Excerpts From VenueConnect Keynote Speaker Wendell Pierce Interview
Wendell Pierce, native son to New Orleans, accomplished television and film actor and stage personality, is counting down the days before he delivers a keynote message during IAVM’s VenueConnect from July 27-30 in Pierce’s home town.
When Pierce is not appearing in HBO’s Treme, he is busy helping revitalize communities in New Orleans, specifically the region around Pontchartrain Park. He also recently opened his first Sterling Farms grocery store in an area where quality and healthy produce and food is hard to get.
Facility Manager magazine recently interviewed Pierce about the above topics as well as his appearance before the IAVM audience in New Orleans. Here are some excerpts from the article that will appear in the June/July issue of the magazine.
Industry News Weekly Roundup
Super Bowl L Will be Smartest Stadium in NFL
–The Examiner
Goodbye, cold, grungy Candlestick Park. Hello, high-tech, shiny new Levi’s Stadium.
Fifty-four years after $32 million Candlestick Park opened, the 49ers are building a $1.2 billion showcase of a stadium that is almost twice as big, wired to the hilt and opening its doors just in time to host Super Bowl L in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
Arriving just five years after the debut of Cowboys Stadium, Jerry Jones’ $1 billion showcase for his club, the 49ers are aiming to redefine state of the art, as team officials made clear on a recent tour. Continue Reading →
The Popular Vote Says No Sessions During Exhibit Hours
(Editor’s Note: IAVM does not conduct education sessions during trade show hours.)
Should you have concurrent educational sessions during exhibition hours, or separate dedicated hours for each? Is your event a conference and exhibition, or an exhibition and conference? There is a big difference—especially for shows under 5,000 attendees.
I’ve managed (and attended) shows using both models. After seeing both in action, I think time should be dedicated to either education or to the exhibit floor, not both.
Cash ‘N Carry: Thieves Heist ATM From Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
Woe unto the Automated Teller Machine. If these tried-and-true cash dispensers affectionately known as ATMs could ever have a voice, surely they would seek assault damages from thieves who try and steal them for being kicked, punched, tied up, dragged, shoved, tossed and yes, even cursed at.
Most of these thefts take place where machines are either outside or just inside the door of an establishment, which makes the case of the stolen ATM from the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas, even more remarkable in that the machine was pilfered from the second floor of the venue.
Media Descend on Cox Convention Center for Moore, Okla., Graduation Ceremonies
As with many convention centers around the country this time of year, the SMG-managed Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City hosted a number of high school graduations for schools not only within the city limits but from surrounding communities as well. In fact, this year’s count was 14 graduations at the venue that sits across the street from the Chesapeake Energy Arena just off of Interstate 40.
As events go, graduations follow a fairly smooth and straightforward script as one ends and another begins. But for the Classes of 2013 from Moore, Southmoore and Westmoore, their shining moments were tinged with the still too-fresh pain of an EF5 tornado that tore through the 56,000-strong city of Moore five days earlier, killing 24, including seven children at Plaza Towers Elementary School.