By Lucy Albers

ASM Global, the premier venue management and services company, announced the addition of Jordan Racine to their team in Oklahoma City as Director of Programming for Paycom Center, home to NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder. Racine will oversee and coordinate all aspects of the entertainment and booking strategy for the 19,000-seat arena.

“We are extremely excited to add a person with Jordan’s experience to our incredible team in Oklahoma City,” said General Manager Chris Semrau. “His knowledge and industry relationships will accelerate the already strong event calendar of the must-play facility in the region.”

Most recently, Racine was the Vice President of Booking at the Los Angeles-based venue consultant, Venue Coalition, a network of 100 arena venues across North America. There, he oversaw booking strategy and operations, and secured over 400 events for its clients. Racine first joined Venue Coalition as a Booking Assistant in 2016 and climbed the ranks of the organization during his tenure.

Racine first joined the entertainment industry as an intern for James Taylor during a 2015 US Tour while studying at Lyndon State College (now Northern Vermont University). He was named a recipient of International Association of Venue Managers’ (IAVM) 30 Under 30 award in 2020.

Adding Racine to the elite team in Oklahoma City will set Paycom Center up for continued success in the future. The arena has already hosted A-list acts like Elton John, Morgan Wallen, and Journey so far in 2022 with a full list of big shows and announcements yet to come.

Lucy Albers is Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Paycom Center.

By Ben Whiteside

From Tuesday, May 24 to Thursday, May 26, the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience (IIFX) will host its first in-person FANCENTRIC™ International Conference & Expo at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. On Tuesday, May 24, IIFX will host a Celebration Luncheon to induct three sports and entertainment industry leaders into the IIFX International Hall of Fame. The winners were selected for their lifetimes of distinguished meritorious service to the sports and entertainment industry and its fans. Criteria for induction into the International Hall of Fame include longevity to the industry, sustained performance and contributions, inspirational leadership, a FANCENTRIC focus, management, vision, and business ethics.

The 2022 International Hall of Fame inductees are:

LEN KOMOROSKI – Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and Rock Entertainment Group. Len Komoroski’s career with the Cavaliers began in 2003 as President. Since then, Komoroski led his team to build an award-winning foundation, one well-positioned for continued growth and sustained success. Komoroski’s tenure included the acquisition of the Cleveland Monsters (AHL), the Cleveland Charge (NBA G League) and the Cavs Legion (NBA2K) franchises, with all three teams earning league-level awards for business operations. The Cavaliers were named a top five finalist for the prestigious Sports Business Journal (SBJ) “Sports Team of the Year” award three times. Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was named a finalist in the “Sports Facility of the Year” category in SBJ’s industry awards for 2020, the year after completing the venue’s massive, $185 million transformation. Komoroski’s leadership helped create the public/private partnership that made the transformation possible. This commercialization of a new or renovated venue is one of the most successful in NBA history.

RUSS SIMONS – Chief Listening Officer & Managing Partner at Venue Solutions Group, LLC. For more than 35 years, Russ Simons has been involved in nearly every facet of the sports and entertainment facility industry including design, construction, and management. Most recently, he served as the full-time venue operations representative for the Los Angeles Stadium & Entertainment District (LASED), including SoFi Stadium. At Venue Solutions Group (VSG), Russ directs the firm’s safety, security, risk, and crowd management operations. He works with operators at every level from college to every major professional league. Russ is a founder and instructor of the IAVM’s Academy for Venue Safety and Security and is an instructor and former Chairman of the Board of Regents of IAVM’s Venue Management School at Oglebay. He has served on the Board of Directors and Life Safety Council. Simons currently serves as the chairman of the Department of Homeland Security Public Assembly Facility Sub-Sector for Commercial Facilities. Russ is a former volunteer firefighter, instructor at the Hartford County Fire Training Center, and an Emergency Medical Technician. Russ also serves as a IIFX Distinguished Fellow.

LEE ZEIDMAN – President of Crypto.com Arena, Microsoft Theater, and L.A. Live. As President of Crypto.com Arena (formerly the STAPLES Center), Microsoft Theater, and L.A. LIVE, the sports, residential and entertainment district, Zeidman oversees the venues event operations, production, including guest services, booking, box office, event security, event staffing, guest relations, facility presentation, marketing, communications, hospitality, and food and beverage services. Along with his hard-working team of employees, Zeidman also supervises Crypto.com Arena’s overall day-to-day support for its tenants, sponsors, clients, and partners including the Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Los Angeles Sparks franchises, hosting seven NBA Finals, two Stanley Cup Finals and five WNBA Finals in which the home teams won seven NBA Championships, two Stanley Cup Championships and three WNBA Championships. Zeidman and his team have successfully hosted an unprecedented schedule of events since October 1999, including multiple summer X Games competitions, 19 of the last 21 GRAMMY Awards, and more than 400 sold out concerts. Zeidman also helped develop and open The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and iconic AEG venues such as the O2 in London and the Mercedes Benz Arena in Berlin.

Ben Whiteside is a Brand Manager with The Focus Group.

The IAVM Foundation has announced the 30|UNDER|30 Class of 2022.  The program, in its seventh year, is made possible thanks to the ongoing support of Ungerboeck, as well as many IAVM Foundation donors.

Designed to engage the best and brightest young professionals in the venue management industry, the 30|UNDER|30 program recognizes emerging leaders – and their talents – which help accelerate the industry and carry it into the future. The Class of 2022 will convene at VenueConnect 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona, July 18-21.

“The 2022 class of 30|UNDER|30 winners emerged out of one of the most competitive fields we’ve seen,” stated James Wynkoop, CVE, Chair of the IAVM Foundation Board of Trustees. “Over one hundered nominations were pared down to these thirty individuals. The program continues to generate a great deal of engagement with the future leaders of our industry. The IAVM Foundation thanks all the nominees, those who nominated them, and the support groups that helped them navigate the application process. Winning is impressive, and we have seen through all of those nominated that the future of IAVM will be in good hands.”

Award recipients will receive full complimentary registration to VenueConnect, as well as a $600 travel stipend.  Honorees will be recognized throughout the annual meeting and formally at the Venue Industry Awards luncheon.

 

Join your IAVM Foundation in congratulating the following to the 30|UNDER|30 Class of 2022:

Paul Ausman, Manager, Events Hosting & Sports Communication, University of Ottawa
Kelsey Garcia-Hayes, Manager, Programming, SoFi Stadium & Hollywood Park
Catherine Gruszka, Manager, Front of House and Volunteer Operations, The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Emily Hamm, Director, Premium Service, Nashville Predators – Bridgestone Arena
Maddie Heywood, Event Manager, Utah Valley Convention Center
Jaylen Hinton, Event Manager, Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Renee Jung, Supervisor, Exhibitor Services, Facility Services, San Diego Convention Center
Chanelle Kildea, Sales & Event Coordinator, Optus Stadium
Alyssa Knoop, Marketing Account Manager, Venues, Edmonton Convention Centre & Edmonton EXPO Centre
David Lewis, Director of Events, Donald L. Tucker Civic Center
Simone Loftman, Event Manager, FTX Arena – Miami Heat
Jane Luneau, Director of Events, Liberty First Credit Union Arena
Maggie Miner, Events Manager, ASM Tulsa – BOK Center
Anthony Monteforte, Event & Meeting Coordinator, Exhibition Place
Phillip Oliver, Event Services Manager, Broadmoor World Arena
Sheneka Perrymond, Director of Restaurants & Cafe, Levy Convention Centers – George R. Brown Convention Center
Catherine Rainford, Booking Manager, Jerome Schottenstein Center
Shelby Revalee, Senior Sales Manager, Greater Columbus Convention Center
Eray Saban, Manager, Event Operations, ASM Global – Kai Tak Sports Park
Emma Schenkenberger, Director of Consulting, VenueOps, Ungerboeck, Inc.
Polina Selinevich, Director of Events, Alerus Center
Dorian Shelton, Manager Building Operations, Spurs Sports & Entertainment – AT&T Center
Jalen Thomas, General Manager, Technology Services, Smart City – Safe Credit Union Convention Center
Lauren Todd, Guest Services Manager, Climate Pledge Arena
Maria Tofalo, Conference Center Manager, Cleveland Metropolitan Conference Center
Amanda Watson, Manager, Event Operations, Atlanta Hawks – State Farm Arena
D’Elle Wendel, Event Manager, Spurs Sports & Entertainment – AT&T Center
Josh Wittmier, Director of Technology, Climate Pledge Arena
Erin Wylie, Guest Services Manager, Indiana University
Elliot Zalaznik, Director of Event Production, Hattiesburg Convention Commission

Register today and join us at VC22 in Phoenix to celebrate your nominees, colleagues and friends.

 

Please welcome our newest members who joined IAVM in April 2022. Thank you for being a part of the association! Also, let us get to know you better by participating in the I Am Venue Management series. Please visit http://www.iavm.org/i-am-venue-management-share-your-story to share your story and photo.

Mark Arndt, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

Cristian Bell, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Gai Bennett, Longview Convention Complex, Longview, TX

Helen Bennett, The Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival, New York, NY

Yesenia Bermudez, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville, TN

Shawntae Berry, Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH

Luke Bolle, Resch Center, Green Bay, WI

Arthur Boulton, T-Mobile Park, Seattle, WA

Hallie Bowen, Venue Management/UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

Stacie Brice, Southern Aluminum, Magnolia, AR

Kerk Brown, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA

Jim Buck, Moody Center, Austin, TX

Adam Campbell, Venue Management/UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

Chris Capozzi, The Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival, New York, NY

Quineesha Carlton, Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH

Joanne Carter, Halifax Convention Centre/Scotiabank Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada

Cierra Conrad, Old National Events Plaza, Evansville, IN

Dave Cordovano, Strategic Ventures Group, Colorado Springs, CO

Melissa Dalby, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Harold Davis, Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH

Tiffiny Dayton, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Greg Deal, Venue Management/UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

Jeff Delancy, Oklahoma City Convention Center/ASM Global, Oklahoma City, OK

Richard Denney, The Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival, New York, NY

Dondi Dix, Avant Acoustics, Lenexa, KS

Mary Donaghy, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville, TN

Chelsea Donovan, Moody Center, Austin, TX

Shannon Duncan, INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, KS

Hannah Dye, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

Kelly Ellerbrook, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA

Lina Farrell, Compass Group Canada, Pickering, ON, Canada

Myles Ferguson, Venue Management/UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

Wendell Findley, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA

Andrew Freeman, Amarillo Civic Center Complex, Amarillo, TX

Scott Fuernstein, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

Jackie Gandy, Amarillo Civic Center Complex, Amarillo, TX

Jose Garcia Castro, Old National Events Plaza, Evansville, IN

Matthew Garvin, Moody Center, Austin, TX

Diane Gbone, Oklahoma City Convention Center/ASM Global, Oklahoma City, OK

David Geck, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA

Anne Gierach, Resch Center, Green Bay, WI

Brian Gowen, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

Natalie Graham, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA

Pamela Griffin, Murphy Arts District, El Dorado, AR

Jon Hampe, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA

Steve Hargett, Venue Management/UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

Dylan Harris, Ungerboeck, O’Fallon, MO

Holly Hartman, Scope Arena, Norfolk, VA

Jeremy Havery, Amarillo Civic Center Complex, Amarillo, TX

Jamie Horner, Miller High Life Theatre, Milwaukee, WI

Nathan Jochum, Old National Events Plaza, Evansville, IN

Ashley Jones, Amarillo Civic Center Complex, Amarillo, TX

Neema Kamala, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY

Kylee Keele, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Emily Kemper, Old National Events Plaza, Evansville, IN

Cathy Kleiman, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Katie Kratzer, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Gabrielle La Rue, Locketgo, Montreal, QC, Canada

Nick Landry, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

Katie Lenerville, Scope Arena, Norfolk, VA

Eileen Letson, PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA

Monique Lide, Venue Management/UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

Tommy Limon, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Zach Lough, Iowa Events Center, Des Moines, IA

Alex Malone, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Kerry Martin, Gibraltar Perimeter Security, Cypress, TX

Brent Mattson, Vancouver Civic Theatres, Vancouver, BC, Canada

James McAninch, Moody Center, Austin, TX

Lindsey McIntosh, MGM Resorts, Las Vegas, NV

John Menghini, Southern Aluminum, Magnolia, AR

Benjamin Metz, ESa, Nashville, TN

Deanna Meyer, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

Kathleen Meza, Moody Center, Austin, TX

Lisa Middleton, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA

Heidi Mielke, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

David Minnigan, ESa, Nashville, TN

Sharon Myers, Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, Harrisburg, PA

Randy Nale, ESa, Nashville, TN

Laura Oliver, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY

Mariana Ortiz, The Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival, New York, NY

James Pakidko, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Laura Peck, Old National Events Plaza, Evansville, IN

Bill Pinegar, Des Moines Performing Arts, Des Moines, IA

Travis Poppell, Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH

Glenn Powell, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA

Phillip Powers, ESa, Nashville, TN

Colby Pridham, Halifax Convention Centre/Scotiabank Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada

Jason Reed, 911 Security, Dallas, TX

Zach Riberdy, Connor Sports, Bensenville, IL

Shaun Rice, Oklahoma City Convention Center/ASM Global, Oklahoma City, OK

Emily Rich, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville, TN

Kelci Rigsby, Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH

Chase Riley, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC

Lyndi Robertson, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Barbra Rogers, Riverside Convention Center, Riverside, CA

Shaheen Roostai, Riverside Convention & Visitors Bureau, Riverside, CA

Kacy Simon, Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH

Tim Smith, Moody Center, Austin, TX

Joseph Solomon, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Surayyah Spears, Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH

Mark Stanton, Southern Aluminum, Magnolia, AR

Liz Sword, T-Mobile Park, Seattle, WA

Melissa Taylor, Winston-Salem Fairgrounds, Winston Salem, NC

Craig Thompson, Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH

Kiersten Thourp, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Taylor Tischhauser, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville, TN

Rolainny Topper, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

Ryan Turley, Fox Performing Arts Center & Riverside Municipal Auditorium, Riverside, CA

Jeremiah Van De Steeg, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

Bill Von Bank, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

Joe Ward, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

Kevin Warnick, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT

TR Wheeler, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

Chris White, Southern Aluminum, Magnolia, AR

Shannon White, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville, TN

Casey Whitehead, Southern Aluminum, Magnolia, AR

Ben Williams, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX

John Williams, Moody Center, Austin, TX

Matt Wood, Resch Center, Green Bay, WI

Jody Wright, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, Dallas, TX

Carrie Yauch, David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, PA

Craig Zwiener, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

By R.V. Baugus

If someone was not out of a job due to COVID-19 and the inevitable job layoffs that followed, then one was still employed and working way beyond intended human hours. For the sake of discussion at VenueConnect this July in Phoenix, Dr. Matt Huml will share in a University Sector keynote session, but one truly geared toward every attendee, the angle of the intentional workaholic and tips on how to get out of the work rut.

Dr. Huml, Assistant Professor in the School of Human Services at the University of Cincinnati, was gracious to give us some time in advance to share more about his background as well as the topic matter he will present. Again, this is suitable subject matter fitting for every attendee at VC22.

The presentation will discuss the relationship between work engagement and workaholism drawn from recent research on the experiences of college and recreational sports employees.

Topics will include:
(1) balancing work and family responsibilities,
(2) tipping points between work engagement and workaholism,
(3) the benefits for employees living a calling,
(4) employee coping abilities,
(5) remote work strengths and weaknesses,
(6) and detriment effects of an overwork climate, among other topics.

Dr. Huml will provide recommendations on how venue managers can minimize employee challenges and cultivate strengths to improve employee satisfaction.

Share with our readers some about your background and then bring us up to speed about your current role at the University of Cincinnati.

I’m originally from the far West suburbs of Chicago (if any of you are from that area, say hi after the presentation and I’ll share the name of the really small town where I grew up!) and grew up a big fan of University of Illinois athletics and all of the professional Chicago sport teams. I started my college experience at Kishwaukee College (community college) that is near Northern Illinois University. After that, I transferred to Grand Valley State University in West Michigan (go Lakers!) where I completed my undergraduate and graduate degrees. I was fortunate to play baseball in college at both Kishwaukee and GVSU. I met my future wife at GVSU, as she played soccer there (was a much more successful athlete than I was). After completing my masters, I worked at the University of Tennessee for a year as an academic advisor before leaving to take an advising job (and start my PhD) at the University of Louisville. After four years at UL, I completed my PhD and accepted my first faculty position at Texas Tech University. My wife and I lived there for three years, had our first child in 2019, and then moved on to the University of Cincinnati in Fall 2019. I am now about to start my fourth year at UC in the fall and we also added to our family a second child in 2020. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati in our sport administration program.

Your presentation will be on Insights into Workaholism & How Venue Managers Can Avoid It. Without giving away the kitchen, what will be some of the things you will share with your audience?

Workaholism is an issue across all labor forces, but it’s especially pervasive within sport and facility sectors. I am going to be talking about what is workaholism and identifying it within yourself and others. I will also talk about how workaholism is activated through environmental factors, family factors, colleagues, etc. Finally, I will address limiting or overcoming workaholic tendencies for employees. But we’ll also go beyond workaholism, as we’ll also talk about work engagement (think of it as a good version of workaholism), how employees apply coping strategies within the workplace, the involvement of occupational calling for venue managers, insights into remote work, and the push-and-pull between work and family.

Has work/balance become just a cliche? We hear so much about it, but have you found in your studies that most people actually try to find that balance?

It is definitely not a cliché, but you can make a great argument that there is no perfect balance and its individual dependent. My focus will be on a couple different, more accurate concepts for the push-and-pull between work and family, called work-family conflict (when those two areas clash) and work-family spillover (when one of the areas has a positive or negative effect on the other). More importantly, my research is going to talk about how the presence of work-family conflict/spillover can actually create a POSITIVE effect on work, even though most folks think of these as negative workplace issues.

Workaholism sounds like an addiction or disease. Is it that or can it become that?

Absolutely, workaholism functions as a behavior addiction. Some folks can become so passionate about their work that they consume our other identities. I’m also sure many of you have heard of people “throwing” themselves into their work when dealing with grief in another area of their lives. Work can become a crutch for us as we seek out validation, desire for micro-managing others, or a distraction from other responsibilities. We need to seek out ways to help employees break from this addiction and create an environment that doesn’t cultivate it from our workforce.

How about a main takeaway you would like people to leave with and take back to the venue where they work?

My hope is that attendees will think about all of these concepts are related to workplace culture and the characteristics exhibited by organizational leadership. If supervisors are working 70+ hours a week, have expectations for prioritizing work over other components of their employee’s lives, take advantage of people’s passions, it’s going to create an environment that can breed these workplace traits. I’ll recommend easy fixes but there will be others that require more effort from leadership to cultivate good workplace practices. It will create huge dividends down the road to implement these changes, as you’ll have less people leave their organization or even profession, increase work engagement, and reduce negative behaviors like workaholism, among others.