This year’s VenueConnect will be July 27-30, in New Orleans, LA. The conference will be an opportunity for venue managers from all venue types to gather fresh ideas and many useful resources to ‘take back’ to their facilities to increase revenue, work smarter and see an immediate return on their conference investment. At the same time, venue managers attending VenueConnect will have the opportunity to ‘give back’ to the conference host city, New Orleans, in the form of a Legacy Project.
Take Backs
There will be a broad mix of educational sessions at this year’s VenueConnect. The keynote speaker, actor and humanitarian, Wendell Pierce, will discuss how venues can be a positive force within their communities. Attendees will also receive information on some of today’s most relevant venue industry trends and challenges such as, increasing revenue through technology, creating allied partnerships to book new business and incorporating sustainability efforts into venue operations.
Other session topics will include: managing funding, board or public expectations during renovations or new construction; a sneak peek into this year’s hottest concert tours in an agent and promoter panel; navigating the world of outsourcing venue service providers; and vital pre-planning steps to take prior to a catastrophic property loss at your venue. Click here to see the full list of VenueConnect educational sessions.
Giving Back
As the VenueConnect planning committee considered keynote speakers, one name seemed synonymous with the this year’s conference location – Wendell Pierce. The well-known actor has taken on an important role in revitalizing his home city of New Orleans, and in particular, his former neighborhood of Pontchartrain Park. This area was just one of many devastated by hurricane Katrina and has struggled to rebuild since. Pierce’s foundation, the Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation, was created to rebuild affordable and environmentally friendly homes and provide access to fresh wholesome food for the neighborhood. His efforts are gaining national attention and are the inspiration for the first ever IAVM Legacy Project.
On the morning of Saturday July 27, VenueConnect attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an act of kindness in a neighborhood just 7 miles from downtown New Orleans. The idea came from VenueConnect Planning Committee Chair, Kim Bedier, CFE, who was looking for a way venue managers could show their appreciation to the host city. “70% of the residents of the (Pontchartrain Park) neighborhood are over 70,” Bedier says, “so we will be helping in their yards, painting front doors, etc. The Legacy Project helps us harness our collective IAVM energy for some good! It allows us to leave a place better than we found it but also to work side by side with our peers – a special kind of networking.”
We know that giving back to a community leaves us with a feeling of satisfaction, accomplishment and a sense of getting more than we gave. We are certain you will leave VenueConnect with this same feeling.
