Erin Jepson, CMP, is one of the industry’s fast-rising stars, having been promoted four times at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, before landing in June 2013 as the director of event services at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. She stands out to me for speaking at a VenueConnect years ago during the New Member/First Timer Breakfast encouraging those in the audience to become involved in IAVM as fast as possible.

One such way to truly feel engaged and involved, Jepson believes, is through the power of voting on Association matters, something that comes up this Friday when members may begin voting on the One Member, One Vote initiative. The initiative comes up for a vote by members and follows extensive study, review and open discussion over the last two years, at which point the IAVM Board of Directors voted unanimously to bring forward proposed changes to the bylaws that would make the Association more inclusive and diverse in its decision making. As a means to incorporate the perspective of all IAVM members, these changes would allow every member of IAVM equal opportunity to engage in the Association through the right to vote. These proposed changes must be approved by two-thirds of the current voting members of IAVM.

“When I think about IAVM, I think about the professional contacts I’ve made at other venues across the world,” Jepson said. “They don’t all work at the same type of venue I do, but they experience the same stresses and issues I do. They celebrate the same successes I do. They work their way through the same challenges I do.

“When I think about IAVM, I think about the contacts I’ve made with our Allied partners. They don’t all have equipment and services in my venue, but they jump in to offer creative solutions when I have a problem. They make up a large part of the help I have received during my time on the VenueConnect planning committee whether it be with hours spent brain-storming about session content or the precious dollars needed to pay a speaker for a session. They have been a part of the same stresses, successes, and challenges I have on a regular basis. The Allied colleagues are no different in my experience than my professional colleagues. All are important. All are necessary. All have taught me a thing or two and all have helped me and my team move toward success.”

Jepson can add those who have already contributed a lifetime of experience to the industry who now fall in to a Honorary or Retired category and could have voting rights restored pending passage of the vote. It is one way to eliminate what appears to Jepson to be a divide in the ranks.

“When I think about IAVM, I see a divide in the organization,” she said. “I see faces of colleagues who all put in time and work to make sure our Association is a great one but only a portion of them have the voting power to keep our organization on the right track. Why are we so afraid of eliminating this divide? Are we afraid our membership will have less value? Less relevance? Less significance?

“I only see a strengthened organization during a time when the organization needs this push forward. I see more value for our Allied members and perhaps with that comes a stronger push to join as members on that end. In the end this leads to a stronger Association for all of us. Let’s move forward with allowing all members have access to voting rights and join together to move IAVM forward toward the future we all need for our industry.”

For more information about the One Member, One Vote initiative, please click here.

Mark Herrera, IAVM director of education, was joined by Paul Villotti, vice president at FP&C Consultants in Kansas City, to lead the staff of the Minnesota Vikings and U.S. Bank Stadium through security steps as the venue already begins its year-long countdown toward hosting the 2018 NFL Super Bowl.

Herrera said that the two staffs were trained on situational awareness, including exceptional focus, performance, and control in extreme situations, along with crowd management smart practices.

Billy Langenstein, the venue’s director of guest services, worked to bring the training to the venue to assure staff and guest safety through ongoing training.

The Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area saw 32.5 million total visitors in 2016, a 2.8 percent increase over 2015’s 31.6 million convention and leisure travel visitors, which is a new all-time record for the area. Meet Minneapolis, Convention and Visitors Association, announced that a study conducted by DKShifflet shows that both the number of visitors and visitor spending increased yet again in 2016. This news arrives as the hospitality industry celebrates the 34th annual National Travel & Tourism Week that concludes tomorrow.

Visitors spent $7.6 billion in the area, an increase of 1 percent over 2015, when spending was $7.5 billion. The number of leisure visitors alone increased 4 percent to 23.4 million in 2016 from 22.5 million in 2015, with their spending increasing to $5.3 billion, or almost 2 percent over $5.2 billion spent in 2015.

“I sound like a broken record, but it’s all true: Minneapolis continues to set all-time hospitality records,” said Melvin Tennant, president and CEO, Meet Minneapolis. “Travel and related spending continue to increase in our own community, just as it is across the nation, where travel is one of America’s strongest industries.” Travel and tourism generates $2.3 trillion for the U.S. economy.

National Travel & Tourism Week gives the industry an opportunity to shine a light on what travel means to jobs, economic growth and personal well-being. Travel employs a prosperous and diverse workforce, from airline and hotel employees to restaurant, attraction and retail workers, and supports related sectors such as construction, manufacturing and finance.

“Travel supports one in nine American jobs, including 34,870 jobs right here in the city of Minneapolis, or 10 percent of the local workforce,” said Tennant. “This week, we are celebrating these workers and what travel means to our community.”

Daktronics announced that the University of South Carolina has asked the company to design, manufacture and install a 12-display centerhung system and ribbon displays at Colonial Life Arena on campus in Columbia, South Carolina. The new LED system will be installed and impacting the Gamecock fan experience by the end of summer.

“The technology and the video display quality of these new video and ribbon boards will make the in-venue experience at Colonial Life Arena the best in the nation,” said South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner. “These new boards will make such a tremendous impact on our men’s and women’s basketball programs. It will be great for our student-athletes, coaches and fans.”

The new centerhung will feature four convex-curved main displays with tight 4-millimeter line spacing to bring excellent image clarity and contrast to fans throughout the venue. They will measure approximately 12 feet high by 20 feet wide and are capable of variable content zoning allowing each display to show one large image or to show multiple zones. These zones can show any combination of live video, instant replays, statistics and game information, graphics and animations, and sponsorship messages.

“We’re excited to be working with the University of South Carolina and are thrilled to be a part of the upgraded visual presentation at Colonial Life Arena,” said Corey Williams, Daktronics sales representative. “They’re introducing some big video features including being one of the only venues with 4-millimeter technology in their centerhung system. Some unique features will really stick out to the fans such as the curved main displays and 10-millimeter technology on their fascia displays as well as incorporating a trend in the professional sports arena industry with two underbelly displays to make the experience better for people sitting closer to the court.”

The centerhung also features an upper ring measuring 3 feet high by 95.5 feet in circumference, a lower ring display measuring 3 feet high by 87 feet in circumference and four corner wedges creating usable space between the main displays.

The university is receiving two underbelly displays attached to the bottom of the centerhung and angled toward the courtside seats. Appealing to those sitting closer to the action, these two displays will feature tight 4-millimeter line spacing and measure roughly 4 feet high by 15.5 feet wide.

Around the arena, a large 360-degree ribbon display will be installed along the seating fascia. This provides the opportunity to supplement statistics and graphics shown on the main displays as well as offering an option to highlight sponsors throughout events.

As part of the 30th anniversary celebration of the Venue Management School (VMS), we will occasionally post some special reflections of the school as submitted by IAVM members. One such member is best known as the man who carries a slew of accreditations after his name, which of course would be Larry Perkins, CFE, CPP, CMP. He also carries the title of IAVM president (now chairman) in 2006-07.

Perkins, vice president of guest relations/assistant general manager of PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, took some time to speak about the value of the school and what it has meant in his professional career.

“My first remembrance of Oglebay,” Perkins said, “came in the form of a phone call that I received while I was at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, from a member of those starting up the school. I wish that I could remember who, and believe that it was Frank Russo or Pat Fitzgerald, who wanted to know if I would share material on policies and procedures, which I was happy to do.

“Subsequently, I attended and serve as a class president. After graduating, I was the first person to go through a formal interview process that the Board of Regents had instituted. In 2004 I was fortunate enough to be selected as the Chair of the Board of Regents. During my term, I realized that IAVM referred to the school as Oglebay, which is the name of the venue. We had not developed a logo to identify the school, and I drafted a logo design (right) that was subsequently approved by the Regents. Additionally, it was during my term that we started the VMS Graduate Institute, and I appointed Ray Ward, CFE, as its first Dean.”