The iCommit member referral campaign is winding down. There are just 19 days left (campaign ends on June 30) to sign up new members to our community! 

With your support, we have now added 57 new members due to your referrals.

For each new member you refer, your name will be entered in a raffle to win great prizes! The current leaderboard is shown below:

• Carol Wallace – 17 – group members
• Mount Allen, CVE – 15  – group members
• Alexis Berggren – 8 – group members

• Bill Bavirsha – 1 – professional
• Jason Beckett – 1 – allied
• Sara Blayne – 1 –professional 
• Gabriella Calicchio – 1 –professional
• Kathryn Carlson, CVP – 1- young professional
• Shannon Caudill – 1 –professional
• Kenny Gaudinez, CVP – 1 – student
• Paul Hanson – 1 – young professional
• Troy Hoberg – 1 – allied
• Dwight Johnson – 1 – young professional
• Bryan Jones – 1 – professional
• Billy Langenstein – 1 – young professional
• Terri McGilbra – 1 allied
• Steve Miller – 1 professional
• Jennifer Norris – 1 professional
• Robert Olson – 1 – professional
• Andy Pate – 1 – professional
• Kate Pierro – 1 – young professional
• Lynda Reinhart – 2 group members
• Patrick Rice – 1 – professional
• Chris Sanders – 1 – professional
• Timothy Savona – 1 –young professional
• John Siehl, CVE – 2 – professionals
• Russ Simons – 1 professional 
• Kevin Spence, CVE – 1 – student
• Brett Stefansson – 2 professionals
• Jay Thomas, CVE-  1 – student 
• Beth Wade, CVE – 1 – young professional
• Jessica Wickey – 1 student

Do you have interns, students or young professionals working for you now? Is there a long-time employee who hasn’t gotten involved yet? Encourage them to become a part of our network.

If you know of a venue in your community that is not a part of IAVM, encourage them to consider Group Membership. As of today, 160 venues are participating as group members.

Do you have a vendor that is not an Allied Member? Urge them to join now and experience all that membership has to offer!

To ensure you are eligible to win one of the prizes, ask your new member to do the following:

• List your name in the Application Section titled, “Who Recommended IAVM To You/How Did You Hear About IAVM?”
• Enter “iCommit” in the Promotional Code fieldin the online membership application
• For new Professional or Allied members only, the $150 one-time initiation fee will be waived

 
Prizes

• The grand prize will be a complimentary registration to VenueConnect2019 (value up to $1,000).
• Win one of five, $500 Apple Gift cards
• The IAVM Region that adds the most new members will have one CVP application fee waived (value $125)

 
We need your help to add more new members to our network. Let’s finish strong! The campaign ends June 30, 2018.

If you have any questions, please contact Gina Brydson, Director of Membership.

Last Thursday night, 294 excited students (largest student attendance in the history of VMS) attending VMS and VMSGI officially finished up a spectacular week of networking and learning and celebrated the graduation of year two students and recognition of GI students completing their program in Glessner Hall. There was also a rotation of class reps, recognition of interns, and changing of leadership of the Board of Regents finishing their year of service.

Cheryl Swanson, CVE rolled off as Past Chair, Bob Hunter, CVE moves into Past Chair. Todd Hunt, CVE takes the helm as Chair, Phil Jordan, CVE steps up to First Vice Chair, and Paul Turner, CVE, CSSP steps in as the new Second Vice Chair. After a video of Ray Ward was shown, Michael Marion, CVE was awarded the Ray W. Ward award, being recognized for his contributions to the Venue Management School.

The Regents, Instructors, and IAVM Staff spend a full twelve months in preparation for the coming year’s school giving selfless amounts of time, offering their industry experience/leadership, and time away from their venue responsibilities to place Venue Management School in expert hands for future success.

Bob Hunter, CVE chaired the 2018 school with great success, which generated a very active atmosphere during the week and especially at the graduation ceremony. Bob’s passion and commitment to the school showed itself in many ways, and from the lectern on his last night of chair, his emotions were visible and ran deep. Job Well Done Robert Hunter, CVE.

When we at IAVM and Facility Manager magazine say that the Association’s leading bi-monthly magazine is YOUR magazine, we mean it. We are the stewards and the ones responsible for producing content from issue to issue that helps you become a better venue manager. It is the primary reason for our existence and to ensure that for your membership you are getting the very best from the magazine.

To that end and since it is in fact your magazine, we want to request a favor: send us your story ideas for future issues of the magazine. We want to hear from you about what the hottest, latest, and greatest stories are in your world that we need to look at and report on. Do not think any subject too trivial for us to look at; we simply want to hear from you so that we might consider and evaluate feature stories moving forward.

Please email those story ideas (and suggested authors, if that applies), to rv.baugus@iavm.org, and we will be happy to consider for future publication and get back to you.

We sincerely value your input and ask again that you seriously consider a topic (or two … or three) and let us hear from you.

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) announced the hiring of Joyce Leveston as general manager. She will begin on July 16.

In her new role, Leveston will be responsible for overseeing the MCCA’s overall business operations teams and contract partners with a major focus on leadership, management and direction to further enhance the customer’s experience at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Hynes Convention Center, and Lawn On D.

She currently serves as director of convention services at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. where she leads a team of 14 and manages all aspects of convention services, event and facility operations, and coordination between the facility and its contract partners. Leveston has managed many signature events such as the Presidential Inaugural Balls, the Nuclear Security Summit for President Barack Obama, the Republican National Convention, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference, and the AIPAC Policy Conference.

“It is a privilege and an honor to be welcomed into the MCCA family. I look forward to supporting the vision and growth of such well respected professionals in the industry,” Leveston said. “It is my intention to build on Boston’s outstanding industry reputation for customer service excellence as we welcome and host visitors from around the world to the MCCA’s award winning venues.”

Leveston brings a wealth of industry knowledge to her new role. She has prior experience in key leadership roles in several Tier 1 convention markets including the San Diego Convention Center, the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX, and the Miami Beach Convention Center. At each stop she took on additional responsibilities and earned the confidence of her peers within the organization while raising her professional profile through membership in multiple professional organizations. Leveston is a regular participant in industry task forces and has been a presenter at events both domestic and international.

“Boston is a premier global destination for meetings, conventions and events, and we are excited to welcome Joyce to our already strong leadership team,” said David Gibbons, executive director of the MCCA. “Joyce has the talent, knowledge, expertise, and experience to lead the team, take on new responsibilities, and create an environment that delivers service excellence to every customer.”

In support of LGBT Pride Month, AEG is creating awareness around diversity and inclusion with the release of its “Infinite Diversity” video that underscores the organization’s belief in unity and diversity and can be seen here.

Newly launched, the campaign encourages employees and fans to view the video and share it on their social channels via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #BetterAsOne. The program promotes AEG’s belief that its strength comes through diversity of thought and ideas.

Dan Beckerman, CEO and President of AEG, said, “At AEG, we embrace our differences with regards to race, gender, gender identity, age, national origin, disabilities, politics, sexual orientation, education, and religion, and are focused on building a culture that consistently promotes diversity of thought. Diversity and inclusion are more than a corporate policy — they are embedded in everything we do, not only because it is the ‘right thing to do,’ but because it adds value to our organization. We are proud to celebrate diversity during Pride Month and throughout the entire year.”

In addition to promoting its “Infinite Diversity,” video on social media, on June 5 AEG hosted a discussion with Gregory Lewis, executive director and CEO of True Colors Fund, at the GRAMMY Museum at LA LIVE for its U.S. employee workforce that focuses on the work that True Colors Fund is doing to combat homelessness among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth.