On Dec. 1, 2015, menu boards will have to be updated to include calorie counts for meals and individual items in order to comply with Section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. According to registered dietitian Judy Barbe and the National Association of Concessionaires (NAC), the law applies to the following restaurants and retail food establishments.

1. Part of a chain with 20 or more locations,
2. Doing business under the same name,
3. Offering substantially the same menu items, and
4. Selling “restaurant type food,” which means food that is usually eaten on the premises, foods that are self-serve and intended for immediate consumption.

In order to help people better understand the law and its regulations, the NAC is hosting a menu labeling webinar with the Food and Drug Administration’s General Health Scientist Claudine Kavanaugh, PhD, on Thursday, May 28, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. (EST).

Please visit the NAC website to learn more about the upcoming law and to learn three ways to prepare for any “gotcha” stories.

(Image: NAC)

Up next on our spotlight of recipients of the IAVM Foundation’s inaugural class of 30|UNDER|30 is Brittanie Roldan, director of guest services at the Prudential Center and New Jersey Devils.

“One of my values here at Prudential Center is to think big, risk smart. It’s all about continuous learning, continuous improvement and innovation,” Roldan said when asked about what she looks to take away from attending VenueConnect. “That’s what I forward to taking away most from the IAVM conferences—getting around other industry professionals and figuring out more efficient and effective ways of doing things and really learning the industry trends and the opportunities that we have here to implement at Prudential Center.”

Please watch the video above to learn more about Roldan, and thank you to SearchWide and Ungerboeck Software International for their generous support of the IAVM Foundation’s 30|UNDER|30 program.

Please welcome our newest members who joined IAVM in March and April 2015—a total of 289 new members. Our network of professionals is growing and we are reaching record numbers. Thank you for being a part of the association!

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According to the 2014 Sustainability Report from VenueDataSource, one major obstacle toward moving forward with venue specific sustainability projects is the ability to convince senior leadership of its value. One goal of the IAVM Sustainability Committee is to assist IAVM members in exploring sustainability program opportunities with proven results. One such opportunity is to capitalize on public and private rebate and informational programs. Toward that goal, the committee will issue information related to partnership opportunities utilizing the newly formed Partnerships & Incentives Sub-Committee.

In the interim, one good place to start exploring public resources is the U.S. Department of Energy website: http://energy.gov. This site provides information on energy initiatives and programs, and you can also find a link to state specific programs on the site.

(Image: Dana Edmunds)

Jacob Molz and his company, ISS 24/7, did something really cool. They created an infographic based on VenueDataSource’s 2015 Safety and Security Report.

“The most professional venue managers are well-informed,” Molz wrote on Medium. “This data can help you make data-driven decisions. So, we hope you use this information to improve your venue’s processes. That way, the industry as a collective can experience a quantifiable uptick in performance.”

Thank you, ISS 24/7, for the infographic (click on image to enlarge it)!

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