raleigh Convention Center