By Barbara Moreno

The staff of the San Diego Convention Center will be starting the new year with new safety and security tactics, following recent training from two top experts in the conventions, meetings, and venue industry.

Mark Herrera, Director of Education for the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), and Paul Villotti, Director of Life Safety for Henderson Engineers, provided two days of training to nearly 300 staff members and outside partners, including labor leaders, event security companies, and representatives of the San Diego International Airport and San Diego Theaters.

The trainings, held on December 14 and 15, 2017, is part of the San Diego Convention Center’s commitment to providing a safe environment to the nearly 900,000 attendees who visit the venue each year.

“Hosting events like this is important because it raises awareness levels among all staff including members of the team who may or may not have anything with ‘security’ in their job title,” said Josh Layne, Director of Public Security and Technology. “Training our housekeepers, grounds workers, engineers and concierge personnel works as a force multiplier. When all staff are actively thinking about security and know how to recognize when something just doesn’t seem right, it means that there are 100 additional sets of eyes looking for potential threats.”

The two days of training are part of the San Diego Convention Center’s commitment to working as partners with IAVM in a coordinated approach to protecting customers, guests, staff, and stakeholders within the convention and meetings industry.

The convention center’s leadership team, led by President & CEO Clifford “Rip” Rippetoe, CFE, and Executive Vice President and General Manager Karen Totaro, CFE, as well as its Board of Directors are working with the IAVM Industry Security Council.

“As a past Chairman of the Board for IAVM, I am completely immersed in ensuring our team is exposed to all the educational opportunities the IAVM offers,” said Totaro. “I have had the pleasure of participating in this expanded security training several times and worked with Mark Herrera and Josh Layne to make it a reality here in San Diego for our team and other community teams alike.”

Layne sits on IAVM’s Safety and Security Committee to help develop risk mitigation guidelines and share best practices within the industry to improve safety nationwide.

“A great venue such as the San Diego Convention Center ensures that venue and security staff have regular training and also regularly test knowledge, skills and reactions in a variety of different situations,” he said. “Training, in particularly reality-based training, inoculates everyone to conditions that provide the tools and resources to better plan, prepare and recover to any condition.”

Herrera added that the San Diego Convention Center is part of an overall $283 billion industry, servicing millions of people who attend meetings, conventions and exhibitions across the country.

Rippetoe said that this training is just the beginning of a more holistic approach to security training, reiterating that every member of the team is critical to security.

“It is my goal that we take a lead role and a collective responsibility when it comes to mitigating risks and assessing threats,” he said. “We already have a strong collaborative relationship with our partners at the San Diego Police Department, Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department and the FBI. Our actions can help make critical infrastructures in and around the San Diego Convention Center that much safer.”

Barbara Moreno is executive director of communications for the San Diego Convention Center Corporation.

The Board of the Venue Management Association (Asia Pacific) announced the appointment of Michael Brierley as their new Chief Executive Officer. He will begin his duties on January 2, 2018.

Brierley comes to the VMA with a 20-year career in sports management within Australia, having previously held senior positions with Yachting Australia (Commercial Manager) and the Australian Olympic Committee (Executive Director; Queensland Olympic Council). Most recently, as CEO of Apex Camps, Brierley successfully turned around the Queensland based youth charity which operated 4 active recreation venues throughout the State.

With a strong background in large-scale membership programs, stakeholder engagement strategies, and corporate governance, Brierley also brings a wealth of experience from the peak body sector having previously sat on the Boards of the Australian Society of Sport Administrators and the Institute of Sport Management.

In announcing the selection, VMA President Steve Harper, CFE, said, “I am very much looking forward to having Michael on board. He brings with him well-rounded and extensive experience that will serve the organization well. Michael’s key focus will be to provide strong organizational and financial leadership to the organization, build on the VMA brand throughout the region, significantly grow the membership program, and deliver quality education and professional development product to the industry.”

“I am extremely delighted to be given the opportunity to lead such a well-respected organization through the next phase of its growth,” Brierley said. “I am looking forward to working with the dedicated Board and Committees of the VMA, and wider stakeholder group across the Asia Pacific region, to continue to build on the 30 plus years of valued contribution to the venue management industry.”

Facility Manager Senior Editor R.V. Baugus has written a book about his wife, Tanya, who passed away suddenly almost three years ago at age 48 during a day surgery procedure. The book Saint, Servant, Soulmate: The Loving Legacy of Tanya Baugus, is now available to order from a website established for Tanya at www.honoringtanyabaugus.com.

Your purchase of this book supports the Tanya Baugus Memorial Scholarship Fund at her employer Coaches Outreach. The Scholarship was the idea of Coaches Outreach founder Tommy Maxwell to honor the legacy and memory of Tanya while at the same time using donations to the scholarship to enable coaching couples the opportunity to afford one of the Coaches Outreach summer marriage retreats. As the event coordinator, Tanya was present at every marriage retreat and welcomed all couples whether she knew them or not with open arms and a loving heart for the weekend they were about to enjoy. Tanya loved these special weekends in the summer to see couples grow closer together in their marriage and in their spiritual walk.

Thank you for remembering Tanya and giving her great joy in heaven by knowing that your purchase goes to one of her greatest passions in the Coaches Outreach marriage retreats.

Daktronics announced a continued partnership with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to bring 14 LED displays totaling more than 23,000 square feet to the venue for the 2018 season.

“While putting a perennial contender on the field remains a top priority, the fan experience is very important to Angels Baseball,” said Angels Club President John Carpino. “We believe this investment into Angel Stadium will dramatically enhance the overall experience for our loyal and dedicated fan base, and look forward to unveiling this technology at the start of the 2018 Season.”

The new right field video display will be the third largest in Major League Baseball at 9,500 square feet. It will feature 7.7 million LEDs and would take a total of 890 60-inch televisions to cover the entire display. The new display in left field will measure 5,488 square feet. Both displays will feature 13HD pixel layouts and 11,000 nits of brightness, the industry-leading solution for outdoor stadium technology, to bring excellent image clarity and contrast to fans in every seat.

The project upgrades Daktronics technology that has been operating since its installation in 2004. With the new project, a total of 17.1 million LEDs will light up to improve the fan experience in and around the stadium.

“We’re excited to continue our long-standing partnership with the Los Angeles Angels for this upcoming stadium-wide installation,” said Daktronics President and CEO Reece Kurtenbach. “We’re proud to continue developing the best video solutions for our customers in the world of sports and beyond. Our customers have high expectations for our products and we look forward to meeting and exceeding their expectations for years to come.”

Marcus “Chip” Murrell has been appointed general manager for the Rocky Mount (NC) Event Center, a Sports Facilities Management, LLC managed facility.

Murrell brings over 15 years of experience in the event industry to Rocky Mount, with his most recent duties as an operations director for the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, S.C. and the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Fla. Murrell’s responsibilities included leading the day-to-day back of house venue operations, leading his events team in the planning and implementation of all events, creating and successfully meeting annual budgets, maintaining inventory, and overseeing all service management agreements with outside vendors. As general manager for the Rocky Mount Event Center, Murrell will be responsible for managing all aspects of the pre-opening and operations of the facility scheduled to open fall 2018.

Murrell is a graduate of Winston Salem State University with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management: Management and Administration. He is also a graduate of the IAVM Venue Management School and is currently an active member of IAVM and the Event Service Professionals Association (ESPA). In 2015, Murrell earned the Employee of the Year Award with the Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports and Tourism.

Murrell began his duties on November 23.