You, as an IAVM member, are our most important asset. Without your commitment to the association and to the venue management industry, we wouldn’t be here. Because of your support, we are featuring member profiles in our I Am Venue Management series. If you are interested in participating in the I Am Venue Management series, please visit http://www.iavm.org/i-am-venue-management-share-your-story.

If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be a: national parks ranger.

Most impressive person I’ve ever met: is Yo-Yo Ma.

I unwind by: watching TV (I used to be a total TV junkie, but now I have a 2-year-old and no time!). Also camping or sitting on the back patio at the fire pit.

On my desk right now is: a model toy school bus given to me by a mentor years ago when I graduated grad school. It is meant to serve as a reminder not to push the busses up hill, choose my battles, and only fight the battles you can win. It has served me well as a reminder.

My favorite IAVM program I ever attended was: Nothing beats the VMS experience! (Class of ’14!)

If I were on the other side of the stage, I’d: wish I could play the piano like Billy Joel.

One trait an up-and-coming venue manager should have is: a thirst for knowledge, recognizing there is always more to learn.

One of my goals for this year is to: make it through our building renovation with my sanity intact!

How do you plan to help elevate the profession? I came across a meme on Facebook not long ago that was a quote from Kevin Spacey that said, “If you’ve done well in your career, it is your duty to send the elevator back down.” I don’t know if the quote is real or not, but I think that sentiment is something we all have to remember. Share our successes and failures, and let those coming behind us learn from them.

Where do you see new growth opportunities in the profession? Integration between all of the various software we use. POS systems, venue management software, maintenance and work order systems, etc. So much potential for efficiency if all these systems talked to one another. Every company tries to do all of these things well themselves rather than partnering with the people who are already doing it well and creating integrations. Nobody can be good at everything.

How do you stay current with industry trends and developments? Attending IAVM conferences, reading VenueNet regularly, asking questions when I have them, and establishing relationships with other venues in my region who don’t mind a visit from my staff now and again to pick their brains!

Who are three people you’d invite to a dinner party and why? Jimmy Buffett, Kevin Spacey, and David Letterman. All brilliant entertainers I respect immensely and who have figured out something about life, priorities, and careers that I have yet to learn. Plus imagine how intelligent the conversation would be! Well, at least until the third round of margaritas.

Nick Zazal is director of events and patron services at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Race enthusiasts next year will be able to enjoy a human-free race with the introduction of ROBORACE (yes, all caps, because robots deserve your respect). The one-hour races will be part of the FIA Formula E Championship and will take place before each Formula E event, using the same circuits in major cities around the world. There will be 10 teams, each with two driverless cars, using real-time computing algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

“We passionately believe that, in the future, all of the world’s vehicles will be assisted by AI and powered by electricity, thus improving the environment and road safety,” Denis Sverdlov, founder of Kinetik and ROBORACE, said in a statement. “ROBORACE is a celebration of revolutionary technology and innovation that humanity has achieved in that area so far. It’s a global platform to show that robotic technologies and AI can co-exist with us in real life. Thus, anyone who is at the edge of this transformation now has a platform to show the advantages of their driverless solutions and this shall push the development of the technology.”

Even though electronic, driverless automotive technology is available, ROBORACE officials believe that there are talented individuals around the world that would want to participate in the event, so one of the race teams will be organized as a crowd-sourced community team.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Kinetik on what is surely one of the most cutting-edge sporting events in history,” Alejandro Aga, CEO of Formula E, said in a statement. “ROBORACE is an open challenge to the most innovative scientific and technology-focused companies in the world. It is very exciting to create a platform for them to showcase what they are capable of, and I believe there is great potential for us to unearth the next big idea through the unique crowd-sourced contest.”

More details about the teams will be announced next year.

(Image: FIA Formula E)

Second only to the event itself, a guest’s food and beverage (F&B) experience is the most memorable takeaway from the overall venue experience. Today, venues rely on food and beverage operations to set their venues apart. Our most recent VenueDataSource report compiled responses from 313 venues to get a first-ever look at the current state of venue food and beverage operations and partnerships.

The 2015 Food and Beverage Report is now available to take a look at the trends found and discover how your venue compares. Here’s a preview of some of the questions it answers:

• When it comes to compensating outside F&B vendors, most arenas, convention centers, and performing arts centers prefer to use a commission based on gross sales. What’s the average commission percentage for your venue type?

• What’s the average term of outside F&B contractual agreements?

• What’s the true revenue delivered by F&B to the bottom line?

• What percentage of venues use in-house staff for their F&B operations?

• Which service structure is the most effective for your venue type?

The 2015 Food and Beverage Report has already been provided free of charge to the venue managers who participated in the survey. All members can access it now on the IAVM website at https://www.iavm.org/vds/vds-reports for further analysis of technology and trends in venues. We will also present a webinar that drills deeper into the findings and leading practices on December 11, so save the date.

And speaking of saving—the survey behind one of our most looked-for reports is now open. We are updating our popular Staffing Report for release early next year. More than 100 venues have already responded. If you would like to participate in our survey—and receive a free copy of the Staffing Report before it’s publicly released—contact Frank Ingoglia at IAVM, and he’ll make sure you receive your survey link.

VenueDataSource – we connect the dots.

Could Li-Fi solve the Wi-Fi challenge in many venues? Perhaps, and we’ll know more in the next couple of years because an Estonia start-up has begun to test the technology in offices in Tallinn.

“We are doing a few pilot projects within different industries where we can utilise the VLC (visible light communication) technology,” Deepak Solanki, CEO of Velmenni, told IBTimes UK. “Currently we have designed a smart lighting solution for an industrial environment where the data communication is done through light. We are also doing a pilot project with a private client where we are setting up a Li-Fi network to access the Internet in their office space.”

Li-Fi uses light to send data, often at up to 1GBps, which is 100 times faster than Wi-Fi. Harald Haas invented the technology and hopes that future LED lights could include microchips that make Li-Fi possible.

To better understand how Li-Fi works, please watch the video above featuring Haas at a recent TED Talk.

These are selected news articles that showed up in our inboxes on Monday morning that we want to pass along to you.

A Hungry Person’s Guide to the Washington Convention Center’s Restaurant Makeover (The Washington Post)
“The four concepts will join an existing Sbarro outpost, but unlike the chain pizzeria, these additions come from notable local figures, such as Top Chef alum Spike Mendelsohn and future contestant Marjorie Meek-Bradley.”

Chicago Bears May Offer Suite Life at Ground Level (Chicago Sun-Times)
“The Bears are exploring the possibility of using a dramatic influx in Soldier Field advertising to bankroll construction of ‘bunker suites’ that allow high rollers and corporate clients to watch NFL games from ground level.”

Freedom Hill Amphitheatre to be Managed by Palace Team (Detroit Free Press)
“With PS&E’s [Palace Sports & Entertaniment] existing management of DTE Energy Music Theatre and Meadow Brook Music Festival, the company now has purview over metro Detroit’s three busiest summer amphitheaters.”

Mayor Pushes $25 Million Wilmington Arena (The News Journal)
“Mayor Dennis P. Williams is seeking funding to build a $25 million, 4,000-seat arena attached to the Chase Center that would feature basketball games and concerts as part of an effort to expand entertainment in Wilmington’s Riverfront District.”

Responsible Fans Rewarded at Homestead-Miami Speedway (GlobeNewswire)
“Before the race, 98 fans made the pledge to be a Good Sport – the designated driver for their group. All of them had the opportunity to receive a free souvenir photo, instant prizes, and a chance to be selected as the Designated Driver for the Race.”

(Image: Events DC)