Schuler Shook announces the opening of its San Francisco Bay office and addition to its California team. The office is the natural product of Schuler Shook’s active presence and ongoing work in California and will help provide local expertise to our clients in the region.

Schuler Shook’s new office comprises a group of highly experienced and respected designers, including Heather McAvoy, ASTC, Principal; Harold “Chip” Ulich, ASTC, Project Theatre Consultant; and Kent Conrad, ASTC, Project Theatre Consultant.

Recent and current projects in the office include Stanford Memorial Auditorium and Pigott Theater Renovation, Madera Unified School District Theater, Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Crested Butte Center for the Arts, and River Spirit Casino.

Chip Ulich has been a theatre consultant at Schuler Shook for ten years, planning and designing theatres for scores of clients. He is currently the Project Theatre Consultant for Crested Butte Center for the Arts in Colorado and Oklahoma State University McKnight Center for the Performing Arts. Chip is also the Vice President of the American Society of Theatre Consultants and has served in that capacity since 2015.

Joining Chip in the firm’s new San Francisco Bay office are Heather McAvoy, ASTC, and Kent Conrad, ASTC.

As a Principal at Schuler Shook, Heather is in charge of the office, applying her 30 years of experience in theatre consulting with another firm. She is a recognized leader in theatre planning and consulting, emphasizing collaboration and creativity in her approach to each project. She is also active in the industry as a Board member of the American Society of Theatre Consultants. Her theatre projects include the recently opened Roble Gym Complex Renovation at Stanford University, Thomas Theatre at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA.

Heather says, “Joining Schuler Shook is a great opportunity for me to bring more resources to my clients. I enjoy the collaborative environment at Schuler Shook, and I’m looking forward to this next chapter, working with my clients to solve their theatre needs.”

Kent Conrad’s background in theatre and performing arts is deep. He has served as production manager for the Arizona Theatre Company, American Theatre Company in Aspen and the UCLA department of Theater, Film and TV. For Walt Disney Entertainment, he consulted on two venues for Tokyo DisneySea theme park and was technical director for the initial shows. He is a scenic and lighting designer and brings those sensibilities into the theatre planning process. His theatre projects include Bakersfield College Performing Arts Center and Amphitheatre, Riverside City College Concert Hall, and Craterian Theatre at the Collier Center for the Performing Arts in Medford, OR.

Firm Partner Todd Hensley, ASTC, comments, “We’re excited to have Heather and Kent joining Chip in our California office. All three are great people to work with, very collaborative and collegial team members. Heather and Kent each bring incredible theatre planning experience and systems design expertise to our practice.”

Schuler Shook’s San Francisco Bay office is the firm’s fifth, joining their offices in Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, and Melbourne, Australia. Firm Partner Jack Hagler, ASTC, says, “This is an exciting time of growth that builds on our years of work in California, the Pacific Northwest and the region as a whole. The new office will allow us to support projects more robustly, as well as help us maintain the level of close client involvement and collaboration that we are known for.”

Get to know Heather, Chip and Kent.

It is deja vu all over again.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Have we not met before?

Like a bounced check, I have returned.

Call it whatever tired cliché you wish, but for me I will just say that it is good to be home once again as the senior editor of Facility Manager magazine. As your venues and your businesses are your babies, I always considered the caretaking of Facility Manager to be my baby when I worked at IAVM from 2000-2013.

I wanted to use this space to say thank you to everyone for your kind words of welcome. I have missed you but have been fortunate to have stayed connected to the industry through the kindness of Linda Deckard, who gave me the opportunity to write for her outstanding magazine for the last few years. Linda is a friend and I look forward to remaining in touch with her as we both serve this wonderful and unique industry.

You may have received an email from IAVM (What! An email from IAVM!) asking for you to place me on your media list and to help us with your contributions for an upcoming cover feature in the January 2017 Facility Manager, but I will be redundant in this space and again urge you to share your news with us so that we in return can share with the industry.

I thank so many of you for helping me navigate through the most difficult period of my life last year when my beautiful wife, Tanya, passed away at age 48 during a day surgery procedure. This was unexpected by me but was God’s plan. As I read recently in a devotional book, how can you lose someone when you know where they are at? I take that comfort in knowing where Tanya is and that one day I will be with her once more. But your prayers, calls, and emails really helped pull me through this void in my life, and I am forever grateful. This is just what this beautiful industry and its people do.

It is a new day at IAVM and a new day with Facility Manager, one that I am incredibly excited about. I look forward to the fun journey with you!

I recently returned from IAVM’s International Convention Center Conference (ICCC) in Pasadena. It was a great event, and I learned a lot from both the speakers and from the colleagues who I got to meet for the first time or get to know a little bit better. The convention center industry is vibrant and fun to be a part of!

Here are a few of my big take-aways from the event.

The Guest Experience is Driving Tech

The convention center industry as a whole is looking to advance, and new technology is an important part of that. I had many great conversations about technology, and a common theme was that convention center professionals feel that it’s critical for the industry to look forward. There were some great examples. For example, who from the event could forget how Event Presence used its proprietary LIVEBOTs to bring Jeffrey Tambor, John Quiñones, Larry King and Bob Walker to ICCC virtually?

Tapin2’s SmartVenueTM, a mobile ordering platform that makes it easy for guests, handles business on both sides. Or, as the company puts it, “drives concessions, merchandise, memorabilia and experience revenue.”

There’s the magic word: experience. Every piece of technology must improve the guest experience. All of the new technologies are centered around the guest experience during the conference or trade show, and also giving convention centers the opportunity to use technology as a selling point for meeting planners.  

Safety and Security Are Major Tech Considerations

Convention center safety and security departments are leveraging new technology that can easily be applied to provide a safer environment and improve real-time situational awareness. I heard from several people who stated that a major challenge for the convention center industry is the multiple safety and security systems with little integration or consistency.

Space Management Tech is a Game Changer

Meeting space management technology is an exciting area, and key to using spaces in new and different, more efficient ways. Aside from being able to better manage the traditional meeting spaces, non-traditional spaces – like hallway lobbies – are being used more and more for impromptu meetings, cocktail receptions, meeting breaks, etc. The event teams at convention centers can leverage technology to make the most of these spaces – and meet the needs of meeting planners – in a more efficient manner that’s also fun and different for the guests.

Thanks to IAVM for another great event!

To view the original story, visit Concept3D.

Please welcome our newest members who joined IAVM in October 2016. 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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Jay Stoehr remains CEO of family-owned flooring company,
adds proven leader as part of succession plan.

CINCINNATI, OH November 3, 2016 — Robbins, Inc., an international leader in sports flooring systems, has hired Dave Fulton as President to oversee all manufacturing, sales and service functions.

James (Jay) Stoehr III, the fourth generation of his family to lead Robbins, had been serving as President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board. He will retain his other leadership roles, and Fulton will report to him.

Fulton had served as Manufacturing Leader for Cincinnati-based Shepherd Color Company, a multi-generation family-owned color pigment business, since 2014. He previously was President of Dayton, Ohio-based Hohman Plating & Manufacturing from 2008 to 2014.

Fulton received two degrees from the University of Cincinnati: a Bachelor’s of Science in chemical engineering and an MBA in finance. He is a resident of Lawrenceburg, Ind.

“Dave is a transformational business leader with a wealth of experience growing and leading family-owned manufacturing businesses,” Stoehr said. “He understands the manufacturing process as well as its role in driving business growth. I’m counting on him to bring his formidable skills to bear to focus on strategic planning, operational excellence, organizational development and financial results.”

Robbins is based in Cincinnati’s East End neighborhood with sales offices across the U.S. and manufacturing plants in Michigan and Wisconsin. The privately held company’s main business unit is Robbins Sports Surfaces, the premier supplier of high-performance maple and synthetic sports flooring systems to professional and college athletic programs as well as fitness, religious and performing arts.

Athletes in more than 65 nations on six continents compete and practice on the company’s sports surfaces. More NBA teams use Robbins flooring than all other competitors combined, with 90% of teams owning the company’s competition and/or training facility floors — including the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, who have played home games on a Robbins floor since 1974.

Stoehr credits a 20-year relationship with the Goering Center for Family & Private Business, based at the University of Cincinnati, with helping him plan for succession in a family business and prioritize business success ahead of personal interests or ambitions. Working with Robbins’ Board of Advisors, Stoehr developed a succession plan that led to the decision to hire a President to assume day-to-day operational responsibility.

“We’ve made this exciting change because Robbins is built on strong values that focus on doing the right thing for employees, customers and vendors while strengthening the company legacy,” Stoehr said. “I’m confident that Dave’s addition to our leadership team will do just that.”

Fulton began work as Robbins President on October 31.  Continue Reading →