IAVM’s Severe Weather Preparedness program, an advanced, 1-day training program where participants learn information about all aspects of severe and threatening weather, kicks off today in Minneapolis. Attendees will be immersed in proven practices on identification, messaging, media communication, and how the law imposes a duty of care and how it affects venues.

Joseph Sampson, Partner, McCathern Law, PLLC

Joseph Sampson and Ty Sheaks, partners with McCathern Law, PLLC, will be engaging attendees in a discussion on “Legal Considerations for Venue Management in Severe Weather Situations.” Sampson, chosen for the 2017 Texas Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, handles cases in all areas of business and civil litigation and consults companies regarding risk management and insurance, employment issues, and general business and contract matters. Sheaks is the go to “fixer” for McCathern’s most difficult and high-exposure litigation matters. “We will address a variety of legal considerations for a variety of different severe weather conditions with a focus on understating the general duty owed to patrons (whether invited or uninvited) to protect and/or warn of severe weather,” stated Sampson and Sheaks. “We will also provide real-world examples of severe weather events to walk through some of those legal considerations.”

Ty Sheaks, Partner, McCathern Law, PLLC

Sampson and Sheaks plan to provide attendees with real-world examples of various severe weather situations and the legal considerations facing such weather events. When asked what they felt the key takeaway from their discussion would be, they replied, “Hopefully the attendees will gain an understanding of the general duty owed and an interest in taking steps to fully understand the limits of that duty in the specific jurisdiction of their venues and an interest in seeking further information from trusted legal advisers and others, including insurance brokers, etc.”

To learn more about IAVM’s Severe Weather Preparedness program, click here.

Congratulations to our latest Certified Venue Professional: Dave Horsman, CVP.  Dave is the Senior Director of Ballpark Operations at Minnesota Twins Baseball Club!

View all of our current CVP’s here.

Thanks to the generous funding and support from the IAVM Foundation, the CVP program was launched in August 2015 at VenueConnect in Baltimore. It recognizes the competence of middle-to-senior-level managers of public assembly venues as well as assisting the managers in creating a professional roadmap in the venue industry.

The CVP designation says three important things about an individual: he or she is a capable professional, is committed to the industry, and is pledged to continued professional growth and development. Venue professionals who earn the CVP designation are recognized, by those inside and outside the industry, as skilled in their profession.

The Wisconsin Center District (WCD) Board of Directors has named Marty Brooks as the new CEO for the Wisconsin Center District. Brooks’ first day was January 22, 2018.

Brooks brings to the WCD firsthand experience managing facilities for the NBA, NHL, NFL, Division I Men’s and Women’s college basketball, and minor league hockey. Most recently, Brooks had served as the senior vice president and general manager of America’s Center Complex in St. Louis since December 2012. America’s Center Complex is owned by the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission and maintains the Cervantes Convention Center, Edward Jones Dome, and an executive conference center. Brooks was hired as executive vice president and general manager there in 2008. Prior to that time, he worked as an executive for the Scottrade Center and Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, and at Madison Square Garden from 1985 until 2007.

“Marty’s hiring signals a new and dynamic era for the Center District. The Board looks forward to working with Marty and our community partners to further expand economic activity in and around southeastern Wisconsin,” said Scott Neitzel, WCD Chairman and Secretary of the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration.

“In my role, I look to increase the profitability of the Wisconsin Center District properties, as well as raise the profile of the District itself,” Brooks said. “A robust convention and events calendar for the District has a ripple effect throughout the community, and I look forward to working in partnership with VISIT Milwaukee to continue that trend.”

Paul Upchurch, president & CEO of VISIT Milwaukee, said, “On behalf of VISIT Milwaukee, I’d like to welcome Marty Brooks to the Wisconsin Center District and the Milwaukee area. His operations expertise for convention centers, theaters, and arenas will play well here in Milwaukee and will boost the already strong schedule of events at our Wisconsin Center facilities. He is a great addition to the team, and we look forward to working closely with Marty to further build on the success of the District and bring even more events and conventions to the region.”

“I’m thrilled to start the next chapter of my career in Milwaukee,” Brooks added. “This is a vibrant city with a great downtown scene.”

With the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, in full swing, WalletHub released its 2018 Winter Olympics By The Numbers report, which includes an awesome infographic as well as commentary from a panel of leading sports experts.

Some of the interesting statistics in the infographic include:

•$13 Billion: Estimated cost of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, 4x less than the record-setting 2014 Sochi Games.

•$19.6 Million: Was spent on cybersecurity and X-ray screening for the PyeongChang Games.

•$4,683: Average price of a week-long trip to PyeongChang for the Olympics.

•242: Athletes on the U.S. team – a record for any country in the Winter Olympics.

•169: Russian athletes received a special exemption to compete after Russia was banned from the 2018 Olympics due to a doping scandal.

To see all the fascinating numbers in infographic form, click here.

The San Diego Convention Center announced that it has selected ON Site, a division of ON Services, as its preferred provider of audio visual services and its exclusive provider of production rigging and in-house sound.

ON Site is a leading in-house provider of audio visual services to convention centers, hotels and resorts, utilizing the latest innovative technology combined with an unwavering focus on exceptional service. ON Site will provide the San Diego Convention Center with a full spectrum of audio visual and production rigging services supporting conventions, trade shows, meetings, and special events. ON Site is the preferred in-house audio visual provider for recognized venues including the Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia International Convention Center, the Cobb Galleria Center and the Cobb Energy Center.

The Convention Center’s Board of Directors voted to approve the five-year contract with ON Site at its January Board meeting. The agreement will begin May 1, 2018.

“We are looking forward to working together with our new partners at ON Site to meet all of our customers’ needs,” said Executive Vice President and General Manager of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation Karen Totaro, CVE. “One of our core values is service, and we are confident that ON Site will help us fulfill our promise of providing outstanding customer service so that our clients will want to bring their events back to San Diego.”

“The San Diego Convention Center is a leading facility, and we share their team’s commitment to providing exceptional service,” said ON Services Executive Vice President Brian Hefner. “We are excited to partner with them as we provide audio visual and production rigging services, delivered with excellence.”