By Detra Page

GES, a global full-service marketing partner to many of the world’s leading brands, announced the promotion of Jay Altizer to president of the global company. Since joining GES in May 2018, Altizer has simplified the business units to create greater efficiencies, and increased the value and services GES brings to its clients. His extensive management experience, including operational excellence, business development and product
innovation, will serve to help transform the business for the future.

“Jay’s focus on putting clients first and his approach to helping them to create unique, impactful experiences that drive results makes him ideal to lead GES globally,” said Steve Moster, president and chief executive officer of Viad. “Bringing North America, the UK, Europe and the Middle East under Jay’s leadership will provide a consistent experience for our global clients.”

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead GES globally as we continue to create meaningful and memorable
experiences for our clients,” said Altizer. “We’re listening to our clients and striving to be their partner of choice – locally and globally. From strategic insight to cutting–edge creative and flawless execution, we are firmly committed to helping our clients’ build their brands.”

GES also announced the addition of Ian Dunhill, for the newly created role of executive vice president of finance,
reporting to Altizer. Dunhill is an experienced global financial executive with a record of accomplishment in
providing exceptional value in driving strategy and operating performance across all aspects of a business.

Dunhill joins GES from Gold’s Gym International where he was the chief financial officer. Prior experiences include CFO at ASSA ABLOY Hospitality, Vice President of Finance at MoneyGram International and Divisional CFO at Almirall, a global pharmaceutical company.

“Ian brings extensive financial expertise which has led to many successful simplification and process improvement
initiatives within several finance functions,” said Altizer. “He has extensive knowledge in international finance and business expertise in numerous industry sectors including public and private companies.”

Detra Page, APR, is Sr. Manager Corporate Communications for GES.

By Ereka Brim

Hornets Sports & Entertainment announced the promotion of Donna Julian to Executive Vice President & Spectrum Center General Manager.

In her 15th year with the organization, Julian has served as Senior Vice President of Arena & Event Operations since Spectrum Center opened in 2005 and added the position of General Manager in 2008.

One of a small number of female general managers of NBA arenas, she serves as the lead executive for all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the venue, including booking, guest services, management, marketing, public safety, and more.

She is recognized for her outstanding leadership directing and overseeing the preparation, production, and execution of all arena events from performances by prominent entertainers and high-profile political conventions to major league sports and athletic competitions.

Julian places a high priority on maximizing the customer and client experience by promoting and instilling a team-wide commitment to creating a service-driven culture for the benefit of all guests, promoters and artists who visit Spectrum Center.

Under her leadership, the arena hosts more 150 sporting events, concerts, and family entertainment shows annually. Showcase acts which have performed at Spectrum Center include the Rolling Stones, U2, Paul McCartney, Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, and Andrea Bocelli.

Spectrum Center has established its industry reputation as a prime site to host an impressive catalog of collegiate basketball championship tournaments on behalf of the NCAA, ACC and CIAA.

In addition, Julian is proud to have led arena operational logistics as Charlotte served as host for the 2012 Democratic National Convention and the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend.

Julian was also nominated for IEBA’s (International Entertainment Buyers Association) 2018 Venue Executive of the Year. In addition, Spectrum Center has been recognized annually since 2013 by Facilities & Event Magazine as a Prime Site Award winner and received Mecklenburg County’s 2018 Wipe Out Waste (WOW) Ambassador Award Recipient for waste reduction and recycling measures.

Julian is also highly involved in the Charlotte community where she is currently serving as the Vice-Chair of Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Carolinas.

Additionally, she is a Foundation Board Member for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and a member of the Women Executives of Charlotte. Julian has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte.

Julian’s additional honors and recognition include being named one of Venues Today’s Women of Influence (2017), Career Masters Women in History Leadership in Action Awards (2017), Charlotte Business Journal’s Women in Business (2016), Charlotte Mecklenburg Times’ 50 Most Influential Women (2016) and selected as one of BizWomen’s Women to Watch (2016).

Prior to coming to Charlotte, Julian spent 15 years as General Manager of 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore. She was elevated to General Manager after serving in a number of roles in sales, marketing and event administration for Centre Management, the operating company for the Capital Centre (later USAir Arena), home of the Washington Bullets and Washington Capitals. In 2002, she was named to the Baltimore Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 list.

Julian received her bachelor’s degree in athletics administration from Ohio University, was a four-year letter winner and co-captain of the tennis team as a senior, as well as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
She and her husband, David, live in Matthews, North Carolina, with their two sons, Griffin and Donovan.

Ereka Brim is manager of arena marketing for Hornets Sports & Entertainment.

By Janet Smith

The Atlanta Hawks and State Farm gathered 5,000 volunteers at State Farm Arena to pack over one million meals in the largest community initiative in the franchise’s 51-year history. Hawks Principal Owners Tony Ressler and Jami Gertz, State Farm Senior Vice President Dan Krause, Hawks CEO Steve Koonin, and NBA Hall of Famer and Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins were joined by Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) to welcome and thank participants earlier in the day for donating their time in support of the Million Meal Pack. Hawks players Vince Carter, Trae Young, John Collins, and De’Andre Hunter, along with Head Coach Lloyd Pierce, closed out the final meal packing shift alongside volunteers reaching a final count of 1,020,672 meals.

The six 90-minute shifts of the event yielded:
• 170,112 bags of food
• 131,128 pounds of food
• 3,544 boxes of food
• 288 meals per box
• 48 bags per box
• 37 pounds per box

“Our collaboration with State Farm is just beginning,” Koonin said. “From the incredible reach of this Million Meal Pack to the Hawks Court Renovations and State Farm Good Neighbor Clubs that we are creating at local recreation centers, we will continue to build even greater opportunities to bring together Atlantans to make a positive change in our community.”

The many individuals, families, community groups, schools, churches, and businesses that gathered on the floor of State Farm Arena were also working beside Hawks President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Travis Schlenk, Atlanta Hawks Alums including Kevin Willis, Jon Koncak, Cal Bowdler, Roshown McLeod, and Tony Delk, as well as Braves Alums Brian Jordan, Dwight Smith, and Marquis Grissom, State Farm agents and employees, Hawks staff, and several local government officials also lent a hand to the effort.

“Atlanta is a special community and today shows why,” Krause said. “Thousands of our neighbors came here on a Saturday, not for a game or to be entertained, but to help us address the issue of food insecurity in and around Atlanta. Through this partnership with the Atlanta Hawks, our local agents and employees are thankful to serve a city who shares our commitment to strengthen communities.”

Every meal packed will be distributed by six local organizations serving various constituencies throughout metro Atlanta: Atlanta Community Food Bank, Second Helpings Atlanta, Fountain of Hope, Goodr, Lost-n-Found Youth, and Veterans Empowerment Organization of Georgia.

Non-profit Feeding Children Everywhere served as the logistics lead of the meal pack event. The organization, which is dedicated to creating a hunger-free world, provided statistics that show one in four children in Atlanta are facing hunger, while the number of high poverty neighborhoods in metro Atlanta has tripled since 2000, as the population has grown.

A little over a year ago, the Hawks and State Farm announced their official partnership, as the insurance market leader became the new naming rights partner of the NBA team’s home venue. Since the inception of the relationship, the two brands have been focused on creating small acts that collectively have massive impact, as part of the State Farm Neighborhood of Good®.

Janet Smith is senior director, brand communications, for the Atlanta Hawks.

From Berry Center

On October 2, 2019, Berry Center, the multi-purpose facility owned by Cypress-Fairbanks (TX) Independent School District, hosted funeral services for Harris County Sherriff’s Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal. On September 27, 2019 Deputy Dhaliwal was shot from behind during a routine traffic stop.

The funeral ceremonies began with a Sikh religious service followed by a law enforcement service. Guests then exited the facility, preceded by the family and flag draped coffin, to the front plaza for final honors. Honors included two trumpets playing Silver Taps, presentation of the flags to the Deputy Dhaliwal’s widow and father, a 21-gun salute, a helicopter flyover and concluded with 30 bagpiper tribute.

State and City dignitaries such as Senator Ted Cruz, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner attended to honor Deputy Dhaliwal’s service and speak to the family and community.

Every department at Berry Center worked tirelessly from Saturday when the Harris County Sherriff’s Office called to make arrangements, to Wednesday morning when doors opened for the ceremonies.

A unique feature of the facility is an in-house production staff capable of creating broadcasts for television and web streaming. The production staff, led by Sean Ramsey, Berry Center assistant director – production services, worked with a tentative outline of speakers and music and relied on their live broadcast knowledge and state of the art equipment to capture every breath-taking moment.

The production support was extremely sensitive to various personal needs of the family, while coordinating with local media to create a broadcast for the world to watch. The broadcast of this event was fully directed, engineered, operated and produced by the Berry Center production team: Ben Macalalad, James Ness, Larry Brehm, Terri Batcheller, Daniel Life, Anila Harden, Mark Bergeron, Andy Klarer, Alex Carias, Andre Laquindanum and Elias Flores.

The broadcast was also supported by seven camera operators and various technical crew. Coverage was delivered to the local CBS affiliate who served as the host to the other stations around the world.

6,367 law enforcement members and guests traveled from all over the U.S., Canada, and Asia to be present for the services and celebrate the spirit that Deputy Dhaliwal leaves behind.

By Julia Milstead

Butterflies are swarming at the Raleigh Convention Center! October 15 marked the completion of the site-specific installation of Leah Sobsey’s “Swarm” in the venue’s Main Lobby. The work, consisting of 300 cyanotype butterflies, has found its newest home in Downtown Raleigh at the Raleigh Convention Center (RCC) after being shown in hotels and galleries throughout the nation.

The center’s 450,000 annual visitors will now be greeted by a cascade of hundreds of blue and white butterflies traveling along the Center’s Grand Staircase. Raleigh Arts, with the support of the RCC, has accessioned the new addition into the Raleigh Municipal Art Collection. Dotting the massive 9,000-square-foot lobby, the swarm of blue butterflies adds a pop of color, delicately contrasting the Portuguese limestone-clad walls.

“The Raleigh Convention Center has a rich history of spotlighting artists from the region and state. That legacy — paired with its large-scale impact and nature-based subject matter — made ‘Swarm’ a perfect fit for our space,” said Kerry Painter, CVE, General Manager/Director of the LEED Silver-certified Raleigh Convention Center.

To produce the piece, Sobsey scanned specimens in the U.S National Park’s insect collections and created cyanotypes from them, using a printing process that dates back to the 19th century and was traditionally used to create blueprints. A photographer and professor at UNC Greensboro, Sobsey’s work can be found in public and private collections across the U.S., including art museums and galleries from North Carolina to California.

The Center’s use of natural elements and reminders of the natural world are not limited to butterflies – the Center also has two live honeybee colonies on its properties. Honeybees are critical to the pollination of plants, gardens, and crops, and play a vital role in our planet’s ability to grow food. With a 40% decline of the managed bee population in the U.S., two hives were installed at the convention center and, its sister venue, the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts to demonstrate the venues’ commitment to community and sustainability.

Julia Milstead is public information officer for the City of Raleigh.