Glenn Walinski, 71, of La Crosse, WI, passed away on January 2nd, 2024. He was born on September 1st, 1952, in Milwaukee, WI, to George Walinski and the late Genevieve (Vereb) Walinski. 

For anyone who has ever known Glenn, you know that he has taken a passionate approach to helping people, charitable causes, community needs and organizations that help others. This mindset led him to a lifelong love for Scouts and the Order of the Arrow, where he has held multiple leadership positions and mentored 1,000’s of our nation’s youth.

This passion and drive was evident during the two main stages of his career at both the La Crosse Center in Wisconsin and the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, IA. He left an indelible mark at both buildings where he made more contributions and forged positive relationships with staff and clients. He always made friends, not enemies.

Glenn never asked anyone for anything for himself, nor would he. He has always been a person that has given to others without asking for or expecting anything in return. Nothing else has given him the joy and satisfaction he has received from being there for other people in need!

His family, friends, and the connections he has nurtured with others are what he valued most as a man, along with travel and the opportunity to meet people and be part of something greater than himself. His only reward at the successful end of any positive, hard-fought accomplishment would be the self-imposed “brandy and water”.

Glenn is survived by his father George Walinski, his children Ryan Walinski (Courtney) and Nikki VanderHeiden (Jay), his former wife Nola Walinski, and was a loving grandfather to Jayla and Calli. He was preceded in death by his mother Genevieve Walinski and his grandparents Henry and Mary Walinski.

Glenn’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to assist with his medical and burial expenses.  Anyone wishing to help can click here to make a donation.

The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) recently announced that Michael J. Sawaya, its President and CEO, has been honored as “CEO of the Year” by Biz New Orleans. The publication annually recognizes the 500 most influential leaders in the regional business community and from that list chooses the Executives of the Year.

Sawaya’s meticulous planning and execution have yielded significant economic benefits and growth prospects — both immediate and long term — for the NOENMCC and the New Orleans region. Since 2018, he pushed forward several major advancements, from advocating for the facility’s $557 million Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), prioritizing nationally recognized sustainability initiatives that lead to a LEED Gold certification, guiding the development of a new $1 billion mixed use development and opening up opportunities to small, emerging and disadvantage businesses.
 
The CIP is critical to bringing the 1983-designed facility up to modern day standards and addressing critical infrastructure issues like replacing a 40-acre roof. Over $180 million of the $557 million CIP is complete or underway including the renovation of all the 140 meeting rooms, corridors and public spaces that also incorporate elements of New Orleans culture into the facility. 

Beyond the NOENMCC’s internal achievements, the new riverfront neighbor, the River District, is beginning to take shape. Sawaya’s collaborative approach with the River District Neighborhood Investors, LLC (RDNI) helped to navigate the complex approval processes. Alongside elected officials and city representatives, RDNI and the Convention Center celebrated the beginning of critical infrastructure work with a groundbreaking ceremony on November 29, 2023. Once complete, the new River District will be a new neighborhood and hub of commerce and entertainment and be a transformative asset for the New Orleans region and the state of Louisiana.
 
“This recognition is a testament to Michael’s exceptional leadership, strategic vision and unwavering commitment to driving the Convention Center to new and greater successes which is critical to the economies of both New Orleans and the State of Louisiana,” said Jerry Reyes, President of the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority, the governing board of the Convention Center. “He has been key in steering the Center through challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ida while shepherding our transformative $557 million improvement plan that will position New Orleans to be more competitive for years to come.”
 
With clear vision and passion, Sawaya is leading the NOENMCC into a bright future, with advance bookings now confirmed through 2040.

Meet Minneapolis recently named Christy Loy as the organization’s next Senior Vice President of Destination Sales. Currently the general manager of the Canopy by Hilton Minneapolis Mill District, she will replace Brent Foerster who is retiring from Meet Minneapolis after 10 years in the role. Loy will officially join the Meet Minneapolis team on Feb. 1.

Christy Loy, Senior Vice President of Destination Sales for Meet Minneapolis

“Christy’s extensive background in the hospitality industry, particularly in hotel management and sales, aligns perfectly with the key responsibilities of this role,” said Meet Minneapolis President and CEO Melvin Tennant. “She will be instrumental in developing innovative sales strategies and expanding key relationships, ensuring that our tourism industry continues to thrive and grow.”

“As a local travel and hospitality leader, a city resident and a Minneapolis evangelist, I am intimately attuned to the critical role our destination sales efforts play in our tourism ecosystem,” stated Loy. “I am excited to contribute to the sales, development and strategic planning of Meet Minneapolis to drive revenue growth and expand market share by telling our bold and diverse story. For me, it’s a mission not a job.” 

In addition to her current role at the Canopy by Hilton Minneapolis Mill District, Loy’s long tenure in the hotel industry includes past general manager roles with Minneapolis hotels such as W Minneapolis – The Foshay and Le Meridien Chambers. Prior to that, she served as the multi-site general manager for dual lifestyle hotel brands Aloft & Element Boston Seaport. In all, Loy has spent more than 20 years in the hotel industry.

Locally, Loy has deep connections with the tourism and hospitality community through roles leading the Greater Minneapolis Hotel Association and serving as the Secretary/Treasurer of the board of Meet Minneapolis.

“A national search firm was utilized, and a selection committee of current board members and key stakeholders viewed her hotel leadership experience and drive for building organizational culture and inclusion as significant factors in selecting Christy,” added Tennant. “Her passion and expertise align with our mission to drive economic and social prosperity for our city by attracting visitors, meetings, and events. I am excited to have Christy join an already stellar team.”

“I know experiences make memories. People do business with people they like. And Minneapolis is still an undiscovered treasure for many people in the world,” said Loy. “I look forward to working with the Meet Minneapolis team to bring even more meetings and events, large conventions and key sporting events to our city – and to be the destination of choice for tens of millions of travelers in the years to come.”

To allow for a seamless transition of this key leadership role, Foerster will continue with the organization through March 1.

Effective this year, what was IAVM’s Graduate Institute has been rebranded Leadership Institute (LI) and will open enrollment to experienced venue leaders, whether they attended Venue Management School (VMS) or did not.

Registration is now open to IAVM members for VMS and Leadership Institute, which will be held June 8-13 at Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa. Nonmembers can apply beginning Jan. 16.

Since the curriculum is all about leadership, and because it is of value to any IAVM member in a leadership role, the name change is simply logical, said Kim Bedier, CVE, SVP and GM, Honda Center/ocV!BE, Anaheim, CA, and Dean of IAVM’s Leadership Institute.

“It was never a graduate year that requires the prerequisite of VMS. You could go to VMS and never go to GI. The curriculum is different enough and has a different enough focus that, whether you’ve gone to those first two years or not, you still get a full experience and get a ton out of it,” Bedier said.

VMS 2022 students at the Opening Reception

Besides that, and “as we are want to do,” it seemed wise to do a little R&Ding (robbing and duplicating) from IAVM’s counterpart, Venue Management Australia (VMA), which named its comparable school Leadership Institute. Several VMS instructors, including Bedier, have taught there the last few years and saw the curriculum as about and for senior leaders who have experience and ideas to contribute while they learn.

While years one and two of VMS are about the basics of venue management, often for young and middle managers, and not usually for people who have been in the profession for a long time, Leadership Institute is for senior managers with at least five years of experience dealing with those skills being taught. “LI is for people who want to take the next step in leadership at venues,” Bedier said.

“We wanted to let IAVM members know, ‘if you are out there and you’re a more senior venue manager, you’ve been in this profession for awhile, and maybe you didn’t go to VMS, you should consider the Leadership Institute.’ It is somewhere they can interact with peers, learn more about themselves and enhance their ability to lead in venues.”

Applicants must be actively employed in the venue industry, working in a venue/working for a company that manages venues or working for an Allied company whose primary service provision is to venues. They must be an IAVM member (or sign up during the registration process), and be Senior Manager (a position that supervises others and has input into strategy) or above at their venue or company. CVE or CVP certification is preferred.

She also noted that LI is different from IAVM’s Senior Executive Symposium (SES), which is a two-year commitment (versus one for LI) and more general in its leadership skills (versus venue specific). A fairly common progression would be VMS, LI, SES, with several years in between to polish and develop the skills learned, Bedier has observed.

LI is never larger than 30 students and averages about 25, making for a very intensive week of getting to know your classmates and “solidifying professional and personal bonds like crazy,” Bedier said. It is a smaller class than either year of VMS and there are pre-class assignments, work that instructors later use in class. There is a lot of small group and partner study and students learn as much, possibly more, from fellow students as they do from the instructors facilitating the school, she said. Bedier has been teaching at VMS and LI for 20 years.

Faculty take time to commemorate another successful year of VMS with a selfie

Asked what he would say to encourage applicants to attend, Steve MacKenzie, CVE, Chief Innovation Officer, Momentus Technologies and an instructor at VMS/LI, replied: “I would go to one of our internal leaders who I felt would benefit from this program and tell them that this program is an opportunity to do a deep dive into subjects they need to know about being a leader in the venue world. There is no other educational offering available that will provide such specific learnings in this area AND that is delivered by experts who still work in this industry. They will come out of it with a massively better understanding of many topics that will make them a better leader, and they’ll build a network of extremely tight confidantes for life that they can rely on to discuss and bounce ideas off of.” 

Those who have already attended Graduate Institute “could come back but they wouldn’t be very surprised,” Bedier added, since the curriculum has not changed. It is focused primarily on human resources. Both MacKenzie and Bedier see this as a one-time experience.

Attendance at two years of VMS, while not required, is still a legitimate enrollment qualification, she added. For those who have not attended VMS, five-plus years at a senior management level is required, “because that way you can contribute to topic discussions. If you haven’t managed at that level, you can’t really contribute.”

Applications are now open for the 2024 Education & Service and Venue Excellence Awards.  These awards will be presented during VenueConnect in Portland, OR.  The deadline to submit applications is March 29, 2024.  The application process is extensive, and we encourage venues and organizations to create an “award team” to complete the application process as well as gather photos, etc.  Detailed instructions are found within the application itself.  We invite you to nominate an IAVM member or member venue that has exceeded expectations and risen above the rest. 

Education & Service Award

The IAVM Education & Service Award recognizes member involvement through community outreach, education opportunities, mentorships, and internships that demonstrate excellence within our industry as well as giving back to the community. Some examples that have been shared include: active in high school programs and career development; offering internships for local college students within the company/venue; mentoring through community outreach or within a university setting; educational offerings to staff within the company/venue; community involvement with youth and young adults.

IAVM takes pride in its members that excel in providing their communities with an enjoyable space for all types of events and educational opportunities. Professional members, university faculty, allied companies as well as retired members are encouraged to apply. The IAVM Education & Service Award is given annually to no more than two companies/universities/venues and one individual who meets the criteria outlined below.

NOMINATE NOW →

Venue Excellence Award

The Venue Excellence Award recognizes five IAVM venues of any type within the membership which demonstrate excellence in the management and operation of public assembly venues. This includes but is not limited to amphitheaters, arenas, auditoriums, complexes, convention centers, exhibit halls, fair/festival grounds, performing arts centers, racetracks, stadiums & university venues. IAVM takes pride in its members and member venues that excel in providing their communities with a safe and enjoyable space for all types of events and educational opportunities.

Any venue publicly or privately owned and operated, that has demonstrated excellence within the last calendar year and has at least one current employee who is an IAVM member in good standing may apply. Venues are eligible to win multiple VEAs; however, previous winners are eligible to apply in the third year following their most recent award. As an example, a venue that wins in 2024 may apply for the 2027 award.

NOMINATE NOW →