As promised IAVM members, the plan is to take you all along for the journey this year as the board tackles several items that are instrumental to the future of IAVM. With that in mind, we wanted to update you on some helpful information that was shared on the October Board of Directors call so that you have as much insight into the happenings of our favorite association as the board does.

The three most pertinent items of interest:

• 2nd Vice Chair Selection Criteria – The Governance Committee chaired by Mark Mettes, CFE, was given the task of developing a fair, transparent 2nd Vice-Chair selection criteria and process that will carry the IAVM into the future. The goal was to ensure all members know and understand the necessary accomplishments needed to be considered for 2nd Vice Chair thus the ascension to the Chairman of the Board role for IAVM. The results are challenging as they should be, but we found them to be fair and easily transparent. We encourage you to read the criteria and share them with other members. The application will be made available on Nov. 20, 2015 and can be found on the IAVM website. In addition, the Leadership Development/Nominating Committee chaired by Kim Bedier, CFE, will help roll out the information in several ways to ensure our members have the criteria and a complete understanding of the process prior to the Dec. 31, 2015 deadline.

• Conference Structure – This past July, the team at IAVM headquarters presented some very relevant information to the board about the challenges we are facing with the continued decline of attendance at VenueConnect. It was a fact-based, data-driven presentation in terms of attendance numbers and revenue dollars over the last 15 years. In addition, the team shared some “big picture” ideas of what possibilities might be worth considering to help turn the numbers around. They were and still are just potential ideas to get us all thinking about where we want to go with our conferences and trade show. The largest revenue producing event that accounts for 33 percent of the overall IAVM operating budget is indeed VenueConnect. Over the next two months, a tag-team of one of our Executive Committee members along with a team member from headquarters will share the same information with all of our sector committees, the VenueConnect Program Committee, and our Allied Committee, just to name a few. We are also going to have a webinar to share this information so that all members may have the opportunity to see the data. Stay tuned for dates and times. We need and very much want all of your ideas, thoughts, and suggestions. Please participate, as you just might have the perfect idea! The Executive Committee and staff want to gather as much feedback as possible so that when the board re-groups in January we will be able to share the members’ feedback with the entire board. After the board meeting, we will contact all the committees again to share updates and gather additional input for whatever might be the next step we agree to.

• Board Structure – Last year, we started the conversation at the board level with regard to challenges in how the board is currently structured. We shared this information with all the members through various listening exercises throughout the year to gather your input and thoughts. In January, the board is going to re-group and share the feedback so we can understand what is critical in the make-up of the board to all of us as members. The idea on this item is to delve into what structure can best sustain IAVM well into the future, while ensuring there is continual input and feedback from representation of all our members.

As a board, we are representing each one of our members so it is important to us and to the future of IAVM that our members are part of the decision making process. Please check out the 2nd Vice Chair criteria and share it with others who might be perfect for the role! Continue to give feedback and ideas to any board member to bring to our January mid-year meeting, and know I am an email or phone call away.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

U.S Soccer and the confederations of CONCACAF (North America, Central America, and Caribbean) and CONMEBOL (South America) recently announced the 10 U.S. venues that will host the historic Copa America Centenario to be played June 3-26, 2016.

Copa America, CONMEBOL’s historic South American Championship, will be staged outside of South America for the first time in its 100 year history. The historic centennial edition will feature all 10 teams from CONMEBOL as well as six teams from CONCACAF, including the U.S. and Mexico.

With global soccer powers such as Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina participating, sell-out crowds are expected at nearly every match where stadium capacities are a minimum of 60,000. IAVM has active members at seven of the 10 venues where multiple games will be played, including MetLife Stadium where the final will take place June 26, 2016.

One aspect of the event that I’d assume every venue is taking into account is crowd control procedures for specific games where tensions could boil over into the stands as it did in the 2015 final between Chile and Argentina. As venue managers, how does your staffing for an event such as this compare to that of an NFL game? Would you manage a USA vs. Mexico soccer game the same way you would for a College Football Bowl game? What about Chile vs. Argentina? How do the demographics of fans, teams rivalries, and meaning of the event affect your game-day staffing and planning procedures?

(Image: Ver en vivo En Directo/Creative Commons)

The International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) is pleased to announce that Scott McCartney will speak and lead a session on crowd management and security at the 2016 Academy for Venue Safety & Security (AVSS) and GuestX: Guest Experience & Crowd Management Conference.

“In light of the recent Paris attacks, IAVM wants to ensure our safety and security training in 2016 addresses key areas of preparedness for all venue managers,” said Mark Herrera, IAVM’s director of education. “Scott McCartney is an exceptional addition to the AVSS and GuestX 2016 programs, and the experience and expertise that he brings will be tremendous for every student and attendee.”

McCartney is the project director of the Large Stadium Initiative with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The initiative is based on the premise that a majority of stadiums are owned by municipal or state governments, and therefore security varies from facility to facility. This program explores commonalities of large stadium/venue Homeland Security preparedness issues and assists in developing strategies for enhancing prevention, response, and recovery capabilities. He earned national recognition as a Master Exercise Practitioner from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

McCartney’s discussion at AVSS and GuestX will focus on all hazards pertaining to crowd management and security, broken down into three categories: Assessments (venue staff, facility, policy and procedures), Training (establishing training guidelines, staff, continuous training), and Exercises (discussion based, drills, and full scale).

“During the discussion, I will use several ‘real situations’ I have been a part of and worked through to help illustrate for attendees the importance of crowd management and security,” McCartney said.

AVSS takes place Feb. 21-25, 2016, and GuestX takes place Feb. 21-23, 2016, with both taking place at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel. Registration and more information can be found at http://iavm.org/avss and http://iavm.org/guestx.

There’s a good story on Wired.com about Levi’s Stadium testing a new entry scanner that plans to revolutionize security. It’s called the Qylatron Entry Experience Solution, and it consists of five pods.

“The process is simple, designed to improve not just security, but the entry experience,” Alex Davies wrote for Wired.com. “Hold your ticket aloft and a ticket scanner assigns you to one of five ‘pods,’ each the size of large microwave oven. Pop in your bag, close the door, and walk to the other side. By the time you get there, the machine will have scanned your stuff for any number of things, as determined by the security team. The system can handle up to 600 guests in an hour (each with one bag), and needs just four people to keep it running.”

The company that makes the product, Qylur, won’t explain exactly how it works.

“But we know it uses radiation and chemical sensors to look for explosives,” Davies wrote. “A multi-view X-ray uses machine learning to identify things like weapons, and the software can be updated to look for new threats as they’re identified. If the machine sees something it doesn’t like, it alerts a security officer and the door turns purple. If you’re good to go, the door turns green, and you use your ticket to unlock it and take your bag. You don’t have to open your bag or let anyone touch it. With five people moving through at once, you’re through security almost as quickly as you can roll your eyes.”

Depending on its success at Levi’s Stadium, the product could court other venues next year.

“We expect several more rollouts in 2016 across stadiums, amusement parks and other large public venues,” Qylur CEO Lisa Dolev told Davies.

Please visit Wired.com to learn more about the Qylatron Entry Experience Solution.

(Image: Qylur)

The International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM)—representing thousands of venue managers and partner companies in stadiums, convention centers, performing arts centers, arenas, racetracks, amphitheaters, and other public assembly venues—is deeply grieved by the tragic events that took place in Paris, France, on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015.

“As IAVM members, our hearts and best wishes are with our venue brothers and sisters in Paris as well as with all of the people touched by the tragic events experienced there,” said Karen Totaro, CFE, chair of IAVM and general manager of the Atlantic City Convention Center in New Jersey. “As people who oversee a multitude of venues, much like Stade de France and the Paris Bataclan Concert Hall, we are reminded of the ever-growing need to continually assess, train, and prepare our teams and our community leaders to effectively reduce the opportunity for tragic occurrences in our own venues worldwide.”

As details emerge of the attacks, specifically at the soccer stadium, we are learning that proper safety and security training helped save lives. Rest assured, the safety and security of guests, artists, teams, and venue personnel is always of absolute top priority for our community of venue managers. Together we work hard to maintain venues that are well prepared to address every issue that potentially undermines a safe and secure environment.

In response to the Paris attacks, IAVM has been communicating with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and industry partners such as the Association of Professional Venue Management (A-PVM) in Belgium, to gather information and appropriate updates to keep the IAVM community informed.

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