By R.V. Baugus
The Venue Managers Mom’s Affinity Group, created for networking and to support opportunities for women in the venue management profession who are mothers, will launch with its first meeting scheduled for May 18 at 3pm EST/2pm CST. Meetings will be held monthly on the third Tuesday.
“The intent is to create space, virtually and eventually in-person, where women can gather to support one another, to speak from various perspectives, and to learn from one another,” said Jennifer Norris, CVE, Assistant Managing Director, San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center. “The group will be inclusive – adoptive mothers, biological mothers, stepmothers, single mothers, partnered mothers of any and all sexualities.”
Norris noted that the group is IAVM member-created, although IAVM membership is not required to participate. That said, individuals must be IAVM members in order to access the group on VenueNet. “It came about organically as a result of the April IAVM Foundation E3 focused on Working Moms and the Women in Leadership Roundtables,” she said.
Here is what the some of the members who came together to form the planning committee for this group are saying about why it is important to them and what they hope to create with and for each other:
“I jumped at the opportunity to help build the Venue Managers Mom’s Affinity Group because being a mom in this industry can feel very isolating. I love the idea of having a ‘safe’ space to share all of my mom related joys and frustrations. It is incredibly uplifting to talk to a group of powerful women who can understand all the intricacies that go into being a working mom in our industry. I can’t wait to simply have a conversation with all the awesome moms out there!”
Sara Beatty, CVP
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
“Being a mom is often tough and being a mom in this industry can add additional challenges. I’m looking forward to meeting moms who share the same passions, but also connecting over things not related to our day jobs. Having a space to air frustrations, share milestones or learn about new mom trends is an invaluable resource, especially after the past year where moms seemed to have added even more to their plates. I can’t wait to connect with other moms and build on the support we all need.”
Lauren Burch
Old National Events Plaza
“Having a group of fellow moms to connect with in IAVM and our industry has already been so beneficial to me. Even in our planning meetings to put the group together, we’ve been able to laugh and complain about our kiddos while doing video chats with babies and toddlers hanging on us. I so look forward to starting this meet-up so we can all learn from each other, connect with one another, and hopefully help us all through this experience in the ever-crazy venue and events industry!”
Ashley Peacock, CVP
COX Business Convention Center
“I became a mom at the very beginning of the pandemic–the world literally shut down as I was in the hospital. It’s been 14 months of really high personal highs and really low professional lows, all during a time when the professional and personal lines have become blurred into non-existence. I am so excited to help get this group started to help provide a much-needed respite from the isolation and constant white-knuckling we do to get through every day. Our calls so far have been one of the few times I haven’t felt the need to apologize for my reality, which currently is a teething toddler who only takes zoom calls on the top of my head! As venue professionals, our strength is keeping all the balls in the air and always having backup and contingency plans. The uncertainty of this year has made it impossible to plan and impossible to keep juggling all the balls. Connecting with other women in our industry who are doing the best they can with humor, grace, and a ‘show must go on’ attitude has been inspiring and vital. I look forward to meeting new friends and colleagues and celebrating our successes, commiserating about our struggles, discovering my next favorite Netflix show, and building a community where we all feel a little less alone!”
Annie Wilson, CPA
The 5th Avenue Theatre
Interested moms should register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcudOyoqTIvGta4Gr61Qddf5dTyPJDL4aOR
And for moms that are members we hope you will join our VenueNet Community titled Venue Moms’ Group
https://venuenet.iavm.org/communities/community-home?CommunityKey=794c3767-ee7f-486e-ac19-5a833bcd867e
