The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) has continued to be the preferred venue for international organizers staging world-class exhibitions and conferences in Hong Kong. During the fiscal year 2016-2017 (July 2016 to June 2017), a total of 1,102 events were held at the HKCEC, including 116 exhibitions and 104 international and local conferences, along with hundreds of corporate meetings, banquets and entertainment events. In total, over 5.7 million people attended these events. Eight new exhibitions and 36 new conferences were successfully held at the HKCEC. Over the year, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management) Limited (HML) picked up 28 awards and certificates from international and local organizations, including the award for the “Best International Convention and Exhibition Centre,, the “Award for Excellence in Convention and Exhibition Facilities,” and the “18 Districts Caring Employers 2016 Award.”

Eight of the year’s 116 exhibitions were new to the HKCEC. They represented industries as diverse as fashion, toys, cloud technology, automobiles, and technology for the elderly. The other over 100 exhibitions were recurrent trade and public fairs, including the 5th edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Book Fair, and the Hong Kong Electronics Fair.

The HKCEC’s conference business remained strong over the year. Among the 104 conferences held at the HKCEC, 30 were international and 74 were local conventions, with a total of 36 new to the venue. The conventions were on subjects as wide-ranging as medical science, yoga, taxation, law, and waste recycling.

Other significant events held at the HKCEC during the year included Hong Kong phenomenon Rex Tso Sing-yu winning the WBO Asia-Pacific super flyweight title in front of 8,000 enthusiastic spectators. This was an important moment in his personal career, taking him to a winning streak of 21 matches. On another front, the Chief Executive Election held on 26 March at the HKCEC was brought to a successful conclusion due to HML’s professional security, event planning and crowd management services.

A series of celebration activities for the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s Return to the Motherland were held at the HKCEC from June 29-July 1. These included the Grand Variety Show, the Flag Raising, the Inauguration of the Fifth Term Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, along with fireworks display dinners and other activities relating to the visit of President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China. With a rich experience and expertise in handling high-profile events, HML’s 950 permanent staff and an additional 1,500 temporary support staff successfully provided meticulous services in line with the strict security measures. Over the three days, more than 33,000 meals were served for attending guests, HML and Government staff members, contractors, as well as some of Hong Kong’s top performing artists.

“Exhibition and event organizers coming to the HKCEC are not just looking for a suitable venue, but are expecting total event experience for exhibitors, buyers, visitors, attendees and guests, which involves bringing together security services, catering services, technological support and logistics,” said HML Managing Director Monica Lee-Muller. “HML is fully capable to provide them with creative and comprehensive solutions.”

Since the opening of the HKCEC in 1988, the HML team has hosted 46,460 events and welcomed over 103 million visitors. These events have contributed significant economic benefits to Hong Kong by generating spin-offs for tourism and other related industries, creating numerous jobs and business opportunities for small and medium enterprises, and enhancing Hong Kong’s international image and reputation.

SMG was honored to be named corporate partner of the year at a presentation conducted at the College of Charleston and officiated by Alan Shao, Dean of the School of Business and Wayne Smith, Chairman, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. This is the first award of its kind issued by the department.

“SMG has enjoyed more than a decade of association with the College,” said Wes Westley, SMG President and CEO. “We believe it is a perfect example of the private/public partnerships that can bring great value to each party. SMG provides internship opportunities for college students, and SMG executives collaborate with college professors in course development and sit on the college advisory board. These and many other examples have created a win/win opportunity. We are very pleased and humbled to receive this award and be the first recipient of such recognition.”

“The length and depths of the excellent relationship we enjoy with SMG has been of great significance to all of us in the department and school of business,” added Dean Shao. “We look forward to enhancing these relationships for many years to come.”

Maureen Ginty, Executive Vice President, SMG, and member of the Executive Committee of the Advisory Board for the Hospitality Department said, “We cannot overstate the value of our long-standing relationship with the College. We continue to deepen and expand that relationship as we move into the future. All of us who have been associated with the College are extremely honored by the recognition and look forward to many years of continued partnership.”

At VenueConnect 2017, venue managers attended numerous educational sessions to discuss safety and security techniques, and the technology that can enhance them. These sessions included highly trained, respected, and educated experts serving on panels, which focused on threats venues face, technology to be considered, security policies and protocols, and the ways ordinary, good people can help combat the terroristic threats.

Alternative Security Measures and Trends that Impact Your Emergency Preparedness Planning

Tuesday kicked off with Alternative Security Measures and Trends, and venue managers gathered to hear what panelists Matt Bettenhausen, Senior Vice President and Chief of Security for AEG Worldwide, Special Agent Adriaan Valk, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Memphis Division, & Chad Ludkey, Director of Public Safety for Nashville Predators and Bridgestone Arena had to say about the planning that should be incorporated in all venue’s security and safety protocols.

“Planning has to be a whole event,” said Bettenhausen, advocating that the same amount of detail that goes into the event should also be put into your security protocol, before and after the event.

“It’s about keeping your perimeter set until the end of the event,” said Ludkey.

Special Agent Valk expressed the importance of having a plan and working with your staff to make sure they know the correct protocols for every threat.

“Know your plan, test your plan, and work with your local enforcement,” he said, “and work with the FBI when appropriate.”

“Your best friend,” said Bettenhausen, will be “immediate, honest communication with your public. Eighty (80) percent of cases came from citizens reporting suspicious action to law enforcement.”

Featured Speaker: Stephen Rees

“The number one thing,” said Agent Rees, “the FBI has found that can combat these threats is good people.” Even with strides in artificial intelligence, having good people on your staff can be more effective than the latest security technologies.

“If you hire good people and train good people, they will be highly effective, they will make good decisions, and solve problems before you have to think about it.”

Agent Rees mentioned the 2013 Navy Yard shooting and how “good people with sound training” were the only reason casualties from that horrific day weren’t even higher.

“We live in a time that is more dangerous than ever,” said Agent Rees, and the audience sighed in agreement. Rees mentioned the numerous threats our country faces today—ISIS, Russia, and North Korea to name a few. “Street gangs, trans-national gangs, organized crimes, cyber hackers—all may disrupt your business today.”

No longer are the days where our fight against terrorism happened overseas. Technology has allowed terrorists to recruit and bring panic to our front door. Rees went on to explain how groups like ISIS recruit, radicalize, and operationalize people across the world through “social media”.

“People are able to share technology at a rate,” said Agent Rees, “that we as the government, and as security professionals, cannot control.” Once information is released on the internet, it can never be truly removed. Terrorists may make targeting packages, using open source information, to plan plots and cause destruction and fear.

So what can we do?

Find good people, train them, and build a network with other trained individuals across the community. Rees advised venue mangers to be well educated in security threats and to use technology (face recognition, communication support systems) to their advantage.

Taking advantage of educational opportunities can help venues do just that, and more.

Patron Safety – Being Prepared for Medical Emergencies at Your Venue

Like the saying goes, the show must go on, but in case of a medical emergency, Brian Higgins, CCP, Critical Care Paramedic with Vanderbilt LifeFlight, discussed the policies and procedures that venue mangers could execute in critical moments.

“You need a plan for being overwhelmed,” said Higgins. Knowing your venues’ communication capabilities and having access to security (in house or local) is vital. You should take notes of the type of event you’ll be hosting—how many people will be there, what’s the age group, will alcohol be served, what will the weather be like, etc.

But how do we deal with medical emergencies without distracting the other attendees?

“Maintain the integrity of the event, if possible,” said Higgins, “but the patient always comes first.” He advised people to be quick, yet thorough, to have and know their medical emergency protocol, and to care for the patient until trained professionals get to the scene. Higgins then cut to live footage of him and another team member removing a patient that was unable to leave her chair, using a Megamover Stair Chair, showing members how to properly attend to an ailing patient without disturbing the crowd.

Those portable transport bags, along with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and first aid kits, are important for venue mangers to have in case of a medical emergencies. Higgins stressed that a venue having its own medical team is ideal, but if they can’t, those tools would assist and provide aid until help arrived.

With any emergency, whether medical or terroristic, it’s important to see the signs and act accordingly, but in order to do that, you must be prepared mentally.

Mindset: Situational

Former law enforcement officer and IAVM Director of Education, Mark Herrera, captivated his audience with intense Situational Awareness-Mindset training. Herrera’s background relies heavily in security; he has trained individuals from the Dallas Cowboys and American Airlines, but now spends his time developing and implementing security policies and procedures and instructing security awareness programs.

His session began with a simple question: Could [Herrera] get into in a stadium at any given time and make it to the field without being stopped?

His response: Absolutely.

Herrera argued that simple observation was key when it came to protecting venues from that type of security breach, as well as working and training good people to recognize the signs.

“If in your emergency protocols,” said Herrera, “you put the importance and the value in your front line staff and those folks that work in that outer perimeter, which is the station area for some really bad things, to where you provided them with the training and the level of expertise and show them how valuable they are in managing that outer perimeter, to where they see that anomalous behavior, to capture it, immediately communicate, then you have procedures in place to start secure your entire environment. That would stop me.”

Herrera continued his session by having a slideshow of various security breaches and explained in each one where the victim or staff went wrong. He advised security staff to be alert and ready at all times, to take notice of the surroundings, and find every possible exit (or entrance) in a place. He encouraged the audience to find the “anomalous behavior” as he showed pictures of various evets that had violent endings.

By the end of his discussion, audience members left feeling inspired, a little nervous, but better prepared to face the infinite threats. No venue is completely secure from an attack, but Herrera promised that, “we’re going to make it a little more difficult for the threat to breach our environment.”

“Security measures are a Band-Aid,” said Herrera, “but a much needed Band-Aid.”

Safety and Security: What’s in Your Bag?

With new terror tactics targeting large, public gatherings, venue mangers are looking for ways to enhance their security, without diminishing the fan experience. Panelists Jason Allen, Sales Manager for US Testing Equipment; Bruce Wagner, Senior Vice President, Branch Administration, CSC; and Nashville Predators and Bridgestone Director for Public Safety Chad Ludkey, gathered for a quick discussion on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to security technology and procedures.

“A bag policy,” said Allen, “is more important, or helpful, than getting technology.” Technology can be expensive, and without the proper training, useless and even problematic for venues. By having a bag policy, venues can eliminate potential threats while speeding up the entrance process.

“Bag searches slow down entrance time,” said Ludkey, arguing that what qualifies as a large bag can be complicated. “It’s just easier to not have them.”

Though we all want to protect our venues and use the proper security procedures to do just that, Wagner reminded the audience that we needed to keep our fan base in mind.

“Remember your fan base,” said Wagner. Most people do not like pat downs but they want to know they’re safe at a venue. “Make it as easy for the fan as possible.”

Drone Technology: Intelligent Safety and Security

A former Blackhawk flyer and lawyer, James E. Mackler, Principal, The Mackler Law Firm used his many years of experience in drone technology to explain to venue managers the legal rights of drone usage and the complications with that particular piece of technology. The discussion was a nice overview of the history of drones, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) involvement, and the legal restrictions concerning both venues and hobbyists.

Drones can be great tools when it comes to studying venue property and collect incredible footage of different events, but the legal restrictions users have to follow can be pretty unclear. What is clear for venue mangers is that they need to read and follow Part 107 of the FAA guidelines to discern limitations when flying a drone. Some of these limitations include:

• Under 55lbs
• Must be registered, marked, and inspected
• Must fly under 400ft
• Must fly at or below 100mph
• Must NOT fly over people
• Must NOT fly from a moving vehicle

Mackler did mention, however, that some restrictions can be waived depending on the situation or business reason for flying. Venues who decided to look into drone technology were also advised to check with their insurers on drone insurance.

“If you’re not sure you have it,” said Mackler, “you don’t.”

When discussing the legal issues of drone technology, Mackler talked about his case involving a Kentucky man whose drone was shot down by a neighbor that stated the aircraft was trespassing on private property. Unfortunately, the rights and obligations of drones, and the area they pass through, are unclear. The laws are so new, that no one, including our regulators or law makers, know what really qualifies as regulated or unregulated airspace—a policy that desperately needs to be sorted out.

At the end of the discussion, Mackler encouraged the audience to reach out to him if they ever had any questions regarding the confusing drone regulations. He encouraged members to have a policy set in place at their venues, to decide what they deemed appropriate that correlated with Part 107, and if your state already had laws in place to know them. Every single piece of information would be helpful to venues in the future.

The International Association of Venue Managers’ 2017 Venue Industry Award winners were presented in Nashville, TN, August 9, at the 92^nd annual VenueConnect Conference and Trade Show. Each year, IAVM recognizes several venues and individuals who have demonstrated leadership and innovation within the industry.

Venue Excellence Awards (VEA)

The Venue Excellence Awards recognize five IAVM venues, across all sectors within membership, which demonstrate excellence in the management and operation of public assembly venues. Award applicants must demonstrate distinction in the management and operations of a public assembly venue including: operational excellence, safety and security, team building/professional development, and service to the community. A committee of IAVM members chooses the finalists, and winners are approved by the IAVM Board of Directors.

The 2017 Venue Excellence Award Winners

Amway Center-Orlando, FL

Cox Business Center-Tulsa, OK

Georgia World Congress Center Authority-Atlanta, GA

Music City Center-Nashville, TN

San Diego Convention Center Corporation-San Diego, CA

Education & Service Award

IAVM also announced the 2017 winner for the Education & Service Award. This prestigious award recognizes member involvement through community outreach, educational opportunities, mentorship, and internships that demonstrate excellence within our industry, as well as giving back to the community. This award is open to university staff, professional members, faculty, allied companies and individuals, as well as retired members.

The 2017 Education & Service Award Winner

Kennesaw State University Sports and Entertainment Park-Kennesaw, GA

IAVM congratulates each of the 2017 award recipients for outstanding community outreach and demonstrated leadership within the industry.

The Opening Session of VenueConnect 2017 offered hope for the country in times of terrorist turmoil as Acting Secretary Elaine Duke of the Department of Homeland Security pledged the support of her office in helping keep venues safe as a place where people go to assemble and enjoy a variety of events.

When she finished her comments, it was time for local entertainment executive Adam Black to interview fellow local actor, singer, and comedian Chip Esten, on the subject of playing venues and looking at some of Esten’s career highlights which include his current role on CMT’s “Nashville” as Deacon Claybourne.

It was hope, humor, and inspiration all rolled tidily into a morning grand ballroom session in front of a packed audience.

Deputy Secretary Duke connected quite personally with her audience, nothing IAVM’s long-standing partnership with the DHS. It was also quite obvious that Duke is a frequent patron and consumer of the events held in public assembly venues.

“These are places where we share good memories and experience great things together,” she said.

Duke specifically mentioned the attack at the Manchester Arena following an Ariana Grande concert that resulted in the deaths of 22 people and the injuries of several more innocent guests, many of them children.

“The youngest to die was eight-years-old,” she said. “That is the same age as my granddaughter. It makes it personal.”

Duke further noted the work being done in Washington, D.C., to combat terrorism, whose primary function short of inflicting fatalities is to create fear in people.

“They are bringing the battleground to our civil streets,” Duke said. “They want to shock and mortify and attack innocent people in places we think are safe.”

The ISIS propaganda machine is a well-oiled one, she noted as she discussed an article coming out from the terrorist organization entitled “How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom.” Duke said that since 2013 the group has been linked to 200 threats, with the United States the ongoing top target.

“We are tracking over 1,000 homeland terrorist cases, but it’s the ones not on our radar that we are concerned about,” she said.

Duke added that security is a shared responsibility and the work of Protective Security Advisors (PSA) in supporting the NCAA, Super Bowl, and other major events. Some measures that venues can take to solidify security is to connect by reaching out to the local community, especially law enforcement, plan by thinking about how to handle emergencies and suspicious packages, train by knowing where to call and what to do, and report by saying something when seeing something.

“We cannot be afraid to live our lives,” she said. “We should all be able to go and sing at the concerts and buy tickets to The Nutcracker.”

After the Acting Secretary concluded her poignant remarks, it was time for Esten to take the stage … belatedly but with just cause, according to the actor, singer, and comedian. “It was because of the Secret Service,” he said. “I see these men and just walked back to my dressing room.”

From there it was time for Black to ask the questions and Esten to share a career’s worth of experiences, many of which obviously included performances at IAVM member venues. He specifically noted performances at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and at the White House, where “the Secret Service is there, too! The venue, though, was a spectacle as much as the show itself.”

Esten shared some of his upbringing and interest in comedy, acting, and singing and knew that he wanted to make people laugh. It was more than that, though, as he added that he wanted to act to make people cry and get angry, which led to the acting career.

Esten talked about how the venue made the show almost as the show made the venue.

“The great venues can create an experience,” he said. “They are like classic books. It is always the little things, though, that make or break a show. Having a great staff is key. It’s really true that it’s not just the artist that makes the show. It’s the venue. A great venue and a great staff can just lift you up.

“Security people, golden employees … those take what they do and make it their life work. They’re smiling and they give support. You can tell the places that care. It makes the night very, very special.”

Just as Acting Secretary Duke and Esten made the Opening Session morning special.