Talk about a great fan experience. Airbnb partnered with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors to host two fans at Air Canada Centre. The winners, Lucas and Maddy, had special access to back-to-back games and spent a night in a customized suite in the venue. Check out the video above for the full story.

Congratulations to the following individuals who recently were awarded the Certified Venue Professional (CVP) designation during the AVSS/GuestX conference.

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 exam for a CVP designation will take place at the Performing Arts Managers Conference in San Antonio, Texas, March 7-9.

Once again, congratulations!

Mike Cronin, CVP
Associate Executive Director
Sanford Center
Bemidji, Minnesota

Jeff Davis, CVP
General Manager
College Park Center
Arlington, Texas

Carol K. Foley, CMP, CVP
Convention Services Manager
Emerald Coast Convention Center
Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Karen Hoffman, CVP
Director Event Services
Madison Square Garden
New York, New York

Ricky Nichols, CVP
Assistant Director
UTEP Office of Special Events
El Paso, Texas

The year is flying by at warped speed as we just completed our mid-year board meeting in Dallas a few weeks back. Below are the key items discussed, accomplished, or moving forward.

• As you can imagine, the news at the top of the meeting revolved around the departure of our former CEO and what the next steps would be. The executive search firm, SearchWide, has since been retained to lead the search for our next president and CEO. Their first step is to reach out to each board member for a one-on-one conversation to better understand what each area of the association that board member represents is looking for in a new leader. In addition, a dozen more IAVM members were selected that do not have a role on the board but represent a constituency of IAVM (e.g., young professionals, academics, staff, etc.) so we can truly hear and absorb feedback from every aspect of the association. Up-to-date information will be available at searchwide.com

• The Gensler team presented the branding direction for IAVM based on all the feedback Gensler had been gathering this past year. The sneak peek the board saw was very well received and captured IAVM, its members, and its future. Next steps include a final approval from the board on their spring call so Gensler can roll out the branding at VenueConnect in Minneapolis if all is approved.

• The board made a unanimous decision to move forward with a specific new conference model from the options that had been reviewed in detail so that the staff can now focus on developing the true costs, programming, and roles of the various IAVM entities in this potential new format. The next step is for the board to review the final round of information and data from the staff on the spring call. The board would be expected to give final approval at that time if the plan meets all the criteria the board discussed.

• The board spent a good portion of an afternoon working through a timeline for all long-term initiatives in progress. It is so imperative that the board and the members they represent are aware of what the board is working on and the designated time for making decisions on many of these initiatives. The idea is to keep the momentum of the board focused and on task while still ensuring time for thought-provoking discussion and debate.

I appreciate all the feedback we have received each step of the way on so many of the projects noted above. An engaged association is a thriving association! I look forward to sharing more information after the board call in the spring and, of course, will keep everyone updated as the CEO search continues.

On Monday, February 29, the United States Soccer Federation released its new crest for their first major rebranding since 1995. Using Google Cardboard, The U.S. Soccer Federation distributed more than 10,000 packages to registered Club Supporters and Development Academy players to make the official announcement.

“This is an area that I think is still in a really unique phase,” Jay Berhalter, U.S. Soccer’s chief commercial officer, told The New York Times. “We’re not really sure what it will end up being. But when we looked at it to launch the crest, we thought it would be a really good fit for this type of dynamic.”

As a soccer supporter and general sports fan, I’m a big fan of the new crest as it aligns well with other popular U.S. Olympic sports such as hockey and basketball.

Supporters awoke this morning to find multiple social media posts from U.S. National Team Players showcasing their U.S. Soccer package and wondering more about what was included in the virtual reality announcement and what they needed to do to see it…which is much more appealing than reading a press release or watching a press conference, to say the least.

“We kept on coming back to the notion that the press conference isn’t really something that drives the fan experience,” Berhalter told the Times. “Therefore, we’ve moved away from that to something that is more immersive and experiential to the fan.”

Does this have any of our venue managers thinking about new ways to announce your next big concert or sporting event? Would you consider using virtual reality for a major announcement coming from your venue? Would your announcement be more effective using the artists or athletes instead? What are some other interesting concepts you’ve used in the past?

“You want people to get genuinely excited about something, and you want to do it in an atmosphere that they can really embrace,” Joe Favorito, an instructor in strategic communications at Columbia University who consulted on a similar project for the Rugby World Cup, told the Times. “Sometimes the best way to do it is literally to drop it on their doorstep.”

(Image: Almanenny16)

During the last year, I’ve been experiencing a lot of “lasts.” Last summer, I attended VenueConnect for the last time and, in the fall, the International Convention Center Conference for the last time. This will be the last time I will be sending information to all IAVM members and HQ staff. I will be retiring Wednesday, March 2. Cleaning out my office and files has been a roller coaster ride down memory lane. You all have been an important part of my life for well over 20 years. It is impossible to touch base with each of you personally, so I am reaching out through this message to say thanks for sharing your expertise over the years, quickly responding to my numerous phone calls/email on various crazy topics, and for your friendships, which will continue to be priceless.

To new members of IAVM and others, I am going to take this last opportunity to encourage each of you to become active in IAVM. Don’t sit on the sidelines. IAVM is your organization, so if you haven’t expressed an interest in joining a committee, now is the time to do so. It doesn’t matter what position you hold at your venue. Stephen Covey once said, “Leadership is a Choice, not a Position.” IAVM needs your leadership and, whether you realize it or not, by committing your time and energy to IAVM, you will reap more benefits than I can possibly relay in this short message. In addition to committee work, include becoming a graduate of Venue Management School, obtaining your CVP and/or your CFE on your list of personal goals, if you haven’t already done so.

I’ve talked about a lot of “lasts,” but am looking forward to a lot of “firsts” around the bend. In addition to spending more time with family and traveling, I plan to devote more time enhancing my photography skills, like the picture I took of the gator recently. No, I wasn’t that brave, or rather that stupid, to be eye-to-eye with him; that’s what long lenses are for.

I know you all have work to do and I need to get back to cleaning out my files, but I didn’t want to miss this last opportunity of saying thank you once again and I will truly miss seeing you on a regular basis. I know you take good care of your venues, but remember to take good care of yourselves, also. We are supposed to work to live, not live to work but somehow in this business that balancing act isn’t always balanced in the right direction. Enjoy!