By Jody Lake, CVE

We all know we should “someday” take advantage of the many excellent opportunities IAVM has available to provide critical training in the areas of venue, patron, staff, guest, and vendor safety. How many times have we shared the deep emotions of hearing of our fellow colleagues’ experiences with emergency situations that we feel so sorry for, but never think it will happen in our venues, to our guests, in our city, at this event, etc.?

After several years of knowing and understanding the need, our Utah Chapter recently accomplished this critical training by hosting Mark Herrera, Director of Safety and Security for IAVM. “It was one of the best things we could ever have done,” said one experienced venue GM. Another attendee commented that, “it was nice to get re-motivated about our most important responsibility of keeping ourselves, our staffs, and our guests safe.”

Taking advantage of Mark’s time in Salt Lake City, we offered two sessions on the same one-day training opportunity. Our first morning session was geared towards full-time event and management staffs, while the second early-evening session welcomed those who also are vital participants in our emergency plans in their roles as ushers, ticket takers, first responders, back-of-house, front-of-house, and other critical event staffs. Our attendee numbers were impressive with 250 for the first session and approximately 300-plus for the second session.

Mark’s training covers critical areas of Situational Awareness, De-escalation for front line teams, Active Threat/Active Shooter Preparedness, Building your Security Culture, and finishing with the NFPA required Trained Crowd Manager. He is a top-notch presenter with years of experience and as one participant commented, “We can relate to his training. He understands our world and issues of event management.” Another commented, “Our world of event and facility management changes daily. Sometimes we get complacent in the important roles we all have. Mark helps us refocus on just how unexpected challenges can have huge consequences. He gives us the tools to mitigate those risks.”

Leaders of today must be able to understand risk analysis, threat ideology, venue vulnerability, and change our mindsets from our comfortable roles of event management to what our guests are expecting, seeing, and experiencing. We need to know how to plan, prepare, respond, and recover. Do you? Does your staff? Take advantage of available training. It will be time well spent.

Jody Lake, CVE, is an IAVM Member Retired, Weber State University.

From Comcast Spectacor

Comcast Spectacor announced Daniel J. Hilferty has joined the company as its Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. He will partner with Dave Scott, Chairman of the company and Governor of the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers, and Valerie Camillo, who was recently named President & CEO of Spectacor Sports & Entertainment this past summer, on managing its portfolio and driving its growth.

Hilferty comes to Comcast Spectacor after leading Philadelphia’s successful bid to be a host city for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and continues to serve as Chair of the Board of Directors of Philadelphia Soccer 2026. A highly distinguished CEO with deep roots in Philadelphia, Hilferty was previously at the helm of Independence Blue Cross – one of the nation’s leading health insurers – as its President and Chief Executive Officer for 10 years. He has also held many other leadership positions throughout his career, including serving as President and CEO of AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies and as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Mercy Health Corporation, all Philadelphia headquartered companies.

“Dan is one of the most dynamic and well-respected business leaders in Philadelphia, across the region, and in many industries,” Scott said. “Comcast Spectacor has grown to become a premier sports and entertainment company, and Dan is ideally suited to take it to further heights. He is an outstanding Philadelphia-bred executive with deep experience leading multifaceted organizations. I’m thrilled he has joined us, and he will be a great complement to Valerie and her leadership.”

“It’s an honor to have this opportunity to be a part of Comcast Spectacor,” Hilferty said. “As a longtime Philadelphian who has admired the company for decades and is a tenacious Flyers fan, I’m excited about Comcast Spectacor and its future. I look forward to working with Dave and Valerie and the many other talented leaders of this storied organization.”

Highly effective in the Philadelphia community, Hilferty serves as lead Independent Director of Essential Utilities, Chair of Healthpilot and Philadelphia Soccer 2026, and is on the Board of FS Investments Credit Income Fund. He earned an undergraduate degree from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and a master’s degree in public administration from American University.

By Claire Koenig

The Board of the Wisconsin Center District (WCD), which owns and operates the Wisconsin Center, Miller High Life Theatre and UW-M Panther Arena, authorized the WCD to finalize an agreement with Baird to become the official naming rights partner of the Wisconsin Center.

“The WCD leadership team and I are dedicated to leveraging our core values to Be Bold. Be Proud. Be Experience Obsessed. to guide every business decision we make,” said WCD President and CEO Marty Brooks. “Since our Board trusted our bold vision and authorized the expansion project in 2020, we knew that a naming rights agreement would follow. The ideal naming rights partner would be homegrown, have a world-class reputation and, for the greatest possible success, share our core values and commitment to the city of Milwaukee. Baird meets and exceeds those qualifications and will give our convention center, and our city, yet another spectacular reason for visitors to add Milwaukee to their list of not-to-be-missed destinations.”

“This agreement fits with our ongoing efforts to build Baird’s brand across our global footprint and reflects our longstanding commitment to giving back to the communities where we live and work,” said Baird Chairman and CEO Steve Booth. “The new state of the art convention center will enhance Milwaukee’s growing reputation as a modern, forward-looking city, and we are honored to support and be part of its success.”

The expansion of the Wisconsin Center, a $456 million project, broke ground on October 28, 2021, and is anticipated to open in May 2024. Upon completion the combined north and south buildings will house 52 meeting rooms, a 300,000 contiguous sq ft exhibit hall, 22 total loading docks, a 400-stall indoor parking garage, and a spectacular new rooftop ballroom with seating for 2,000 and sweeping outdoor terraces. The expanded venue will also include quiet rooms, nursing mother’s rooms, dedicated gender-neutral restrooms and a robust public art program telling the story of Milwaukee. Fixtures such as wayfinding, carpeting and lighting will be consistent through the north and the south buildings to enhance the guest experience, and the venue is pursuing LEED Silver certification. The WCD has self-mandated rigorous minority-owned business inclusion goals on the project of 25 percent minority-owned businesses, five percent women-owned businesses, and one percent disabled veteran-owned businesses, as well as a 40 percent residents preference program (RPP) goal, mandating that a minimum of 40 percent of the labor workforce on site reside in Milwaukee’s most underserved zip codes.

Founded in 1919, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Baird has provided trusted financial advice and services through changing market cycles and across generations. Today Baird serves individuals, families, and public entities throughout the United States as well as corporations and institutions around the world. Notably, since its inception Baird has followed the principles of integrity, transparency, teamwork, and keeping clients first. Together these ideals form the foundation of their unique culture and approach to doing business – also known as The Baird Way.

“Since the vote to authorize the expansion of the Wisconsin Center in April of 2020, the WCD Board has acted boldly to continue to enhance Milwaukee as a world-class destination,” said Jim Kanter, Chairman of the WCD Board. “For us to now sign-off on a long-term partnership with a hometown institution like Baird is a tremendous representation of how the Board and the entire WCD Leadership Team continue to work together to move things forward and make Milwaukee a destination for conventions and events for many years to come.”

Brokered by Legends, a global premium experiences company, the agreement will formally initiate when the expanded convention center opens in May 2024. The balance of 2023 will be used as a transition year as the branding and logo package for the venue is designed and rolled out. The new mark for the venue will be revealed at the formal Topping Off ceremony, April 11, which will commemorate the placement of the last piece of structural steel and start a new phase of construction of the expanded Wisconsin Center.

Claire Koenig is Director of Communications at VISIT Milwaukee.

BSE Global, the parent company of the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center, has brought on Keia Cole as chief digital officer. In this role, she will oversee all technology, digital products, information systems, and analytics for BSE Global. Before joining BSE Global, Cole held a number of roles across technology and customer experience at MassMutual. Most notably, Cole was the head of digital experience, leading a team focused on driving MassMutual’s digital transformation efforts, including the design and development of modern technology solutions for customers, financial professionals, and employees.

By Mirali Patel

Georgia Expo Manufacturing Corporation announced the addition of Betty Kinney to its sales team in the role of Sales Manager. Kinney will manage and grow client relations and maximize the Georgia Expo customer experience. She comes to Georgia Expo with extensive industry experience including working for Fortune 500 companies and Silicon Valley startups. Kinney’s experience in strategic sales and marketing has earned her great success as an individual performer and in leading teams.

As Georgia Expo grows, so has its team. Georgia Expo’s sales department directly reflects its customers’ needs and aligns with increased market demands. For clients, this means having dedicated Account Executives trained in specific markets along with additional customer service support staff to speed up the rate of answering requests, manage growing e-commerce sales, and provide additional and cross-trained support to the Account Executives.

“We’re in a relationship-based business and needed to grow and reposition our staff to ensure every customer walks away with the best possible experience. With the uncertainties of COVID behind us, we are excited to come back stronger and more organized with a team of both veterans and newcomers who are eager to provide the exceptional customer service and timely response Georgia Expo has always been known for,” said Amanda Gray, VP of Sales & Marketing.

These new changes include four new members of the customer service team, all of which are bilingual. Along with Kenney, Georgia Expo welcomes Wendy Luna, Wendy Gutierrez, Karen Cevallos, and Johanna Cevallos to the Georgia Expo family.

Mirali Patel is Social Media Manager at Georgia Expo Manufacturing Corp.