By Nadia Vanderhoof

Exhibitor Magazine has recognized the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) in Orlando as a Center of Excellence in its 2021 list of the nation’s best convention centers for trade shows and events.

Honoring the best large and small trade show venues, this prestigious list judges based on a variety of criteria from facility and functionality, location and accommodations, service and execution, upgrades and expansions, and awards and industry participation.

“The OCCC continues to drive our industry forward with world-class facilities and innovative solutions to the current challenges,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “We are home to some of the most esteemed conventions and trade shows across the nation, and this award further affirms our competitiveness and industry standing.”

The Centers of Excellence list is an important resource for event planners, show organizers and exhibition managers throughout the U.S. Recognized for two consecutive years, the OCCC continues to enhance its facility and lead the conventions and trade show industry, particularly in response the current climate.

Among the first in the industry to release a strategic set of data-driven Recovery and Resiliency Guidelines, the OCCC continues to take extensive measures to secure a safe, functional and controlled environment for guests, attendees, planners and exhibitors.

In line with its three-pronged recovery strategy, the OCCC earned its Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR accreditation earlier this year. As one of the largest accredited venues in this nation, this highly esteemed certification provides third-party validation for the safety practices employed at the Center, alongside providing a comprehensive framework for cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease control and prevention.

Furthermore, the OCCC released a first-of-its-kind medical concierge program with its destination partner Visit Orlando and Orlando Health. Offering personalized medical services and resources to all meetings and convention groups through 2020, this pioneering program further enhances the OCCC’s reputation for excellence.

Nadia Vanderhoof is Marketing and Communications Manager | Marketing and Communications Division for the Orange County Convention Center.

By Julian M. Bowman

The Dallas City Council unanimously approved the 2020 Fair Park Master Plan Update, which outlines the vision and future planned development for Fair Park. The announcement comes on the heels of the Dallas Park and Recreation Board approval this past summer. The Master Plan Update was presented by Fair Park First, Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, and Spectra—the team tasked with Fair Park’s management, operations, and development.

“We’re proud of all the work that our collective team has put into this plan in less than 18 months,” said Darren L. James, President of the Fair Park First Board. “Today’s approval puts us one step closer to putting the park back into Fair Park for the citizens of Dallas and sets up a living framework for impactful Park improvements over the next couple of decades.”

“We are excited that the City Council was so supportive of this project, and sees the value in restoring and revitalizing Fair Park,” said Brian Luallen, Executive Director of Fair Park First. “This transformative project represents a new path forward for the historic property. With the Council’s overwhelming support, we’re now focused on securing corporate partners, individual donors, and sponsors to make this vision of a greener Fair Park a reality.”

The recommendations in the Master Plan Update reflect the needs and interests of the resident institutions at Fair Park, the surrounding neighborhoods, and park users from the DFW Metroplex, which were gathered through dozens of meetings with the surrounding communities, user groups, and various stakeholders.

“The 2020 Master Plan Update is a guide for reestablishing Fair Park as Dallas’s premier park, a year-round destination for the best of Dallas history, culture, entertainment, and recreation, and a welcoming place of opportunity for neighboring communities,” said Dan Biederman, President of Biederman Redevelopment Ventures.

The approval precedes an upcoming announcement of the park designer for the new Community Park within Fair Park’s 277-acre campus, which is one of the Master Plan Update’s first priorities. The planned Community Park design will include a large lawn, a children’s play area with an interactive water feature, naturalized plantings, remembrance gardens, a pavilion for gatherings, and movable tables and chairs. The Community Park will also provide free programming for children, adults, and seniors. A typical calendar of events during a week might include fitness classes, musical performances, art workshops, drum circles, a reading room, and outdoor movies.

“The City Council’s support and confidence in our vision show that we are on the right track to revitalizing and renewing this National Historic Landmark,” said Spectra’s Peter Sullivan, General Manager of Fair Park. “The proposed greenspaces will be a welcome addition to showcase Fair Park in our mission to activate the entire park year-round.”

Find out more information on the planned revitalization of Fair Park by visiting www.fairparkfirst.org.

Julian M. Bowman is Senior Director of Marketing Fair Park, a Spectra Venue Management facility.

Photo by City of Dallas.

By R.V. Baugus

We all like tidy lists full of numbers that we can easily reference and even work into our brains for fast recall. During his VenueConnect presentation on “The 10 P’s of Venue Safety and Security,” Dan Mathis Jr., CPP, Chief of Safety and Security for the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Fla., shared a word for each of those letters and why they are so important to through areas of public safety, liability reduction, and risk mitigation in an easy-to-master format.

“Ten represents the 10 most essential areas of venue safety and security operations condensed into an easy-to-use format,” Mathis said in beginning his presentation that included a lengthy and engaged Q&A session at the end. “Everybody has plans. There are plans from everywhere. There are private contractors that will come in and develop a plan for you. There’s planned assistance from the Department of Homeland Security. The best plans to me are plans that you can steal from your friends and neighbors and colleagues, but the point is we are taking some of the components from all of these plans and condensing this into 10 P’s.

With that, Mathis was off and running in going through the list and providing venue managers a simplistic framework for developing response, recovery and mitigation strategies and solutions. In order, they represent:

PLANNING. The establishment of 10P begins with the planning phase, or “a failure to plan, is a plan to fail.” With a multitude of planning programs available, use the one best suited for your application and venue needs.

PERCEPTION. The perception of safety and security that your venue projects to the public and others is paramount. Public facing messaging, website, uniforms, security staff attentiveness, staff engagement.

PROTECTION. We have an equal responsibility of duty of care to protect our staff and guests.

PERIMETER. The perimeter of the venue is the first outward sign of the presence of security and public facing indications that your venue considers public safety important.

POSTURE. Security posture is the overall presentation of the defensive capability a venue has as the overall security measures for the venue. The people, policies, and processes in place to maintain security define your security posture. The security posture refers to the level of security and infrastructure currently present at your venue. CPTED and target hardening are examples.

PEOPLE. People make or break your overall program. Well-trained, well-informed staff is the key to efficient response and recovery from a critical incident.

POLICY AND PROCEDURE. This is a must-have from a guidance and liability perspective.

PARTNERSHIPS. Inter-agency operability and stakeholder collaboration in is very important.

PUBLIC SAFETY. Public safety is often directly associated with law enforcement and security. Do not overlook the guest safety in other areas of your campus such as trip hazards, exposure to electrical hazards, protection from inclement weather impacts.

PRACTICE. Your plan is only as worth the paper it was composed on if it is not exercised and practiced. There are many cost-effective ways to accomplish training.

We would be remiss in not thanking Mathis for his gesture at the beginning of the session when he asked for a moment of reflective silence to acknowledge the ongoing work of first-responders and healthcare workers.

Haley Fort is the Entertainment Manager at The Classic Center in Athens, GA. She graduated from The University of Georgia with a bachelors in publication management and a certification in music business. Go Dawgs! Haley enjoys live music, stand-up comedy,  football season, and spending time with her dog, Charlie.

“Being accepted to the program was a high moment for me during an extremely challenging time in my career. This opportunity gave me the confidence and encouragement I needed to keep my head up and continue working towards my personal and professional goals. I felt, and still feel, proud to have been accepted into the program and look forward to growing beside my fellow recipients in the industry. I can’t wait to see what we all accomplish!”

Join your Foundation in congratulating Haley on being honored as one of the 30|UNDER|30 Class of 2020 and don’t forget to come back each Thursday as we spotlight another honoree!

By R.V. Baugus

As Sharoni Denise Little, Ph.D., Ed.D., and Nick Schact pointed out in their highly anticipated session on Leading from the Top: Building an Inclusive Venue Culture, it is impossible for an organization to be at peak effectiveness if in fact that leadership in diversity, equity, and inclusivity does not begin with the very top in the chain of command. It is not enough for mid-management to build such an inviting culture, something every venue and its top management should take heed.

“It is very important to recognize as leaders when we think about diversity, equity, or inclusion, what exactly are we seeking to accomplish?” said Little, who serves as Vice Dean/Senior Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Professor, Clinical Business Communication at the University of Southern California in addition to being CEO of The Strategist Company. “As executives, we have to look at how we monetize everything we do and recognize if there is a cost benefit analysis of ensuring that every member in our organization is getting to experience to the fullest because we know that the converse might be lower productivity, demotivation, harm to the culture, and that definitely is a risk when we look at risk management.”

So, what should that positive experience look like?

“If we are seeking belong where I know that I can come to a space and do my job and that I am connected to the organization and the people in it, I can contribute and not look at any barriers or limitations,” Little said. “But, there has to be evidence of the benefits of it throughout the organization in terms of policies and practices of the leadership. To really understand these concepts first-hand, we are not saying it’s a one size fits all. We cannot create our organizations to be only adapted for leaders or for particular departments, but how are we creating spaces that meet people where they are?”

With a rapt VenueConnect audience that reached 220, it was a session that certainly had the attention of attendees.

“If people don’t feel they have the three factors of survival, safety and security, and social, they can’t think about what the needs of the business are,” said Schact, Chief Global Development Officer for Society for Human Resources Management, in an analogy he related to Pavlovian conditioning. “In leadership roles, we have to model this to be effective. We can’t turn this over to somebody. You can say, I’ve got a chief diversity officer or a diversity and inclusion council to handle all of that. If your behavior doesn’t speak to this inclusive presence that is valuing the diverse population teams we have in our organization, then no one is going to pay any attention to what you say or what they think you are saying. They’re just going to follow the example that you create. Diversity alone doesn’t cut it. Diversity alone is just a numbers game although it is a necessary first step. If we don’t do the rest of it, we don’t get anything else done.”

Moderator Cynthia Tucker, vice chair of the IAVM Diversity & Inclusive Leadership Committee and Assistant Director of Event Operations, University of Southern California – Trojan Event Services, posed the question of why should venue managers have diversity as a core priority, or one of the core priorities.

“Venue comprise spaces and places where our customers can come for purpose,” Little responded. “When they come, from an external perspective they are wanting to not only enjoy the experience but they want to see a reflection of who they are. When we think about being thoughtful, intentional, and strategic about the type of experience we want consumers to have, we have to reflect that in our strategy and our planning. So, as venue managers it’s important that we say why this should be at the forefront when you think about, for example, the type and ways in which we make decisions in terms of composition, in terms of setup, in terms of how we meet them. They are coming to us with an intentional objective.”

Tucker shared that in a poll involving IAVM members that 58% have an EI plan while 42% do not. Asked to address some steps the lower number group could take to formulate a plan, Schact said, “Start by getting executive buy-in. It has to come from the top.”

“Anybody can put together a plan,” he added. “A plan is just writing stuff down on a piece of paper. But if you don’t have commitments to the plan, you won’t move past this very first thing.”

After that, Schact said it is possible to focus on the specific issues needing to be solved.

“It may be representational,” he said. “Do we have diverse representation in our population? If we do, the question then becomes one more of equity. Is there equitable representation across the organization? Do the diverse populations actually feel included?”

The two experts went on to discuss a myriad number of topics related to the session title that by the end of the panel presentation should needle that 42% up.