By his own admission, John Siehl, CFE, is not one to often be left speechless. In fact, he calls it a rarity. But the cat got his tongue, so to speak, when a recent call arrived from IAVM Chairman Mark Mettes, CFE, to share the good news that Siehl would be receiving the industry’s most prestigious recognition in being named recipient of the Charles A. McElravy Award, to be given during VenueConnect in Nashville, August 7-10.

“When Mark called to tell me the news, well, you don’t catch me speechless too many times but I was at that moment,” Siehl said. “As I told Mark, I have been in this industry for 53 years now, having started as an usher in 1965, and this is an incredible recognition. I am honored to join ranks with the great group of individuals who have received this award.”

Thus Siehl, vice president and chief operating officer of VenuWorks, joins the list of professionals to receive an award initiated in 1963 that is granted for extraordinary contributions to the Association and the professional venue management industry it serves.

After that humble stint as an usher to begin his career at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio, Siehl quickly moved into management and was named general manager in 1982. He joined the staff at the Ervin J. Nutter Center at Wright State University in 1990 and served there as general manager for more than 20 years. Siehl served IAVM as its president (now called chair) in 2010-11.

“It’s quite an honor and it has been an incredible life,” Siehl said. “I can’t say much more. It’s the industry that has helped me accomplish so much. I just love it and am humbled and proud to join the ranks of all the people that have been McElravy winners before me. I just really couldn’t be any happier right at the moment.”

“The passion and dedication that John Siehl has for our association and industry comes through in everything that he does,” Mettes said. “Whether it is his time as chair of IAVM, his work on the Academy for Venue Safety & Security (AVSS) or the many other ways he has served our association, this honor is well deserved.”

Based in Dayton, Siehl serves on many local boards including Ronald McDonald House Charities, The Aullwood Audubon Center, Greene County Foundation and Special Wish. He was two-time president of the Fairborn Chamber of Commerce and is past president of the local Convention and Visitors Bureau. Siehl is also a volunteer in Dayton as a bereavement counselor.

Siehl said he had not thought much in advance about the award but that once he was notified it was the “capper” to his career.

“It’s something you just don’t think about,” he said. “I can’t say I had given it much thought. Other people receive the award at VenueConnect and you think, oh, that’s really nice, and, boy, they really deserve it, but you just never really put yourself in that place. It’s just an absolute incredible honor. I literally was speechless.

“But I am absolutely thrilled to be able to be honored by an association that has literally been my life and industry that has given me so much. I just hope that I have given back to them.”

Please welcome our newest members who joined IAVM in January 2017. Thank you for being a part of the association!

Also, let us get to know you better by participating in the I Am Venue Management series. Please visit http://www.iavm.org/i-am-venue-management-share-your-story to share your story and photo.

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When Nathaniel Porter and Allie Stites took on the roles of co-chair for a two-day Region 6 Future Industry Leaders Conference on January 30-31 in Tulsa, they had no idea whether the first-ever such event targeted toward mid-level venue managers would warrant a second look. But after the final severe weather session ended on Tuesday, they said they could see the event happening again in Tulsa, if not somewhere else.

“When we started we really didn’t know,” said Porter, senior event services manager at the SMG-managed BOK Center. “We wanted to make it successful this first year. It went well enough that we would want to think about doing it again in Tulsa or even helping somewhere else in another venue.”

Stites, senior events manager at the Cox Business Center, came away impressed enough that she strongly advocated other regions get involved in doing something similar.

“I would highly encourage other regions to do this,” she said. “With our attendance of more than 80 for each day, it showed that there really is a need for a conference for this level of manager in our industry. We tried to keep this cost-minimal while still providing a wonderful experience for everybody, but I highly recommend other regions create something like this because right now there is not a whole lot out there for mid-level managers or people right out of college or people looking to broaden their knowledge a little bit at an appropriate cost level. We would be happy to help people and be a sounding board.”

The sound from the conference in Tulsa was one of applause for an event that on the first day included several sessions covering a wide range of industry topics including sales and booking, best practices in venue management, backstage catering, security demonstration, in-house special events and professional development. The second day focused on severe weather and included numerous sessions on that topic near and dear to those in the severe weather belt.

“We were really happy with the turnout just from our region,” Porter said. “The speakers were really engaging with the audience, and we got a lot of positive feedback from all of our guests on all the people that presented on the first day and our severe weather on the second day. We had a good mix of people all the way from college students to people who have been in the industry for 20 years.”

Porter and Stites said that they worked together in their co-chair roles and utilized a committee of some 10 people who helped in the planning process as well as shaping some of the various content for sessions. Stites called being a co-chair and serving on the committee a highlight in her career.

“I learned so much through that process and would encourage other IAVM members to join those committees because it’s a learning experience,” she said. “It challenged me to think outside the box and out of my comfort zone and required me to brush up on some skills I had not used in a while.

“At the conference a takeaway I had was to remember the bigger picture that’s going on. It is easy in my position at the convention center to just get focused on my tasks and lose track of all of the other parts of the wheel that make an event happen. The bigger picture is all the departments working together.”

Porter added that having a group of leaders from different venue types on the first day was an effective learning experience for him.

“The first panel that we started off with was our GM at the BOK Center, Jeff Nickler, the assistant GM from the Cox Business Center, Kerry Painter, and Peter Lane, the CEO of the Walton Arts Center/Walmart AMP,” he said. “Anytime you can learn from people who have been in the business and had success in the business is something you need to do. I got to spend some time with them that maybe I wouldn’t in another setting. Just hearing their insights from an arena, convention center and theater/amphitheater was beneficial for me.”

Attendees received points toward their Certified Venue Professional (CVP) designation, and Porter said that the education was tailored perfectly toward the audience.

“Again, it was something more cost effective for more of the mid-level to low-level manager just starting out,” he said. “This gives them an opportunity to get out and learn from people and be able to go to a conference and check that box off the CVP checklist.”

Porter said that as he and Stites began reaching out to others in the industry for advice and suggestions in forming a conference, he noticed the immediate help that came. It is a favor, he said, that he would like to repay in the future.

“That’s what I love about this industry,” he said, “being able to learn from others and just call them and see what they’re doing and how can we help each other. That was one of the points of the conference, to get together with people of similar backgrounds but different types of venues just to see what works best and what maybe you can take back home.”

World Wrestling Entertainment came to San Antonio and the Alamodome on January 29 as one of the WWE’s premier events turned 30. Nick Langella, Alamodome GM, carried the championship gold surrounded by (from left) Joe Flanagan, WWE SVP Live Events, Stephanie McMahon, Chief Brand Officer, Paul Levesque, EVP Talent, Creative Writing, Live Events, and John Saboor, EVP Special Events.

Sharon Cummins announced her plans to retire as the executive director of the U.S. Cellular Center, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids Ice Arena and McGrath Amphitheatre in Cedar Rapids, Iowa later this year. Cummins’ decision to retire will close a remarkable career of 30 years in public assembly management.

“On July 7, 2017 I will celebrate my 30th year in the public assembly management industry,” Cummins said. “Never would I have thought 30 years ago when I answered an ad for the City of Cedar Rapids looking for an Administrative Assistant at the Five Seasons Center what an exciting career I would have in this business. I have met incredible people, had the pleasure of working with great mentors and feel that I have made a positive contribution to the varied tasks that I have undertaken. I am now ready for
the next adventure in my life. Ron and I plan to travel the country, spend time with family and friends and just see what lies ahead.”

In addition to serving as the executive director of the U.S. Cellular Center, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids Ice Arena and McGrath Amphitheatre during two time frames, Cummins also spent seven years working as the national director of planning and development at VenuWorks’ corporate office.

“Sharon Cummins has been a strong leader for our company. I am grateful for her innumerable contributions to the Cedar Rapid managed-venues and her distinguished tenure with VenuWorks,” said Steve Peters, president of VenuWorks.

Associate Executive Director Mike Silva will succeed Cummins at the helm effective July 1, 2017. “It is truly an honor to succeed Sharon as the next executive director in Cedar Rapids,” said Silva. “It has been a pleasure to work directly with Sharon. She has guided us with her leadership, integrity, and commitment to our community. I look forward to leading the team with this legacy of excellence.”