It is with great sadness that we share with you that Joe Floreano, CFE, longtime IAVM member and executive director of the Rochester Riverside Convention Center in New York, has passed away due to cancer. He was 67.

“We lost an amazing person and friend,” said IAVM member Lional Dubay, assistant vice president and director of the business services division at the University of Florida. “He will be missed but always in our hearts. My thoughts and prayers go out to Joe’s family during this difficult time.”

Floreano began working at the convention center in 1983, and over the years, received numerous accolades from New York’s senate, assembly, and governor for his leadership skills and community involvement. He was a past IAVM chairman, a Charles A. McElravy Award honoree, and recipient of the 2014 Legacy Award for venue management excellence, awarded by the IAVM Foundation.

The City of Rochester will honor Floreano’s legacy by renaming the convention center as the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center. The mayor, the Rochester Convention Center Management Corporation Board of Directors, and the Rochester City Council and members will gather for a special ceremony on Wednesday, September 24, for the naming, and the city is web casting it live at 2:15 p.m. (ET) at http://www.cityofrochester.gov/mayorwebcast.

“Joe’s many contributions will be with us forever, but this historic and tangible legacy of his leadership will remind everyone, on a daily basis, how much Joe did for the industry and his city he loved so much,” said IAVM member Steve Gregosky, senior vice president of business development for Ovations Food Services.

Floreano’s love for the venue industry was evident to all, and was recognized this past July during the IAVM Venue Industry Awards Luncheon at the VenueConnect Annual Conference & Trade Show in Portland, Oregon.

Jason Rittenberry, CFE, chair of the IAVM Foundation Board of Trustees, and Brad Mayne, CFE, president and CEO of MetLife Stadium, presented Floreano with the 2014 Legacy Award—a prestigious honor that recognized Floreano’s significant support and impact on the industry through his involvement with the IAVM Foundation.

Inseparable from Floreano’s role with the Foundation is the new Build An Amazing Future campaign that debuted during the ceremony. The new projects from the Foundation carry on Floreano’s passion for young professionals in the industry, and include a 30-Under-30 development program, as well as an unprecedented number of scholarships to each of the major conferences and schools hosted by IAVM.

The Foundation is pleased to announce that the Joe Floreano Scholarship fund is being established within the Build An Amazing Future project, serving as an enduring reminder of Floreano’s unwavering commitment to passing an amazing future down to future generations. More information about the Foundation campaign is available at iavm.org/AmazingFuture.

“I am so sorry for the loss of such a great friend and colleague,” said former IAVM President and CEO Dexter King. “Joe was the consummate gentleman, full of love and care for all. I don’t think he ever met a person where he didn’t express genuine interest. He has helped shape my own life through the witness of his own. I will always cherish his time on this earth. Rest in peace, Joe. We will carry on your legacy as best we can.”

(Image: Ira Morris)

I am keeping a log on the device within event services. My summary so far:

Captain’s Log No. 1 
Previewed Google Glass promo website. LOTS of promises of everything the device can do with photos of very attractive people doing very active things.

We are advised to
Be Active
Explore Your World
Live Lighter

Upon closer inspection of the website sub-pages, it looks like the tools are the same as other mobile devices (smartphone, tablets—Droid or iPhone), just on your head, viewed through a 3/8” x 3/8” x 3/4” clear cube, which is attached to either a head set or faux glasses. One can use vocal commands, get maps and directions, take photos or videos, play music, retrieve data, read a New York Times article, etc.

Later that day: Met with event services staff to discuss options. Ideas included:
• Display captioning / translations / supertitles?
• Record hands-on use of ticket scanners, reading a ticket, other procedures for training
• Can it read and transmit to another location, i.e. for a medical or trip and fall emergency?

Charged device before use.

Attempted setup for a user; got derailed after attempted “pairing” Google Glass with smartphone. IMPORTANT: Glass MUST have a host device.

Captain’s Log No. 2
Completed setup with device paired to Joe Durr cell phone; needed to register to a Google Gmail account. Had to download Glass App to phone.

Looks like Google Glass device is a transmitter; that is, it MUST have the smartphone or other mobile device in close proximity.

Question / observation: would each user of Glass need to have a paired device and OWN Gmail account? Or a “company” Gmail account? Can only ONE mobile device be registered to the Glass? TBD.

Set up instructions somewhat cumbersome, able to be peered through the “ice cube” (my term, not theirs), or display a larger image onto the paired cell phone screen on required downloaded Glass App. Confirms that Google Glass can/will transmit to another device.

Side of the Google Glass transmitter gets VERY warm, hot to the touch. It’s near my right temple! Having to look up and to the right for every wee visual nugget takes some getting used to. I’m not yet. And my contact lense gets stuck in an awkward position; makes reading difficult.

More to follow. Stay tuned.
Captain out.

(photo credit: Thomas Hawk via photopin cc)

The State Fair of Texas starts September 26, and I’ve been dreaming of fried food since this year’s Big Tex Choice Awards were announced. But that’s not what I’m writing about here; it’s just that talking about fairs makes me hungry for food, rides, and entertainment that pulls a community together.

“Fairs are unique social events that attract millions of people looking for affordable entertainment, education, food and to be a part of a large, community-oriented, cultural showcase,” wrote Bill Bourne, senior architect technician and senior associate at Populous. “We’ve seen a new business model emerge, where communities invest in fairgrounds as a year-round events complex and central community gathering space. There are a few reasons why fairgrounds & agricultural centers have attracted investment from local communities.”

Check out Bourne’s post on the Populous website to learn more about how fairs bring people together throughout the year and to learn more about the architectural firm’s recent renovations and plans for fairgrounds.

(Big Tex photo credit: ladybugbkt via photopin cc)

Congratulations are in order to the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC), which has reached several financial and performance milestones since AEG Facilities took over the venue in December 2013.

According to final figures for a budget year that concluded on June 30, the LACC reported a $290,000 operational surplus. Other financial milestones the LACC is reporting include parking revenue increasing by $1 million, wages and salaries finishing $1.5 million lower than the previous year, increased usage and revenue from film and television production by 140 percent while new sustainability programs initiated in just the past six months have decreased electrical usage by 2 percent and decreased water usage by 10 percent year to year.

“Transitioning the Los Angeles Convention Center from a publicly operated entity to private management was a major undertaking, one that AEG Facilities implemented seamlessly,” said Bud Ovrom, executive director of the Los Angeles Department of Convention & Tourism Development. “We are very pleased with what AEG accomplished this first year, not only significantly improving the operational efficiencies and the bottom line, but also improving the customer service, security, and overall maintenance of our convention center. It took bold political leadership for this city to privatize management of one of our major public facilities, and we know now that selecting AEG Facilities as our partner to embark on this endeavor allowed us to successfully overcome the many challenges and set the LACC on a better course.”

AEG also implemented the initial hiring and training of 82 full-time and 75 part-time employees in 2013, followed by an additional 25 more employees brought on in 2014.

“We are extremely proud of the positive achievements already made at the Los Angeles Convention Center in such a short period of time”, said IAVM member Bob Newman, president of AEG Facilities. “The staff, with the full and unwavering support of the city, has created a true service culture that event planners are already recognizing as best in class in the industry.”

Other LACC accomplishments include hosting and event-managing a total of 167 events held over 298 event days from December 2013 through June 30, 2014; improving overall security and building coverage by increasing staffing numbers and conducting thorough training; and, with the assistance of AEG 1SOURCE, soliciting, negotiating, and completing more than 30 new contracts with service providers, contractors, and suppliers.

(Image via Los Angeles Convention Center Facebook page)

There was a lot of news this past week. Here are some stories that caught our eyes.

Foo Fighters Leave Richmond Fans Happy With Crowd-funded Show
—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Wednesday’s show was the brainchild of Foo Fighters fans Andrew Goldin, Brig White, John McAdorey and Lucas Krost. Using the online funding platform Tilt, the four raised more than $70,000 to finance Wednesday’s show. ”

#LIKEABOSS: Jason Rittenberry is a New Breed of Entreprenuer
—Amplify
“He’s one helluvan an executive, a top-shelf networker, and one cool and confident dude. He brings many talents to the facilities industry. Just don’t ask him to look under your hood. He’s not much of a mechanic.”

Wembley Stadium to Stage Euro 2020 Final
—Bleacher Report
“UEFA president Michel Platini announced on Friday that Wembley will host the final three games of the European Championships in 2020, a competition that will span an unprecedented 13 countries.”

The Wheels of Woz
—The Meeting Professional
“The designer of the personal computer revolution, Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak, shares best practices for management and innovation while recognizing the complexity of organizing events—and presenting a potentially terrifying tech future.”

NBA Kings Among First Pro Teams To Begin Experimenting With 3D Printing Technology
—SportsBusiness Daily
“For sports teams, perhaps the chief attraction of 3D printing is that it produces items not only with a high degree of accuracy but also in a fraction of the time it used to take to accomplish similar tasks.”

(Image: Richmond Times-Dispatch)