The stars came to the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, to show their appreciation to our Veterans for their service and sacrifice. The event raised more than $1.2 million dollars to support veterans and their families. More than 18,000 in attendance including servicemen and their loved ones rocked to a phenomenal lineup featuring hit-laden performances by Joe Walsh, James Taylor, Don Henley, Chris Stapleton, and Haim. There was great camaraderie among the musicians – Joe jammed with James on a smokin’ “Streamroller” and then jumped up during Don’s set for “Life in the Fast Lane” and “Hotel California” before taking the stage for his set, which he started with “Walk Away” and capped off with “Life’s Been Good” and “Rocky Mountain Way.” Then all the artists came onto the stage for the grand finale performance of “With A Little Help from My Friends” led by Ringo Starr.

Drew Carey served as MC of the evening, and Tammy Duckworth joined by video sending a message of acknowledgement for her fellow serviceman. The show also included standout performances by DaNell Daymon and Greater Works Gospel Choir, who kicked off the show with a spirited “Star Spangled Banner,” and returned midway to sing “This Little Light Of Mine.”

Sponsored by Alaska Airlines, Boeing, The International Association of Ironworkers and T-Mobile, the event has grown tremendously in just one year, with the second annual Vetsaid bringing in over three times what the first event did.

“I can’t believe everybody showed up!” joked a grateful Joe Walsh. “This issue, Veterans and their families, is resonant to me because I am a Gold star family member. I lost my Dad in active duty when I was 20 months old. I also want to bring attention to a forgotten war, we are at war, and our soldiers are coming back shattered and need our support. I had to do something, and I am in a position to, so I did. We have to help our Vets with the transition back to civilian life. We shouldn’t see Vets standing by the side of a road holding up a card board sign for food and shelter. Tonight we raised money to help change that.”

Matthews Southwest Hospitality, LLC, a national hospitality industry developer based in Dallas, TX, released an initial conceptual design of the proposed headquarters hotel that would be attached to the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, giving the public a first glimpse at the proposed exterior of the $558 million addition to the city’s hospitality inventory. In addition to Matthews, the Project team includes Preston Hollow Capital, Provident Resources Group, The Convention District Development Associates, and Omni Hotels & Resorts.

Plans call for the 1,200 room Omni Hotel to be located on Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority/State-owned property connected to the Convention Center. Omni Hotels & Resorts is a market leader in the operation of Convention Center hotels in the U.S., with the addition of 5,500 rooms since 2010 in markets such as Dallas, TX; Nashville, TN; Louisville, KY; and Ft. Worth, TX. The luxury brand currently has Convention Center hotels under construction in Boston, MA, Oklahoma City, OK and soon-to-be Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Negotiations between the Authority and the Project team are in their early stages and are expected to be completed by early next year.

“Our team, working closely with Nunzio Marc DeSantis Architects, is committed to building a world-class destination hotel in New Orleans that will enhance the local community and create a new destination for its visitors,” said Jack Matthews, chairman of developer Matthews Southwest.

According to an independent analysis commissioned by the Authority, the new headquarters hotel will begin generating an annual economic impact of $282 million, $18 million in new taxes for the City of New Orleans, $6 million for the State of Louisiana, as well as supporting over 1,900 new jobs. The new hotel will complement the current redevelopment of Convention Center Boulevard into a pedestrian-friendly outdoor arts and entertainment area, further stimulating additional private investment in dining, residential housing, and retail development.

“The design of the new convention center headquarters hotel has to be spectacular in order to deliver on its full potential and we are both excited and enamored with the initial design concept provided by Matthews Southwest. We are very confident that the new hotel will be a catalyst for more new development and investment in an area upriver from the Convention Center and deliver vital new taxes to the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana,” said Melvin Rodrigue, chair of the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority.

The independent analysis of the project concluded that the hotel would induce significant new room night demand and dramatically improve the occupancy of the exhibit halls on the upriver end of the convention center. The pre-development terms are currently being established that will guide the formal negotiations. The new headquarters hotel could be ready to welcome guests as early as spring of 2023.

The Membership Committee is asking the leaders of IAVM to help us achieve a bigger, more diverse network. Our community is more than numbers. The venue management industry is comprised of influential individuals involved in every aspect of the sports and entertainment market. IAVM is the link to bring this unique, global community together — venue managers, our sponsors and allied partners — to have a passionate and vibrant exchange of ideas and best practices. You represent the very best of venue management. Now, it’s time to identify the next round of leaders that will propel IAVM to new heights, but more importantly, provide you with expanded connections to give you more vibrant experiences and discussions at our schools and conferences. By having a larger more diverse network, everyone benefits. We encourage you to share your unique vision and passion with the next generation to help them become trailblazers for our great industry. Encourage them to join today.

GOAL:  Our goal is to have 100% participation by our volunteer leaders.

REWARD: The committee, council or task force and individual that refers the most members will be recognized at VenueConnect in Chicago 2019.

To receive credit for your new member, ask your referral to complete these fields in the online membership application:

• How did you hear about IAVM – Enter “JustOne” and the committee you want to receive credit; important if you serve on multiple committees
  • Example: JustOne-Membership Committee
• If a person referred you, provide name:
  • Example: Alexis Berggren, Membership Committee
• One-time initiation fee will be waived because of your referral if they join by December 31, 2018.
  • Under the Payment Information, enter the promo code: JUSTONE
  • If applying for Professional or Supplier membership, only the dues will remain (savings of $150.00)

JustOne affords you the opportunity to help someone reach their potential and have access to resources that ensures their success. Encourage your colleague, star employee, customer, etc. to become a part of our unique community. Encourage them to become an IAVM member. So, get your competitive juices flowing and help us meet our goal, 300 volunteers connecting 300 new members with IAVM.

Questions, contact Member Services at 972.906.7441 and ask for Gina Brydson or Robin Covington.

By Mike Santa, CVP

Does your venue staff know how to utilize the basic lifesaving skills of CPR and AEDs? Do they even know where your venue’s AEDs are located? As I sat in a recent training for our venue staff, I was reminded of the importance of these vital lifesaving techniques.

According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year in the United States, and effective CPR provided can increase the chances of survival by two or three times. Additionally, 90% of cardiac arrest victims who received a shock from an AED device in the first minute ultimately live!

Many of our venues today have ALS or BLS medical personnel on-site ready to assist in medical emergencies, but training our frontline part-time staff can make all the difference. In fact, every minute that a victim does not receive CPR or AED defibrillation, their chance of survival decreases by 7%. If a patron went into cardiac arrest at your next event, how long would it take trained medical personnel to arrive on-scene and diagnose the problem? Having knowledgeable and trained frontline staff can save lives.

Training part-time staff on these skills can be challenging due to the sheer number of topics they need to be trained on within your venue, high turnover, and instructor ratio requirements for CPR certification. Consider the following opportunities for your venue:
• Utilize an outside organization that provides CPR training through the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, or other agency. Most classes require a 1-to-8 instructor-to-participant ratio, so this can be a more expensive option. However, it usually can be paired with basic first aid training and can be great option for a full-time manager level.
• Consider having someone on your team become an official CPR instructor through an agency. Becoming an instructor requires more extensive training and experience, but many of our venues already have people who have past medical backgrounds working for us.
• Put staff through “Hands Only CPR” training. We recently provided this option for our team. While this did not give our staff the option to officially become CPR certified through one of the commonly known agencies, our university was able to provide hands only CPR training and AED training on a large-scale. We now have more than 100 people on our team able to perform basic life saving techniques.
• Work with your team on locations of AED devices within your venue. If your staff can quickly retrieve an AED for someone who is certified, it can save valuable time.

Early recognition and treatment of cardiac arrest can make a life-saving impact for your patrons. Consider getting your entire team trained to make the difference!

Mike Santa, CVP, is general manager of Indiana University Event Services in Bloomington, Indiana.

Populous recently announced the promotion of a significant number of its staff globally, including two new appointments to the firm’s Holdings Board — Senior Principals Shireen Hamdan and Michael Lockwood.

“Our brand is built on the contributions of our staff, and this recognition is in honor of their commitment to making Populous the best design firm in the world at drawing people together,” said Joe Spear, Chairman of Populous’ global Holdings Board. “It’s quite humbling to watch the growth of this company unfold; at 18 offices and nearly 600 employees around the world, it’s an exciting time for Populous.”

Hamdan has lived and studied around the world from Brazil to Libya. A graduate of the Architectural Association in London, Shireen joined Populous in 2008. Since then she has worked on a wide variety of sport, entertainment and convention and exhibition center projects including the redevelopment of Silverstone F1 Circuit, Wimbledon Centre Court, London 2012 Stadium, The Sports Venue Masterplan for the country of Qatar and two World Cup stadium for the Qatar World Cup 2022. Shireen leads the Middle East market for Populous and currently is leading the firm’s work on the Oslo Convention Centre in Norway and a 40,000 seat soccer stadium in Kuwait. Shireen is an architecture graduate of Kingston University, and she also received a graduate diploma in architecture from the Architecture Association.

Based in San Francisco, Lockwood is a design director for Populous’ convention center practice. During his 16 years
with the firm Michael has taken on unique design projects around the world including the expansion of the Qatar
National Convention Centre in Doha, Qatar, the ICC Sydney, and U.S. convention centers in Anaheim, Boston, Los
Angeles, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, and San Jose. He was named to ENR’s 20 under 40 in
2013 as well as KC Business Magazine’s 2013 Rising Star. Michael received a bachelor’s degree in architecture
from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and participated in the Denmark International Study
Program.

The following people were promoted in recognition of their commitment to excellence in all aspects of their work with the firm:

Promotions to Senior Principal:
• Brett Wightman, Singapore
• Lyle Miller, Kansas City
• Shaun Fernandes, London
• Simon Jordan, London

Promotions to Principal:
• Al Baxter, Sydney
• James Pearce, Brisbane
• James Smith, Brisbane
• Jason Carmello, Kansas City
• Geoff Cheong, Kansas City
• Norman Friedman, Kansas City
• Michelle Nicholls-Shaw, London

Promotions to Associate Principal:
• Andrew Noonan, Brisbane
• Matt Reynolds, Sydney
• Bill Bourne, Kansas City
• Jason Gardner, Kansas City
• Kevin Koch, Kansas City
• Meggan Lux, Tokyo
• Bridget Ott, Denver
• Bobby Sloan, Denver
• Paul Goodall, London

Promotions to Senior Associate:
• Andrew Crutcher, Sydney
• Keith Hudson, Brisbane
• Rohit Garg, Delhi
• Isha Rathee, Delhi
• Zoe Sullivan, Sydney
• Andrew Wallace, Sydney
• Maria Blanco, Kansas City
• Jacob Coburn, Kansas City
• Brooke Craig, Kansas City
• Duart Duff, Kansas City
• Ayesha Husain, New York
• Joshua Johnson, Kansas City
• Kristin Long, Kansas City
• Christopher Meehan, Kansas City
• Ashleigh Rogers, Kansas City
• Ryan Sorby, Kansas City
• Frank Steiner, Kansas City
• Sabrina Tockook, Denver
• Bianca Binder, London
• Charlie Fordham, London
• Matt Grace, London
• Jorge Mendez, London
• Elizabeth Miglierina, London
• Marian Moravek, London

Promotions to Associate:
• Rosario Cho, Brisbane
* Henry Coates, Brisbane
• Nick Fitzgerald, Sydney
• Jack Kato, Singapore
• Alexa Lee, Singapore
• Ashish Shrivastav, Delhi
• Lucas Bergstrom, Kansas City
• Nicholas Caprario, Kansas City
• Daniel Coleman, Kansas City
• Christopher Collins, Kansas City
• Bridget Gramlich, Kansas City
• Michael Hoelscher, Kansas City
* Aaron Jones, Kansas City
• Michael Kinard, Denver
• Patrick Knight, Kansas City
• Nicholas Malyon, Kansas City
• Leo Mangimelli, Kansas City
* Elizabeth Martinez, Denver
• Daniel Molina, Kansas City
• Ana Paz, Kansas City
• Megan Rand, Kansas City
• Ashley Simpson, Kansas City
• Danielle Whitelaw, Denver
• Fabiano D’Amato, London
• Tao Jiang, London
• Beth McCarey, London
• Andrew Rieper, London
• Scott Rogers, London
• Maria Vlcakova, London
• Sin Jae Yoo, London