NBA Finals – From the GMs
–Venues Today

Seven small Super Bowls. That’s how Kim Stone, GM for AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, looks at the National Basketball Association Finals, which can last a total of seven games.

This is Stone’s third year in a row hosting NBA Finals games. Last year, the building’s tenant Miami Heat won the championship at home.

“The more times you do something the easier it becomes, and we pride ourselves on being a learning organization,” said Stone. “We keep a lot of detailed notes and review them prior to the next time we have a similar event so we can make improvements. We’re big on always wanting to learn and get better.” Continue Reading →

Make your plans for VenueConnect on July 27-30, 2013 in New Orleans! Here are the Top 5 Links you’ll need to finalize your trip and the Top 5 Reasons to Attend. See you soon!

Top 5 Links

1. Register for VenueConnect here! Pay with a credit card or receive a purchase order, whichever works best for your organization.
2. Apply for DirectConnect, IAVM’s new appointment program launching at VenueConnect. It only takes 10-15 minutes to apply, and if you qualify, you’ll attend the conference for FREE and take care of all of your venue’s purchasing needs in one place! Apply by Thursday, June 27.
3. Book your hotel room at a special rate. Hotel cut-off is July 5, so don’t delay. Take advantage of other travel discounts on this page, too!
4. Sign up for the IAVM Foundation Golf Tournament, presented by MillerCoors, or the IAVM Foundation Cooking School, presented by Sodexo. Space is limited so secure your spot soon.
5. Watch this VenueConnect 2013 video to preview the incomparable experience you’ll have at the premier conference for venue professionals!

Top 5 Reasons to Attend

1. New Orleans. This dynamic annual conference for venue professionals is set in the legendary city of New Orleans – with a culture like no other – cuisine, music, entertainment and high spirits are around every corner.
2. Fresh Ideas. Discover inspiration only found at VenueConnect! Hear actor, humanitarian and NOLA-born-and-raised, Wendell Pierce deliver a powerful keynote address about culture and community, and their roles as part of the human experience.
3. Innovation. Experience information-packed educational sessions including: Crowded Markets for Public Venues; Mission Critical: Creating Goal–Oriented Vendor Partnerships; The Mobile Movement; and New Venue Design & Construction. Then take tours of renowned local venues and see some of the country’s most innovative facilities.
4. Unmatched Connections. Reconnect with long-time peers and network with new venue professionals at IAVM’s Foundation Golf Tournament or join the fun- and food-filled Foundation Cooking School. Attend town halls and meetings to stay up-to-date on sector, Association or regional affairs, and meet with the dozens of other professionals in attendance that have goals and concerns similar to yours.
   
5. High Spirits. What happens when VenueConnect and New Orleans converge? A super-charged, kinetic experience occurs! Attend a variety of receptions to network and enjoy refreshments and great entertainment. Be dazzled by the 2-day trade show – It’s certain to be the most high-spirited, entertaining and engaging trade show you’ve ever attended! Finally, don’t miss the Closing Night Celebration … it will be the perfect ending to an experience like no other – VenueConnect.

As reported in March, we closed out our fiscal year by achieving all of our organizational
goals. Below is brief list of highlights, with comparisons where possible to the goal and
prior fiscal year numbers. Look for a more complete list in our Annual Report, which is in
development. (Please note: all numbers are preliminary until the audit, currently
underway, is completed.)

All of these good things happened thanks to a lot of teamwork. Our Chairman, Richard
Andersen, CFE, was instrumental in setting our goals and ensuring staff and volunteers
were supported in achieving them. John Bolton, CFE, 1st Vice Chair, set us on a solid path
at the beginning of the year by leading the VenueConnect program committee in its development of a highly successful event. The other members of the Executive Committee – Immediate Past Chair Randy Brown, CFE; 2nd Vice Chair Kim Bedier, CFE; Mark Mettes; and Paul Davis, CFE – worked in concert along with the Board of Directors to guide our strategy. And of course, we have an outstanding group of volunteer leaders serving in many capacities, whether on the Foundation board, a school board, a sector program committee, or a project committee or task force. Continue Reading →

Dean Justice, CFE, knows his way around the sprawling University of Texas at Austin campus. But ever since Justice retired in 1990 from overseeing the Frank Erwin Center that he opened in 1977, one particular area has become especially near and dear to him: the archives of the Briscoe Center for American History, where the history of IAVM and the touring entertainment industry can both be found.

“This is basically the home for our history,” said Justice, who served as IAVM chairman (president) in 1974-75 and was awarded the Charles A. McElravy Award in 1987. “This is where you can find documentation of so much of our past and some of the earliest people who helped shape what we are today.”

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The new federal health care law known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) kicks in as of January 1, 2014 when most employers with the equivalent of 50 or more full-time employees must provide health insurance or face significant penalties.

For the public assembly venue industry, many are doing their due diligence in anticipation of the law and the areas of employer mandates, affordable coverage, potential penalties and tax implications.

The buzz about the ACA is being talked about on IAVM’s social networking forum, VenueNet. This is a great place to go to hear what your peers are doing in advance of the new law, and to share steps and implementations you are taking. The August/September issue of Facility Manager magazine will also feature expert commentary on the subject to help you make sure you are in compliance with the law.

Continue Reading →