By Leah Shaw

The people of Houston are humbled and grateful for the overwhelming outpouring of kindness, prayers and relief efforts we have received from across the country/globe. Countless examples of the Heart of Houston emerged over the past week. The strength, resilience and genuine kindness displayed by friends, family, coworkers, neighbors and complete strangers truly encapsulate the spirit of this special city.

Visit Houston is especially proud of our six employees who expertly converted the George R. Brown Convention Center into a fully functioning emergency shelter, ready to take in community members within a mere 90 minutes of receiving the call to action. It is this passion, hard work and determination that gives us hope for the future of this great city.

“We are proud of the way Houstonians have rallied around one another to help their neighbors and their communities as we begin the long process of recovering and rebuilding. Houstonians are resilient and we’ll emerge from this stronger than ever,” says Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. “We are also encouraged by the business community’s commitment to helping Houston through this. As the flood waters recede and the airports begin to return to normal, we encourage our convention visitors to not cancel their plans, and we thank those conventions who have ensured us they are still coming. Your support is critical in helping Houston recover and rebuild.”

Hour by hour the landscape changes here, but progress is being made.

Visit Houston continues to work closely with all major hotels, restaurants and retailers in the area to obtain the status of their operations. Here is an update on key facilities as of last Friday:

•Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB) and surrounding campus, Avenida Houston, is currently fully functional and has sustained minimal damage. The GRB continues to serve as an emergency shelter. As of Friday, September 1, the GRB shelter population had dropped to just under 2,000, from its peak of over 10,000 and we expect this number to decline as we work swiftly with local and national agencies to find transitional housing for those sheltered in our facilities.

•We have communicated with all groups planning to use the GRB through this fall. At this time, five groups planning to use the GRB through Sept 14th have been rescheduled for later dates in 2017, and all others are currently on schedule as planned. Our current goal is to reopen with the Texas Society of Association Executives September 17-19. “We are grateful for the outpouring of support from the meetings and hospitality industry,” says John Solis, Senior VP of Sales. “As of this morning we have had no groups cancel their meetings for 2017, and we are confident we will meet, and in true Houston fashion, exceed their expectations.”

•According to the most recent reports, surrounding hotels in downtown Houston sustained minimal damage and are fully operational. According to the Hotel Lodging Association of Greater Houston, roughly 95% of hotels in and around the Greater Houston area are open for business.

•Both George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby Airports resumed limited domestic passenger airline operations on Thursday, Aug. 31, with the expectation to be fully operational next week.

“I am so proud of the Greater Houston community, the selfless desire to help each other is truly inspirational. Clearly hospitality is in our DNA,” says Mike Waterman, president of Visit Houston.

We understand the uncertainty this creates for so many who had plans to visit Houston. We have moved quickly from rescue to recovery and rebuilding. Many have asked, how can we help. We are in discussion with the hospitality community to set up a fund to help hospitality employees impacted by hurricane Harvey. We will provide that information as soon as we have it.

Leah Shaw is the public relations director of Visit Houston.

IAVM has always been more than an association. We are a family. When one of our members or member venues experiences something devastating, we all pull together as a community to help.

With the events of Hurricane Harvey unfolding over the past week, several members of our IAVM family in Southeast Texas and Louisiana have been hit with devastating floods and tornados. As we tend to do in this industry, our member venues have opened their doors to help evacuees in need of shelter. Members themselves have also offered services and assistance, as the number of those in need of assistance grows.

We understand that those of you in the effected area are focused on the guests in your facilities and cleaning up, because that is what we in this industry do…”just keep going on with the show.” However, we want to remind you that we are here for you, your staff members, and your immediate families. We want to encourage our members who need assistance, as well as those who would like to offer assistance, to post on IAVM’s internal discussion board platform, VenueNet.  While this tool is always helpful for information sharing among our members, it is an especially valuable resource in times of crisis.

We hope you will utilize VenueNet to let us help you in whatever way you need, or to simply keep in touch to let us know that you are OK. Our thoughts and prayers are with each of you.

Doug Booher, CFE | IAVM Chair of the Board

Kerry Painter, CFE, CEM, CMP | IAVM Region 6 Director

Gonzaga University has continued their long-standing relationship with Daktronics by asking the company to manufacture and install 10 new LED displays for multiple sports facilities on campus in Spokane, Washington. Video displays will be installed for basketball, volleyball, baseball and soccer this fall.

“We’re continually working to provide the best game-day experience possible for our sports facilities and installing new Daktronics displays on campus is an important step in achieving our goals,” said Rob Kavon, Gonzaga University’s associate director of athletics for facilities and event operations. “The new centerhung in McCarthey Athletic Center is going to be amazing, and we can’t wait for it to bring a first-rate, exciting atmosphere to our fans and student-athletes this year.”

McCarthey Athletic Center will be receiving seven displays, including a 5-display centerhung configuration featuring 1,230 square feet of LED displays to impact and improve Bulldogs basketball and other special events held within the venue.

In the centerhung configuration, two large sideline-facing displays will measure 12.5 feet high by 21 feet wide, two end-facing displays will measure 12.5 feet high by 12.5 feet wide and a narrow ring display circling the bottom of the configuration will measure 3 feet high by 64.5 feet wide. A new custom hoist will hold the centerhung in place over the court.

“We’re thrilled to extend our long-standing partnership with Gonzaga University for these LED video projects,” said Greg Schmidt, Daktronics sales representative. “The university was looking for a solution to bring a ‘WOW’ factor to their facilities as well as ensuring their fan experiences exceeded expectations. We’re honored to be selected to help achieve their goals as this state-of-the-art technology will make the ideas for their facilities a reality.”

At the adjacent Martin Centre, Daktronics will install a new 6.5-foot-high by 12-foot-wide video display featuring 6-millimeter line spacing as well as two new fixed-digit scoreboards to provide additional statistics for volleyball.

Also on campus, Gonzaga Soccer at Luger Field will receive a new video display measuring 8.5 feet high by 16 feet wide as well as a fixed-digit scoreboard for additional soccer statistics. Gonzaga Baseball at Washington Trust Field & Patterson Baseball Complex will receive a new outdoor video display measuring 12 feet high by 36 feet wide. Both outdoor displays will feature 13HD pixel layouts for excellent image clarity and contrast while providing wide angle visibility for fans.

As Hurricane Harvey has finally left the Gulf Coast and headed north and east, many Texas residents have found refuge in shelters set up across the state.

The George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston began immediately welcoming all people into the facility with an expected capacity of 5,000. That number was quickly overwhelmed and nearly doubled within three days after the convention center began taking in people.

Houston First provided a release on Tuesday and will be updating information later today about the status of the convention center as a mega-shelter. In part, the release shared the following:

•At the moment, Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center is serving as an emergency shelter for thousands who have been left homeless. The Convention Center is fully functional and the convention campus, Avenida Houston, sustained no damage. At this point it’s too early to say how long the facility will be used in that capacity.
•According to the most recent reports, surrounding hotels in downtown Houston sustained no damage and are fully operational.
•Both airports are expected to be operational by the end of the week.
•Many of the facilities in Houston’s Theatre District have sustained damage. Evaluations are currently underway to determine the extent of the damage, and its impact on future operations.

Meanwhile, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas set up preparations for up to 5,000 more displaced residents. That number was low until several buses arrived overnight to the facility while other people arrived on flights at Dallas Love Field. It is now estimated that the venue is home to about 1,000 people, a number that Mayor Mike Rawlings said will very likely rise. In addition, another 200 displaced residents arrived late last night at in Fort Worth at the Fort Worth Independent School District’s Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center.

The Dallas shelter is expected to remain open for several weeks.

The hurricane has also played havoc on the sports schedule. The Houston Texans were to host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. That game was originally moved to AT&T Stadium in Arlington before being canceled so the Texans could return home. A baseball series between the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers scheduled for Houston’s Minute Maid Park was moved to a neutral site in Tampa during the week. Finally, the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff college game between LSU and Brigham Young University scheduled for Houston’s NRG Stadium will take place Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

Henderson Engineers named renowned industry expert Paul Villotti, P.E. as its new Director of Life Safety. Villotti is widely-recognized as one of the leading experts in fire protection and life safety. He began work with Henderson at its headquarters in Kansas City.

“We are thrilled to have Paul join our fire and life safety group,” President and CEO Rich Smith said. “His contributions to the industry are unparalleled — he has literally impacted codes and standards that are used every day nationwide. Just like Paul, we are committed to changing the industry for the better.”

Villotti will be part of Henderson’s fire and life safety team, which includes 39 fire protection engineers, code consultants, former firefighters, and life safety specialists. He previously spent 30 years with Kansas City-based FP&C Consultants, Inc., where he retired as vice president earlier this year.

“I am excited to be at Henderson Engineers,” Villotti said. “After three months, I realized how much I miss working. I am happy to return to what I love the most — mentoring and training the next generation of fire and life safety experts and providing counsel to clients. I like being a resource to the industry and joining Henderson will allow me to continue to serve in that capacity on an ever greater scale.”

With more than 35 years of experience, Villotti has spent his career helping venue managers, operators, and facility owners resolve building and fire code issues, obtain building permits, coordinate with fire marshals, and resolve code issues by providing technical justification for code equivalencies and variances. He possesses intimate knowledge of code requirements and is passionate about sharing the fundamental safety principles behind the rules. A lifetime avid learner, Villotti is known for wanting to understand all facets of a project so he can provide the best counsel while also adhering to the owner’s overall vision.

“Paul’s reputation in the industry speaks for itself,” Senior Vice President Darrell Stein said. “His experience and knowledge of fire fundamentals is unsurpassed and he has proven time and again to be a valuable asset to the teams he’s worked with. His commitment to his work and training others is second to none. I’ve always had the highest level of respect for Paul and come away from our interactions having learned something new every time.”

A registered Professional Engineer in 23 states and the Province of Alberta, Canada, Villotti has broad experience in all types of assembly venues. He is a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), and IAVM, of which he said he would like to be more actively involved in his new position. Villotti is a Certified Firefighter II in Colorado. Villotti has taught code classes for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and IAVM facility managers. He is a 1980 graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering.