Good morning! 

Monday, July 9th, is the day that the 2018 IAVM Foundation Silent Auction officially goes LIVE online!  Interested bidders can now login to Bidding for Good, create an account, and begin bidding on scores of really wonderful items!  All of the items listed in the online auction will also be on the Trade Show Floor for bidding during VenueConnect.  There will be approximately 20 items that will be exclusively on the trade show floor and are not part of the online auction.

To place bids online, create an account on Bidding for Good and begin placing bids.  During the Trade Show, we will be continuously updating real-time bid-sheets to reflect online bids.  The online bidding will close at approximately 2:00 on the second day of the Trade Show, which is Tuesday, July 24.

To place bids in person at the trade show, come to the IAVM Foundation booth, register for a number, and begin bidding.  Be sure to keep an eye on your bids, in case someone outbids you!  The trade show auction will close at approximately 3:00 on the second day of the Trade show (one hour later than the online auction).

At this time payments will be received, and paperwork for each item will be exchanged.  As we have noted in previous messages, the items will not be at the trade show, but remain either at the IAVM offices or with the donors.  After the close of bidding, arrangements will be made to ship items to the winners.

Payment methods accepted are credit cards and checks.  Some invoicing will be available if winning bidder is not present.

We will see you in a few weeks in the Foundation booth at VenueConnect 2018!  Be sure to stop by to place your bids!

Click Here to see the list of Auction Items.

Enjoy!

Earlier this year, I became CEO of the Spokane Public Facilities District, the organization where my career in the venue management industry was born.  Five months into my new position, and as my term as Chair of the IAVM Foundation Board of Trustees comes to an end, I have been reflecting on how my career path led me to become CEO and how much the Foundation played a role in my professional achievements and success–even though in the early days, I didn’t even know the Foundation existed.

The mission of our Foundation is to increase the positive impact and vitality of the venue management industry by funding research, education and resource development.  We were conceived in 1982 after “The Who” concert tragedy in 1979.  Our industry was in need of crowd management safety standards so the other venues could learn from, and most importantly prevent, a similar tragedy.  Over the last 35 years, because of our member contributed resources, our Foundation made possible.

Venue Management School (VMS)

Academy for Venue Safety and Security (AVSS)

Senior Executive Symposium at Cornell (SES)

The Certified Venue Executive Designation (CVE formally CFE)

Certified Venue Professional Certification (CVP)

VenueDataSource

Public Assembly Facility Management College Textbook

30 Under 30 Program

Joseph A. Floreano Scholarship and Internship Program

UpStart Program

100+ Women Campaign

VenueConnect Golf Tournament

VenueConnect Legacy Project

As I look at this list, I realize how much of my success I owe to those who came before me and invested in the Foundation so I could benefit from so many programs.  I am a graduate of VMS, VMS GI, SES, and last year received my CVE and read the textbook cover to cover.  I have participated in the Golf Tournament, the Legacy Project and the UpStart Program, have sent employees to AVSS, as well as having one of my employees become a 30|Under|30 last year.  VenueDataSource has provided a wealth of knowledge and connections. It’s amazing to have the resource of other venue managers’ experience literally at our fingertips and how much we can solve together.

Like all good organizations, the IAVM Foundation took some time this year to evaluate what our vision and mission are and if the Foundation is still relevant today.  We determined our core values to be:

• Partnership Development
• Member Engagement and Satisfaction
• Marketing and Communication
• Financial Management
• Future Initiatives

As our Association evolves with the changing needs of our industry, we are focused on continuing a strong Foundation in anticipation of what the “next thing” might be. There is no end to what IAVM is willing to do to innovate, advocate, and inspire. To keep up with the mission of our Association, the Foundation Board of Trustees gathered together a few months ago and hired an expert to help us create a 3 Year Strategic Plan for the Foundation.  We are hard at work and will meet again with our consultant at Venue Connect to set the course for the upcoming year.

I am proud of the work our Foundation Board of Trustees has done over the years.  There have certainly been ups and downs, but we have persevered and continued to forge ahead with new resolve because we know what we do matters and we are inspired by each of you to continue to keep our Foundation strong, relevant and working for you. While my time as Chair is coming to an end, my term as a Trustee is not, and I look forward to participating in the continuing forward motion of the IAVM Foundation.

And one final thing… I wouldn’t be a very good Trustee if I didn’t take this moment to ask you to look at the list of initiatives the Foundation has supported and ask yourself how many of these initiatives have you or your venue benefited from? Isn’t it at least worth paying it forward by investing back into the Foundation?

Invest in your Foundation to invest in the future of our industry.

IAVM Foundation

Chair, Board of Trustees

Charles P. “Charlie” Graviss, CVE, was a man known for giving nicknames for a number of reasons, said his son, Christopher Scott “Zeno” Graviss. In the passing of Charlie Graviss on June 16 at his home in Bakersfield, Calif., at age 92 from natural causes, we give ourselves a nickname for having known a man who loved the public assembly venue industry and who served as then IAAM president in 1976-77: blessed.

Chris said that his father passed away peacefully in his sleep in the presence of a precious granddaughter, Kimberly, who lived with Charlie and was a loving caregiver. Graviss was also a man blessed by children and grandchildren as evidenced by having six kids to go with 14 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and even one great-great-grandchild.

Chris called his father a “great mentor and someone who was very friendly. His mantra was ‘I’ll teach you anything I know if you’re willing to listen and learn.'”

“He was always very open and sharing his experiences to help make people better at their jobs and to be better managers so they could prosper in the industry,” Chris added.

Charlie Graviss is best remembered by industry friends from his service at the then Bakersfield Civic Auditorium that started in 1983. It was a place that became familiar to the children and where they loved being with their dad.

“All us kids at one time or another were there,” Chris said. “I was the youngest. One reason that my dad retired in 1992 was actually so my oldest brother Chuck could get on there at the facility. The City of Bakersfield had a nepotism law back then, so my dad retired. My brother went on to work there for another 15 years and then he retired.

“Being there was cool. It was like a second home to us all. We kind of had the run of the place but we also had to show respect for anybody who worked there.”

Chris said that he also went to the Association’s annual conference that was in San Diego the year his dad served as president and that it provided him another memory that has lasted a lifetime.

“I was probably about 13 and I thought it was really fun because everybody was always so kind,” he said. “They actually let me drive the beverage cart going around the golf course during their golf outing. I just thought that was the greatest thing in the world.”

When it came to nicknames, Chris said that his dad bestowed them since he met so many people in the normal course of managing a venue.

“It was a way he could relate to people,” Chris said. “He didn’t want to be embarrassed by not remembering names, so he would associate something to them and give them a nickname. That was his way of always being very cordial.”

A sister, Becky, and mother, Betty, are deceased, but most of the remaining kids have their own nicknames they continue to carry with them as given by Charlie. Oldest brother Chuck is actually Charles Paul Jr., while brother Corky is Arthur and another brother Rusty is David. Sister Cyndi Moreno was spared a nickname.

As for Chris being called Zeno?

“He got a little bit more creative as he had children,” Chris said. “Back in the day people would go to name books and look at names for kids. I was the last of six and Zeno was the last name in the name book and was my dad’s way to tell my mom this was it!”

Chris said that a memorial service date is undetermined, but most likely will occur in August and that a future update would be provided about the service and any memorials or donations that might be made in his dad’s memory by his many friends in the industry and elsewhere.

Patricia Muzquiz-Cantor has been named Director of Convention and Sports Facilities Department that operates the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Alamodome, Lila Cockrell Theater, and Carver Cultural Center Community Center in San Antonio.

She had served as interim director of the of Convention and Sports Facilities Department since February and led the successful execution of operations at the convention center and Alamodome during the 2018 Men’s Final Four.

Patricia has served the City of San Antonio for 21 years, previously as the assistant director of the Convention and Sports Facilities Department and the Fiscal Administrator. She holds both a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio and Bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University at College Station.

In her new position, Muzquiz-Cantor is responsible for the oversight of the department’s facilities, development and administration of the department’s budget and ensuring efficient and quality service delivery for convention clients. She has worked within the Convention and Sports Facilities Department since 2004 and has refined skills in fiscal management, budget administration, and management of contracts and agreements.

“I am confident in her ability to continue to lead the Convention and Sports Facilities Department in elevating the experience at our facilities and attracting large scale events to San Antonio,” said Carlos J. Contreras, III, Assistant City Manager.

In addition to being an IAVM member, Muzquiz-Cantor is a graduate of Leadership San Antonio Class 41 and an active volunteer of the City of San Antonio Women’s Leadership Program.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation released the results of a survey of employees across the nation, revealing the persistent daily challenges that have led nearly half of LGBTQ people to remain closeted at their workplaces — a rate largely unchanged over the past decade. A Workplace Divided: Understanding the Climate for LGBTQ Workers Nationwide, HRC’s third national workplace study over the past decade, shines a light on the often-intangible, nuanced issues in the workplace that keep LGBTQ workers “separate,” leaving many feeling distracted, exhausted or depressed, and believing they have nowhere to turn for help.

The survey of both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ workers reveals that, despite significant progress in recent years — including the Supreme Court of the United State’s decision embracing marriage equality in 2015, as well as corporate policies and practices that increasing embrace LGBTQ inclusion, substantial barriers to full inclusion. Many of these barriers exist within interpersonal workplace connections, including non-work conversations or outings among coworkers.

“While LGBTQ-inclusive corporate policies are becoming the norm, LGBTQ workers too often face a climate of bias in their workplace,” said Deena Fidas, director of HRC’s Workplace Equality Program. “LGBTQ employees are still avoiding making personal and professional connections at work because they fear coming out — and that hurts not only that employee, but the company as a whole. Even the best-of-the-best private sector employers with top-rated policies and practices must do more to nurture a climate of inclusion for all.”

The HRC Foundation survey found that:
•Forty-six percent of LGBTQ workers say they are closeted at work, compared to 50 percent in HRC’s groundbreaking 2008 Degrees of Equality report;
•One in five LGBTQ workers report having been told or had coworkers imply that they should dress in a more feminine or masculine manner;
•Fifty-three percent of LGBTQ workers report hearing jokes about lesbian or gay people at least once in a while;
•Thirty-one percent of LGBTQ workers say they have felt unhappy or depressed at work;
•And the top reason LGBTQ workers don’t report negative comments they hear about LGBTQ people to a supervisor or human resources? They don’t think anything would be done about it — and they don’t want to hurt their relationships with coworkers

These survey results come at a time when the HRC Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index which measures LGBTQ-inclusive workplace policies and practices at Fortune 500 companies and top law firms, reported this year that a record-breaking 609 businesses earned a top score of 100 — up from 517 last year. This set a new high water mark for corporate leadership over the 16-year history of the CEI. However, despite these explicit protections across the nation’s top companies, 59 percent of non-LGBTQ workers surveyed by the HRC Foundation in a range of workplace sectors say they think it’s unprofessional to talk about sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace, even though by their own self-reporting they regularly talk about these subjects through everyday conversations about spouses, families and life outside of work. The double standard LGBTQ workers are held to remains a persistent barrier to full inclusion on the job.

The Human Rights Campaign’s top federal legislative priority is to win passage of the Equality Act, a bipartisan bill that would add comprehensive protections for LGBTQ people into our nation’s existing civil rights laws. More than 246 bipartisan cosponsors in Congress and 111 leading American companies have endorsed the bill and are continuing to build momentum for its passage in order to secure full federal equality for LGBTQ people.

The full report, A Workplace Divided: Understanding the Climate for LGBTQ Workers Nationwide, can be found here.