Did you miss our latest episode of The Venue? Never fear, you can listen to the above recording of it.

This latest edition featured guest host Joe Durr, director of event services for PORTLAND’5 Centers for the Arts. Together with Durr, we discuss such subjects as ideal outdoor row and aisle spacing, theatre houselights LED retrofits, staff plans for concerts (security, admissions, medical), service animals, volunteer recruitment materials, fountain drinks vs. bottles/cans, and Palcohol.

We also spoke with Paige Grisham, one of our student members at Missouri State University, about her article, “The Millennials and Their Dream Venue,” that she recently wrote for FM magazine.

Thank you to Joe and Paige for speaking with us, and thank you for listening. Our next episode will air live on Friday, July 24, at 2 p.m. (CST).

The IAVM Foundation, in partnership with Western Kentucky University (WKU), has developed a phenomenal program designed to provide unprecedented networking and education for students and young professionals beginning their careers in venue management. On Saturday, August 1, before the full VenueConnect conference begins, young professionals and students will learn career skills from venue industry leaders, make new connections with executives from major venues, and gain fresh professional development insights through a packed schedule of customized sessions and events.

“Have you seen the UpStart schedule?” asked Jason Rittenberry, CFE, chair of the IAVM Foundation, “This is the perfect opportunity for young talent looking for a launchpad into our industry. It is fantastic to see the IAVM Foundation bringing this new experience to VenueConnect, and WKU has been a great partner to help us build what I think is going to be a big hit.”

Recently added to the UpStart program is the opening keynote, Doug Sandler. Author of Nice Guys Finish First (all UpStart attendees are walking away with a copy of his book!), Sandler brings with him more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment world with thousands of clients. He’ll tackle the massive threat that not caring poses to companies and systems, and will dive into the art of building relationships with clients versus simply closing deals.

Other session highlights include “Thinking Outside the Box,” lead by Mark Gnatovic, senior vice president of SearchWide; “How Our Generation Can Use LinkedIn For Professional Branding,” lead by Whitney Harmel, director of sales for Brandobility; and “Advancing Your Career,” lead by Bryan Kaminski, senior manager of university recruiting and programs for Under Armour. Attendees will also participant in a new speed-networking program, “The Game Changer,” where they will get crucial face-to-face time and personal introductions to major venue industry leaders.

UpStart is free for students, young professionals, and faculty, and is made possible through the support of IAVM members, venue industry leaders, and other partners that have supported the IAVM Foundation’s Build An Amazing Future campaign.

WKU’s support of UpStart is instrumental in the program’s creation. We spoke with Dr. Evie Oregon, an assistant professor in sport management, to learn more about the university and its involvement in the program.

IAVM: Why did WKU decide to be involved in the UpStart program?
EO: WKU’s School of KRS recognizes that a professional network is imperative for our graduates. By partnering with IAVM in the UpStart program, we are not only helping to facilitate that network, but are also providing uninhibited access to current professionals in the field.

IAVM: What do you hope young professionals and students takeaway with them by participating in the program?
EO: Traditional classroom can only provide so much in terms of knowledge of the current industry. It is our hope that our students, and young professional in general, who attend the UpStart program will not only enhance their knowledge of the field, but also increase their professional network and obtain connections for career advancement and professional development.

IAVM: How do you see this program evolving?
EO: We would like to see that the program grows in the future and have far reaching effects on the careers of participants. It would be great to have the young professionals who are attending this inaugural event to one day be the keynotes who can say…it all began a few years ago with UpStart.

IAVM: What can WKU’s masters program provide to current professionals looking to continue their education?
EO: The Masters in Facility and Event Management at WKU is a 100 percent online program that allows current professional and those looking to enter the field a practical approach to learning more about the industry. The program courses are facilitated by highly experienced professionals who began their own careers in the field of recreation and sport facility management. The program model is flexible while at the same time providing course sequencing that insures a path to degree attainment.

Please check out the UpStart website to learn more about the program. Registrations for both UpStart and VenueConnect are still taking place, but rooms in the main conference hotels are filling quickly, so register soon and visit the VenueConnect travel page for current hotel options.

The International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM)’s ConventionCalendar.com has entered into a strategic partnership to feature the 1.6 million-square-foot Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The new convention calendar is available via any Internet connected device and is a valuable resource for event planners, attendees, exhibitors, and local business partners.

Managing Director of IAVM’s ConventionCalendar.com program, Donovan Shia, shared that “The Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center is a tremendous economic engine for the City of San Antonio and the entire South Central Texas Region – we are very excited about the opportunity to showcase San Antonio”.

Developed and powered by Destination Advantage LLC, the new calendar application will link the San Antonio Convention Center with tens of thousands of meeting planners, guiding them through the site selection process for potential new meetings and events.

With this week’s spotlight of recipients in the IAVM Foundation’s inaugural class of 30|UNDER|30 we ask, “What is your proudest accomplishment?”

Danny Bryant
Arena & Pavilion Services Manager
The Classic Center
Athens, Georgia

“My proudest accomplishment actually stems from a failure I had early in my career here at the Classic Center. I was a young event planner who thought I knew everything I was doing. I shortchanged an event—the delivery I gave them, on the product, and what I could give them as a planner. What I’m really proud of is the way I recovered. I had the opportunity the following year to take that event or not have it again, and I really wanted the opportunity to step back up to the plate. I did, and to this day me and that client are now great friends and have a great working relationship, and I know he truly knows how much I care about his event. It really made me step forward in my career and made me refocus and think if I’m going to do this right how am I going to do it?”

Jason Burnette
Sales Manager
Cox Business Center
Tulsa, Oklahoma

“I’ve had a few proud moments here at the Cox Business Center, and one stands out above the rest. I’d been working with a Fortune 500 company to host their event, and through relationship building I’ve been able to secure their business. Their event will be held in the fall of this year. I look forward to working with this organization and growing their business here at the center.”

Siroun Majarian
Market Research Analyst
Massachusetts Convention Center Authority
Boston, Massachusetts

“My proudest accomplishment to this day is having the confidence of IAVM staff and the member volunteers to chair the Research Committee for the 2015-2016 membership year as one of the youngest members ever to chair one of the IAVM committees.”

Annie Salamunovich
Assistant Production Supervisor
Portland’5 Centers for the Arts
Portland, Oregon

“My proudest accomplishment in the venue management world has been completing my operational expense analysis for the Portland’5 Centers for the Arts. I did a deep dive using my CPA skills and hashed out a per-use-rate for each of our theaters. From there, I took it one step further and allocated all of our operating expenses to each of our user groups and contrasted that with the revenues we were bringing in so that we could compare and contrast. That was a huge highlight of how much we subsidize our resident companies and our non-profit groups and how much we support their missions and it helps with budge decisions.”

When is the last time you experienced a “mountaintop experience” in your professional career? You hear people describe these experiences in their personal lives after they come back from a thrilling adventure or exotic vacation. Something happens that is uplifting and inspiring, maybe even life-changing. I would guess that most of us have experienced something similar in our personal lives. But have you had that mountaintop experience in your career?

Attending Venue Management School (VMS) earlier this summer was exactly that for me. I mean literally, Oglebay Resort and Conference Center in Wheeling, West Virginia, the permanent home of VMS, is on the top of a mountain. The views are incredible, especially compared to the rolling hills of farmland that I am used to in Southern Indiana. But beyond that, VMS is a powerful tool in the development of a young professional’s career. VMS effectively teaches the venue management industry, positions attendees to effortlessly network with other industry colleagues, and inspires you no matter what stage of career you are in. If you are a young professional in the venue management industry, you need to find a way to get to VMS.

Teaching the Venue Management Industry

At its core mission, VMS successfully teaches the venue management industry. The amount of information I was able to absorb in this week-long course (taken in two consecutive years) about the industry was incredible. I’m sure many young professionals out there are similar to me, in that you sort of fell into this career. For me, I was a basketball junkie. I grew up as an athletic director’s son, played sports throughout my entire life, and was a staff member for the IU Basketball team during college. Sports were (are) my passion. So when I saw an opportunity to gain valuable experience managing people and a budget but also to be involved with athletic events, I jumped at the opportunity. What could be a better job just out of college? But my lack of industry knowledge was very evident, and I was not as effective in my role as I could have been. Fortunately, my boss is a true believer in professional development and an even bigger believer in IAVM. VMS has helped fill this void of venue management knowledge over the past two years. Topics like booking and scheduling, tenant/management relations, venue law, crowd management, and dozens of others that directly target issues we all deal with are taught by instructors who are industry veterans.

Even for those young professionals who have always wanted a career in the venue industry and already know the ins and outs of venue management, VMS will further your education. Other classes, such as controlling costs, creativity, and strategic business planning challenge your thinking and look to enhance your career development. VMS truly is for everyone, but especially for all the young professionals in the industry.

Networking

I know, I know, the term networking is used far too often these days. Articles, book, research studies, and TV segments are specifically devoted to the importance of networking. We all understand how value it can be. We have grown up with our parents, teachers, and the media shoving it down our throats. We get it: networking is important. But truth be told, networking can still be awkward for all of us from time to time. I remember thinking going into Year 1 of VMS last summer, “I don’t know if I will be able to handle six straight days of networking.” I felt like a kid whose parents were shipping him off to summer camp where I knew no one. I was more than a little bit nervous. But by the end of day one, all of my fears and reservations were gone.

VMS finds a way to put all of its attendees in easy, convenient situations for networking. Peer mentor groups (led by Year 2 students), ideal class sizes, group events in the evening, and late night “study groups” in the library (also known as GlassWorks Bar) make networking easy and simple. And because all other VMS attendees are looking to network as well, it takes the pressure off meeting people. In my two years at VMS, I am confident that I have made friends for life. These are other young professionals that I will be able to go to for advice or questions as things come up, but they are also the people that I will look forward to spending time with at future IAVM conferences or the next time I visit their city. And as a bonus, at VMS you are not only networking with other young professionals but seasoned veterans of the venue industry as well. Attendees range in all ages and stages of careers—I had classmates who were directors and vice presidents of their venues. Additionally, the professors (who are all big wigs in the industry) make themselves available daily to network, interact with, and ask advice. Networking at VMS goes far beyond business card-sharing; it creates meaningful, long term relationships with other industry professionals.

Career-inspiring

While learning about the venue industry and being able to network were great aspects of VMS, the best part of the experience for anyone, but especially Young Professionals, is how VMS inspires you in your career. Remember that mountaintop experience I was referring to earlier? I have come back from VMS with countless ideas on components to implement into our organization, ways to streamline our processes, and approaches to inspire our employees.

Some of these are very specific things we have already begun to implement. Paul Turner, director of event operations and security at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, taught the “Planning Life Safety” course. At IU, we have already adapted a version of his “Life Safety Briefing” to use for all of our supervisors on game days to more effectively communicate to our staff about emergency preparedness. The “Employee Training Programs” class taught by Kerry Painter, assistant general manager at the Cox Business Center in Tulsa, inspired me to revamp our employee training programs to include elements that directly engage multiple generations of staff. IRG Sports + Entertainment’s President/CEO Jason Rittenbery taught “Enhancing the Experience,” making me appreciate that we can always be doing something more to improve our guest’s experience at our events. I will be issuing a challenge to all of my managers of events to continually find ways to enhance the experience. And the list of practical ideas and tools that I came away with from the classes at VMS goes on and on.

But it’s not just the classes that inspire and teach. Between round-table discussions, dinner conversations, and networking opportunities, you constantly find yourself surrounded by other young professionals that have gone through similar difficulties in their career or workplace. VMS cultivates an atmosphere of question-asking and idea-sharing. And I know this atmosphere will continue far beyond the week at VMS.

So…Attend VMS!

If you are a young professional and have not attended Venue Management School, start the conversation with your superiors. The investment will not only help you in your professional career, but it will also benefit your organization. I have been privileged to experience something as powerful as VMS early in my professional career. The tools and skills that I have learned through the program have already proved useful, and I know that I will rely on this education for years to come. If you have any questions, reservations, or concerns about VMS, I would love to chat with you. Feel free to contact me at mwsanta@indiana.edu. I will also be in Baltimore at VenueConnect, so feel free to look me up!