Levy, the dining and hospitality leader at convention centers, sports and entertainment venues, and cultural institutions, announced it has earned the #37 spot on Forbes’ 2019 “Best Employers for Women” list. The list honors companies that have demonstrated a deep commitment to workplace equality. It’s the latest in a line of accolades that reflect the company’s commitment to creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace, which also includes a place on the Forbes Best Employers for Diversity list and America’s Best Employers list.

Several leaders from Levy Convention Centers, a division of Levy, commented on what these accolades mean and the continued need to push for equality, diversity, and inclusion in the meetings and events industry:

Cindy van Rensburg, Division President, Levy Convention Centers: “I’m thankful to work for an organization that puts people first, embraces inclusion, and empowers our team. Our business thrives on a diversity of viewpoints and ideas, which we can only achieve by encouraging team members of all backgrounds to contribute.”

Katherine Putnam, Regional Vice President, Levy Convention Centers: “Levy’s commitment to empowering women, empowers me and the women around me for success – which is a pretty incredible position to be in.”

Cindy Thibault, General Manager, Levy Convention Centers – Boston Convention & Exhibition Center: “Not only did I want to work for this company, I knew that one day I could be a leader because I shared the same ideals and vision.”

Dominique Metcalfe, Executive Chef, Levy Convention Centers – David L. Lawrence Convention Center:
“I was one of the first women chefs on the Levy Convention Centers team when I joined in 2008. Levy believed in me and never took away my enthusiasm and drive. They were always there right beside me, supporting me through thick and thin.”

The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center conducted a Fire Drill on August 8 in cooperation with the New Orleans Fire Department and New Orleans Emergency Medical Services. The 350 staff members of the Convention Center participated in the exercise in order to demonstrate their understanding of emergency evacuation procedures. The outcome of the exercise was to enhance communication systems, strengthening intra- and inter-agency coordination and continue to create and maintain a safe environment for internal and external customers.

The New Orleans Fire Department rated the drill Excellent.

The emergency scenario simulated a fire due to malfunctioning equipment near the second floor meeting rooms. The alarm was sounded at 9 a.m., the building was evacuated, and the drill was ended just over 5 minutes later. This exercise demonstrated how Convention Center staff will be prepared to assist the nearly one million visitors attending events annually in the event of an emergency evacuation.

“We are very pleased with the results of this drill. The evacuation was swift and handled in a safe and orderly manner,” said Adam Straight, Vice President of Operations for the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. “This exercise is just one of the many precautions we take in order to make sure emergency situations are managed with resolve and the professionalism that our guests deserve.”

Last year, the New Orleans Fire Department toured safety-critical areas of the Convention Center to become familiar with its fire prevention, detection, and emergency response initiatives. This fire drill is yet another step in the Convention Center’s long-standing initiative to keep its guests and staff safe.

Photo: Exhibit Services Coordinator Austin Deeks evaluates the response to the fire drill at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s Public Safety Base at Julia Street.

Johnson Controls has announced Tyco Cloud, a new cloud-based security suite developed to help customers move costly and complex security infrastructure for access control and video surveillance to the cloud. With Tyco Cloud, organizations can reduce costs, improve enterprise security management and scale security operations on demand, providing unlimited possibilities to deliver security services over the internet.

Tyco Cloud allows users to protect lives, assets and facilities through management of access control, video surveillance and other security operations using secure cloud services and connected devices such as cloud cameras and controllers. Cloud solutions from Tyco run on an open and modern microservices architecture to ensure fast, scalable and secure services.

“Our customers worldwide are embracing and accelerating digital transformation to make their businesses more intelligent, agile and cost effective,” said Martin Renkis, general manager of Cloud Solutions, Global Security Products at Johnson Controls. “Tyco Cloud empowers this digital transformation with on-demand security management that enables organizations to securely and cost-effectively customize their video surveillance and access control solutions based on site-specific and enterprise-wide requirements.”

For video surveillance, organizations can enable Tyco Cloud with any Illustra Cloud Camera or leverage existing camera systems using Tyco Cloud Gateways, which will automatically locate existing cameras from dozens of different manufacturers on a network and enable secure cloud management of those cameras.

Tyco Cloud enables video storage in camera, in gateway, in low latency cloud, in high latency cloud or a hybrid combination to support unlimited flexibility and cost effectiveness. The intuitive interface allows users to customize multiple recording parameters, such as which cameras to record and for how long, video resolution, as well as create unique upload schedules to minimize bandwidth consumption. The service also offers Cold Cloud video storage for cost effective, high latency online archiving. The new Hyper View feature enables users to search through 24 hours of recorded video from up to 100 cameras within 60 seconds. Tyco Cloud surveillance also supports powerful analytics such as heat mapping, object detection and crowd formation to name a few.

For access control, the new ioSmart solutions from Tyco Cloud empower smartphone based mobile credentials and smart key managed access control for companies to securely allow personnel to conveniently access facilities using their smartphones without the security risk of lost, stolen, or cloning of legacy card technologies. Tyco Cloud ioSmart was cloud first designed to deliver convenience, cost savings and advanced security for access control.

The Tyco Cloud Enterprise Manager portal provides users with a comprehensive view of their entire security solution through a single interface. It provides real-time status and management of every connected device on a clickable global map. This simple dashboard also enables tracking and management of users, bandwidth utilization, cloud storage and device firmware.

Additionally, Tyco Cloud secures all data from any device to the cloud and to the end user. Every connected device as well as the cloud platform are supported by the Johnson Controls Cyber Solutions Product Security Program, which delivers enhanced safeguards against cyber attacks, including additional controls for proper password management and end to end encrypted communications.

iCommit 2019 Results:  iCommit, IAVM’s annual member referral campaign, ran this year from February-June 30, 2019. The objective of the campaign is for every current member to recruit one or more individuals to join our community of venue professionals.
We are happy to announce that 122 members were entered in the raffle to win prizes for each new member they referred. With their support, we added 308 new members!

• Grand Prize Winner – VenueConnect 2020 Free Registration goes to Steve Schwartz, Walter E Washington Convention Center

• Raffle Winners – Five, $500 Apple Gift Cards
  • Leonard Emery – tvs Design – Atlanta, GA
  • Lana Ramirez – BBVA Compass Stadium – Houston, TX
  • Sarah Feiger Robertson, CVP – Greenville, SCAndryn Arithson, MBA, The Robert & Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts – Denver, CO
  • David Pike – Purdue University – West Lafayette, IN

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• Region 5 added the most new members with a total of 77 members. The Region Director will select one recipient to have his/her CVP application fee waived (value $125) through July 2020.

We thank Ungerboeck Software International for their continuous support of this membership initiative and to all of our members who consistently respond to the call to help us continue to be the largest association serving the venue management industry in the world. If you have any questions, contact IAVM’s Director of Membership, Gina Brydson.

By Kristi Mexia

LA Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park (LASED) announced American Airlines as its first partner at a press conference on Tuesday. American Airlines will be a Founding Partner of LASED, the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams.

As a part of the agreement, the airline will be the exclusive naming rights partner of American Airlines Plaza, a 2.5-acre two-level open-air space that serves as a main entrance into the stadium and performance venue. American Airlines Plaza will also be the main entry point into an adjacent VIP entrance, which opens into a three-level lobby inside the stadium.

LASED is a 298-acre world-class sports and entertainment destination being built by Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke. It will feature unparalleled event venues, office, retail and residential spaces, and more than 20 acres of parkland, with LA Stadium, the new home of the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, positioned as the centerpiece of the development. With more than 50 million visitors to Los Angeles in 2018 alone, LASED was not only designed to entertain fans, but also to serve as a community gathering space for Angelenos and for travelers to the LA metropolitan area.

“As we continue Mr. Kroenke’s vision to build the premier destination for sports and entertainment at Hollywood Park, we are proud to partner with an industry-leading business such as American Airlines,” said Jason Gannon, Managing Director, LA Stadium and Entertainment District. “We are both making investments in Los Angeles that will provide fans and customers an elevated experience as they travel, live, work and play.”

“For decades, Los Angeles has been one of American’s most important markets and has played a major role in connecting Southern California to the rest of the world,” said Robert Isom, President, American Airlines. “It is our mission to give our customers the world-class experience they deserve, and we are committed to doing so both at the airport and within the community. It’s an exciting time for the City of Angels and for American Airlines.”

American Airlines Plaza measures 10 stories tall and has a capacity of approximately 15,000 guests. American Airlines Plaza will be open to the public year-round, on event days, as well as non-event days.

The plaza sits between the stadium and performance venue. All three venues fall under the same roof, which is made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a lightweight and transparent plastic. American Airlines Plaza will have the ability to accommodate its own bespoke programming that will reflect and connect with the cultural passions of the Los Angeles community.

American is the largest carrier at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with more than 200 daily flights to 70 destinations and is the only airline at LAX with nonstop service to five continents. The carrier continues to grow and strengthen its 70-plus year presence at the hub through significant direct and indirect investments in the region, including a $1.6 billion modernization project to fully reimagine LAX Terminals 4 and 5 – American’s largest individual investment at an airport in its 93-year history.

“Strong partnerships with LASED, the Chargers and the Rams demonstrate American’s commitment to investing in our business and in the Los Angeles community. This stadium, and the events that will be held here, will bring people throughout the region and from around the world together. Connecting people is our business and we couldn’t be more thrilled for the bright future of this city, our airline and the 7,300 team members who call Los Angeles home,” said Suzanne Boda, Senior Vice President-Los Angeles, American Airlines.

“Building the best stadium in the world brings with it the opportunity to partner with the best companies in the world,” said A.G. Spanos, President of Business Operations, Los Angeles Chargers. “While both the Chargers and American Airlines seek to be best-in-class at what we do, what truly makes this partnership a perfect fit is our organizations’ commitment to the community. With these shared values as the foundation of this new partnership, we look forward to big things both in 2020 and for years to come.”

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with American Airlines and travel with them to Hollywood Park,” said Kevin Demoff, COO, Los Angeles Rams. “From building playgrounds and rewarding fans with trips to games to flying the team to Super Bowl LIII, American Airlines and the Rams have made quite a team. We are looking forward to continuing to work together to inspire Angelenos to shine bright and reach new heights.”

American Airlines will become the official airline of both the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams and have prominent branding during Rams and Chargers gamedays. American has been the official airline of the Los Angeles Rams since their homecoming in 2016.

LA Stadium and Entertainment District was represented by Legends Global Partnerships in securing this historic partnership with American Airlines.

Kristi Mexia is with LA Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park.