Peter Ashwin, principal, Event Risk Management Solutions, is one of a number of expert speakers who will be presenting in San Diego at IAVM’s Academy for Venue Safety & Security (AVSS) and Severe Weather Preparedness programs March 10-15.

On March 15, Ashwin will present A Risk Based Approach to Mitigating Severe Weather Events & Enhancing Organizational Resilience
Risk Management, a class that will contribute to the achievement of resilience by identifying opportunities to build resilience into planning and resourcing to achieve risk reduction in advance of a hazard, as well as enabling the mitigation of consequences of any disasters that do occur.

The aim of this session is to introduce attendees to the fundamentals of risk management and resilience based on the international standard, ISO 31000: Risk Management – Guidelines and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidelines for all hazards risk management and industry best practices to “prepare, prevent, respond and recover” from severe weather events.
By the end of the session, attendees will be able to demonstrate a working knowledge of the fundamentals of risk management, the inter-dependencies between risk, hazards, threat and vulnerability and the relationship between risk controls (countermeasures) and how the level of risk for a severe weather event can be modified through reducing the likelihood and consequences of the risk event.

Ashwin took some time out of a busy schedule to chat about the upcoming class.

What should be the primary takeaway for attendees who come to the class? ​

A deeper understanding of a risk based approach to critical decision-making before, during, and after severe weather events.

How exactly does risk management play into severe weather in advance of said weather?

Adopting a risk based approach ensures that planners and key decision makers identify and implement appropriate risk mitigation controls to reduce the potential impact of severe weather events on the organization’s mission and critical success factors.

Can you provide a specific example of how effective risk management mitigated what could have been a much more problematic weather outcome?

​While I was onsite at the 2017 World Championship BBQ Cook-Off Competition hosted by Memphis in May, the Incident Management Team applied the concept of risk velocity (time to make a critical risk based decision) and initiated an evacuation of the event site to ensure all guests and competing teams could safely move to designated locations to shelter in place prior to the arrival of a thunderstorm that contained high winds and lightning.

Excitement continues building in the Bay Area as the Oakland Athletics have revealed a new-look revised design plan for a new ballpark planned to open in 2023.

The current home to the Athletics and most recently the NFL Oakland Raiders before their announced move to Las Vegas, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum has spawned some of the public assembly venue’s most famous leaders, including Ray Ward. Opened in 1966, the stadium next to the NBA Golden State Warriors’ Oracle Arena (and on another side note that team will also be relocating) in recent years has had the misfortune of its age showing in sewage leaks, among other issues.

Now, the team not only discussed plans to develop a new stadium, but one to show some love to the team’s current home. As for the proposed new park, the waterfront Howard Terminal earned the nod and will have a capacity of 34,000 to bring a more intimate feel for guests, a trend that is moving across Major League Baseball.

Athletics’ President Dave Kaval shared some information that includes some revisions from the original plan after hearing from invested stakeholders including community members, public officials, and fans.

Most notably, fans will detect a stadium with a prevalent circular shape, a design said to enhance the fan experience by creating a more intimate feel and experience.

Kaval the new design will offer better views of the water and Oakland from inside the ballpark, along with more “seamless, efficient, and fluid” access to the stadium.

Another major goal for the project is to stimulate environmental, economic, and community benefits for the local citizenry.

The team has also agreed a partnership with the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP), a resident-led community based environmental justice organization to develop a shared environmental justice agenda on issues of public health, air quality, land use, and equity.

If all goes according to plan, the team expects to break ground by 2021 and open the venue two years later.

Baltimore Convention Center Senior Sales Manager Elizabeth Berry was appointed as Convention Sales Professionals International’s (CSPI) Association Board President at the 28th annual Conference held on February 12, at The Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C.

Berry, a graduate of Loyola University Maryland, serves as senior sales manager at the Baltimore Convention Center where she has been employed since 2012. Berry is an active member of the PCMA Chesapeake and Capital Chapters. She succeeds Rosa Mendoza-Friedheim, assistant director of sales at the Seminole Hardrock Casino Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, as President. Berry’s goal is to amplify engagement within CSPI’s membership while focusing on strengthening industry partnerships through collaborative efforts, unity, and professionalism for the betterment of the convention sales industry. She will serve in this role for one year.

Photo: Elizabeth Berry, senior sales manager at the Baltimore Convention Center and incoming Association Board President for CSPI, presents outgoing President Rosa Mendoza-Friedheim with a token of gratitude for her term in office.

The Board of Directors of Convention Sales Professionals International (CSPI) announced that Stacey Knoppel, director of convention management for Events DC at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Shawn Corwin-Myland Award bestowed by the association. Knoppel has been an active member of CSPI since 2007. She served on the Board of Directors from 2012-2016 and was CSPI President in 2014.

Previously, Knoppel was with the Baltimore Convention Center where she served as the Director of Sales, Services and Marketing. She previously held positions at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center through Centerplate/NBSE and the Baltimore Convention Center through ARAMARK.

In addition to Knoppel’s leadership as past president and board member of CSPI, she has also served on the CSPI Education Committee for many years helping the association to continuously deliver leading edge education to the members. Knoppel is an active member of various industry associations. She is currently on the Board of Directors of the Capital Chapter, Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and is a member of IAVM.

As the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo opens, GF Strategies’ tracking system continues to be in place for 23rd year at the Show.

It began in 1996 when Winning Ticket Strategies, now known as GF Strategies, was engaged to bring to one of the major events in North America a sales tracking system. The system that was first implemented by the firm at the Oregon State Fair in Salem, Oregon, in 1992 would have its biggest test ever.

“Until we worked with the Houston Livestock Show we were a regional consulting firm,” said company President Greg Flakus. The show would see Flakus work with an all-volunteer group of tape reviewers that were part of the first team at the Show to track all sales as garner a percentage of gross sales from all food and beverage vendors. Prior to that time the show had charged vendors a flat fee for their space.

The show enjoyed major increases in sales after putting in place the sales tracking system.

“I have two very good memories from our first year at the show,” Flakus said. “The first was the group of volunteers who came every day committed to our job. This team is still known today as the Z team. And, of course, the major increase in show revenue from vendors under the new system.”

Another memory that Flakus recalls is being asked by one of the team members to join him at the Astrodome for the George Strait concert. “I will always remember George finishing his show and mounting a horse and riding around the floor of the Astrodome high-fiving front row patrons.”

“While all of these events continue to use our tracking system, our current business has moved to consulting on festival startups such as the Spokane Brewers Festival (now in in its fourth year) and advising events on how to increase their per capita spending at the festivals,” Flakus said.

GF Strategies would go on to bring the tracking system to 53 Fairs in 20 states including seven of the largest fairs by attendance in North America.