SMG Tulsa hosted a day of educational training at the Cox Business Center on October 30. Focused on risk mitigation and emergency preparedness for a variety of venues and crowd sizes, the training was attended by over 250 event professionals and first responders. The event featured representatives from the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), Department of Homeland Security, BOK Center, Tulsa Police Department, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Cox Business Center.

“Preventing terrorism, enhancing security, and ensuring resilience from disasters has been the goal of the International Association of Venue Manager’s security initiatives,” said Mark Herrera, IAVM Director of Education | Life Safety. ” It is imperative that we continue to find innovative ways protect all venues and raise our baseline security posture such as the most recent emergency preparedness training held at Cox Business Center in Tulsa Oklahoma.”

The event began with an overview of safety concerns and measures unique to the city and its Arena District. The “Safety of the City” presentation featured SMG Tulsa General Manager Nickler and Assistant General Manager Kerry Painter, CVE, CEM, CMP, in a sit-down interview Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan.

“It’s tempting to think it won’t happen here or it can never happen in Tulsa, but that’s not the case,” stated SMG Tulsa General Manager Jeff Nickler. “We’re being proactive as a community and coming together to train and learn so Tulsa is prepared.”

“The dynamic threat environment involving potential vehicle ramming, knife attacks, small arms attacks and Improvised explosive attacks has prompted venues to look beyond the physical security measures and focus on increasing observational capabilities,” noted Herrera. “Venues today, like COX Business Center, understand the importance of coordinated training with key stakeholders and other organizations within their respective community. It is the goal of IAVM, through it’s Academy for Venue Safety and Security (AVSS), Venue Safety & Security Committees, and the live training programs to provide every venue and organization with exceptional focus, performance, and control in extreme situations.”

The event’s sessions included  “Situational Awareness (Risk Mitigation through Guest Service Interjection),” “Active Threat / Active Shooter Overview,” and “Trained Crowd Manager” and featured Herrera, Paul Villotti, PE, Director of Life Safety, Henderson Engineering, and Glenn Moore, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. IAVM provided a live-stream of the three training session on its Facebook page.  

For more information on how you can offer live safety and security training at your venue, click here.

Spectra, the providers of venue management and food services and hospitality to the Owensboro (KY) Convention Center and the Owensboro Sportscenter, announced some promotions and welcomes a new member to their Owensboro team.

Jessica Wilson Beckmann is now the director of the Owensboro Sportscenter. She was born and raised in Owensboro, a graduate of Daviess County High School (2005), and a KWC Lady Panther Basketball Alumni (2005-2007). Jessica graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a Bachelors in Business Administration, specializing in Sports Management and Marketing. She has attained the designation of Certified Event Management Expert (CEME), is a graduate of Venue Management School (VMS), and recently received the Certified Venue Professional (CVP) designation from IAVM.

She has spent the last 10 years in the St. Louis area managing events at a variety of venues including a casino, convention center, ballpark, and arena.

She joined Spectra Venue Management at Chaifetz Arena in 2015. In her three years with Spectra, she has worked with clients such as the St. Louis Sports Commission, the Olympic Committees, NCAA, AEG, and Live Nation.

“The Owensboro Sportscenter is nostalgic for me,” Wilson Beckmann said. “I look out the window of my new office and I can see where my grandfather Bullet Wilson, KWC Hall of Famer, coached. Like many others, I grew up on the sidelines of this arena in the heyday of the Ray Harper and Bruce Pearl rivalry. My family history is tied to this building, the tenants, and this city. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be back home to help grow the Sportscenter and continue to bring a number of new events to the facility.”

Heather Terry has been promoted to director of sales for the Owensboro Convention Center and the Owensboro Sportscenter. Heather started her career with Spectra as a Sales Manager in 2015. When Spectra was awarded the contract for the Owensboro Sportscenter in September 2016, she became a sales manager for that property as well. Her primary responsibility in her new role will be to book conventions and special events while overseeing the sales team.

Prior to her work with Spectra, she worked as an inside sales manager for Dell, Inc. as well as a supervisor at Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, both in Nashville.

Heather graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan College with a Bachelors in Communications with an emphasis on Public Relations and Advertising. She has an Associate’s Degree from Owensboro Community and Technical College in Organizational Communications.

Cody Ball has been promoted to operations manager at the Owensboro Convention Center. Cody joined the Spectra team in 2017 as a housekeeping lead and quickly transitioned over to setups and AV, including the new videoboards at the Owensboro Sportscenter. “We look forward to great things from Cody in his future with Spectra,” said Allen Herzog, director of operations.

University of Texas at Arlington (TX) Special Event Facilities announced the appointment of Paula McElheney to the new position of director of booking and contracts. McElheney’s role is to build promoter relationships in the entertainment industry, and to create and increase the number of entertainment, corporate, and special events to both College Park Center and Texas Hall.

McElheney comes to UT Arlington Special Event Facilities with more than 30 years of experience as a leader in the entertainment industry. She began in 1985 as co-founder of Production Specialties. Since that time she implemented exceptional achievement as a production assistant and talent buyer, working with a number of the major promoters as well as managing day-of-show details for concerts in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. Recently she was at Chesapeake Arena/Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, where she worked with entertainment, convention, and business events.

“Paula McElheney’s depth of knowledge in this industry will be a great asset to UTA’s Special Event Facilities team,” said Jeff Davis, CVE, CMP, executive director, Special Events Facilities. “As we focus on bringing more entertainment and events to College Park Center and Texas Hall, we are pleased to find the right candidate that understands concerts, family and corporate events, as well as the challenges of programming in a competitive market. With her extensive experience in the D/FW market, we are excited to have Paula joining our team in this capacity, and we look forward to having a more diversified event calendar for both venues.”

Throughout the month of November, fans attending events at SMG-managed Van Andel Arena and DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids, Michigan, are encouraged to bring “Thank You” cards for active duty military. In an effort to honor military personnel surrounding Veterans Day, SMG will collect cards from the public at all events throughout the entire month andsend them to troops and veterans.

Fans can bring unsealed “Thank You” cards to any event in November and leave them at the Guest Services booth (behind Section 104 on the main concourse) at Van Andel Arena and at coat check at DeVos Performance Hall. Anyone
who submits a “Thank You” card will be entered to win a pair of tickets to see Kelly Clarkson at Van Andel Arena on
February 14, 2019.

SMG collected cards at Van Andel Arena last year as well as cards from Grand Rapids Children’s Museum and Grand
Rapids Civic Theatre visitors. Students at local elementary schools also created cards of their own for the troops last year.

After the success of last year’s campaign, which saw more than 450 cards collected, SMG has expanded the collection to
DeVos Performance Hall as well.

Happy Friday!  #GivingTuesday is the global movement where millions of people around the U.S. and the world come together to support causes they believe in. This will be an opportunity for YOU, our members, to show support of the IAVM Foundation and the overall well being of the venue industry we all work in.

We hope that you will begin to consider and reflect on YOUR experiences in the venue industry, and that you will realize the importance of YOUR investment to the IAVM Foundation. Over the past 35 years, donations to the foundation have helped to create amazing programs such as VMS, the IAVM research department (VDS), safety and security initiatives (EMSSI), and scholarship and internship programs for the future of the industry. #GivingTuesday is a time to give back, so the IAVM Foundation can continue to develop programs and education that improve every aspect of our venue industry.

Your support, in any amount, makes a difference!  Please consider giving back on #GivingTuesday. CLICK HERE to invest now!