“We (Board of Trustees) are extremely proud to announce the third class of your IAVM Foundation 30 | UNDER | 30. This group truly represents the talent, passion and drive we all have for the industry. These 30 deserving individuals will come together at VenueConnect 2017 to represent the Foundation at the Legacy Project, UpSTART Emerging Leaders Program and at the Foundation Lounge on the trade show floor. We encourage everyone to come by and meet the next 30 | UNDER | 30 class,” said Bob Hunter, Board of Trustee Chair.

Applicants were required to submit application and a creative video. Four members from the IAVM Young Professional committee, along with two IAVM Foundation Board of Trustees, Mark Gnatovic, Senior Vice President of Searchwide and Bill Bavirsha, Associate Athletic Director Facility Operations/ General Manager UIC Athletics Sports Complex, served as the evaluation committee. 

“We received a staggering number of applications and it was extremely hard to narrow down the list to 30 as all submissions were top notch” stated Bill Bavirsha.

When asked what being a Class of 2016 30 | UNDER | 30 member meant to him, Michael Santa,  IAVM Young Professional Committee Vice Chair said,  “It has been extreme honor to be part of the current 30UNDER30 class. Meeting and networking with so many of my talented peers and colleagues in my class has been an incredible opportunity. My VenueConnect 2016 experience as part of the 30|UNDER|30 class in Minneapolis was unforgettable!”

Recipients receive complimentary registration to VenueConnect 2017, along with an $850 stipend.

Congratulations to the 30 | UNDER | 30 Class of 2017!

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In accordance with IAVM policies and bylaws, the slate for the 2017-2018 Board of Directors is now available here. As in previous years, members will have an opportunity to cast their votes electronically in advance of VenueConnect in Nashville, TN.

Members can read about the candidates online during their leisure in preparation of casting their votes.

The ballot box will open June 26, 2017, but in the interim take advantage of the opportunity to read all about those individuals slated to lead the Association during the next year.

Congratulations to our latest Certified Venue Professionals:

1. Jason Gibson, CVP, Director of Event Services at INTRUST Bank Arena
2. Angela Vanderwell, CVP, Event Manager at Salt Lake County Center for the Arts
3. Daniel Hare, CVP, Manager of Guest Services at T-Mobile Arena
4. Carrie Paolone, CVP, Director of Events at Scotiabank Convention Centre
5. Christopher Bullock, CVP, Production Manager at Citi Performing Arts Center
6. Tony Pucci, CVP, Senior Event Coordinator, Minneapolis Convention Center

View all of our current CVP’s here.

Thanks to the generous funding and support from the IAVM Foundation, the CVP program was launched in August 2015 at VenueConnect in Baltimore. It recognizes the competence of middle-to-senior-level managers of public assembly venues as well as assisting the managers in creating a professional roadmap in the venue industry.

The CVP designation says three important things about an individual: he or she is a capable professional, is committed to the industry, and is pledged to continued professional growth and development. Venue professionals who earn the CVP designation are recognized, by those inside and outside the industry, as skilled in their profession.

The next installment of the YP Connection will feature U.S. Bank Stadium’s Director of Event Services, Billy Langenstein. Langenstein, 29, helped open the brand new home to the Minnesota Vikings and will play host to SuperBowl LII this February. Previous to his current role Langenstein was the Director of Event Operations for the Washington Nationals.

Sign up to be one of 8 google hangout participants to share the room with our special guest as well as your host, past YP Committee Chair, Mac Campbell, CVP.

Join the conversation to pick the brain of this rising star in sports venue management. Learn about his suggestions on how to set yourself up for success early in your career, how he has furthered his education since his undergraduate degree and hear the stories about learning a brand-new building while planning for the biggest sporting event of the year. Please register today and let us know what questions you have or what topics you’d like for us to discuss during this 45 minute conversation.

IAVM’s Young Professional Committee hosts the YP Connection to give face time with current and rising leaders in our industry to members under the age of 30. It is our hope that these small group sessions create networking and educational opportunities that would not be as readily available to these members at this stage in their careers.

Richard Andersen, CFE, sat in the crowd last Thursday evening with fellow instructors and students for closing remarks of the 2017 Venue Management School (VMS) at Oglebay from Board of Regents Chair Cheryl Swanson, CFE. Part of those remarks would include the announcement of the recipient of the Ray Ward Award, bestowed upon an individual associated with VMS whose dedicated service and extraordinary contributions over a period of at least six years have resulted in significant and long lasting improvements to the overall success and quality of the school. The award was created and initially presented to namesake and industry icon Ray Ward in August 1996.

“Cheryl was literally up at the podium making some remarks,” Andersen said. “She said a couple of things and the next thing I heard was my name. That made me realize, that, wow, this is something. A couple of people sitting at my table looked at me and were also like, wow! I was really humbled, truly humbled. I had a really hard time finding words to even speak to what had just happened.”

What had just happened was the recognition of Andersen into a most select group of individuals, a group that volunteers time, effort and energy into IAVM’s premier educational school that builds future industry leaders. Andersen, President & Chief Executive Officer of Seafair, the premier festival management company of the Pacific Northwest based in Seattle, is in his own right an Oglebay icon. As a Past Chair and ongoing faculty member, Andersen holds the school in high regard.

“The real piece around this was that the part of IAVM that I love more or I’ve been more honored to be a part of is that school,” Andersen said. “To have an opportunity to say a few words to the students about what it’s like to be a part of the faculty there, what it’s like to be a part of that energy and really only the people that go to that school can really understand this. There’s no way to explain to somebody just how amazing it is.”

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