Deadline to submit nominations for the 2017 IAVM Foundation Legacy Award is Nov. 30, 2016.

The IAVM Foundation Legacy Award may be awarded annually by the IAVM Foundation Board of Trustees to an individual or organization who, in the opinion of the IAVM Foundation, has made a significant financial and/or non-financial contribution to benefit the mission and objectives of the IAVM Foundation. The Foundation Chief Executive Officer will provide evidence the nominee meets the criteria.

The following criteria are established for the Legacy Award nominees:

1. The nominee may be from any membership category of IAVM or from outside of the association in a related field.
2. Any current or past contributor to the IAVM Foundation may make a nomination, which must provide, in writing, specific examples of the nominee’s outstanding contributions to the IAVM Foundation.
3. At least three letters of recommendation must accompany the nomination.
4. No IAVM Chair of IAVM or IAVM Foundation Chair is eligible for consideration until the third VenueConnect following his/her term of office.
5. Previous recipients are ineligible (and may be found on our website under Legacy of Leaders).
6. Nominations must be submitted to the IAVM director of governance & operations no later than Nov. 30, 2016.
7. The award may be given posthumously.

The nominations and letters of recommendation should be written to IAVM Foundation CEO Brad Mayne, CFE, and submitted to Rosanne Duke electronically. The nomination letter and all letters of recommendation must be received by close of business Nov. 30, 2016. If you have any questions, please contact Rosanne Duke at 972-538-1025.

2017 2^nd Vice Chair application due by Dec. 31, 2016.

The IAVM Leadership Development/Nominating Committee is seeking candidates who are well-versed in all areas of venue management, invested in their own professional growth and the growth of others, are dedicated to the advancement of the venue industry as a whole and have the demonstrated ability to lead the association.

The application process and criteria are available here. The deadline to submit your application to Rosanne Duke, the director of governance & operations, is Dec. 31, 2016.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Must have attained CFE designation and maintain the designation throughout the term of office;
• Must be a dues-paying (either Individual or Group Membership), Professional Member of IAVM, and remain as such throughout the term of office;
• Must have previously served at least one full term on the IAVM Board of Directors;
• Must have served at least one full year as Chair of:
  • an IAVM Committee,
  • the Board of Regents,
  • the Board of Governors, or
  • the IAVM Foundation Board of Trustees;
• Must have served on any combination of at least three of the following:
  • IAVM Committees,
  • Board of Regents,
  • Board of Governors, or
  • Board of Trustees;
• Must have been employed in one of the two top positions in a venue for at least 10 years;
• Must have completed at least one of the following IAVM school programs:
  • Venue Management School
  • Graduate Institute
  • Senior Executive Symposium
  • Academy for Venue Safety & Security
• Must have attended VenueConnect at least three times, and any combination of at least three other programs (from the list below) in the previous six years:
  • Additional years at VenueConnect;
  • Other IAVM school programs;
  • Sector Conferences
  • Region Meetings
  • Chapter Meetings

The nomination process is member-initiated. The website directs the interested members to review the criteria and utilize the online self-assessment tool to help determine their individual eligibility as a candidate for senior office and to ultimately submit an application form should they wish to be considered as a candidate.

The application and supporting documentation is due by Dec. 31, 2016.

A version of this post originally appeared on EventBooking’s blog and is republished with permission.

For those of us that work in the events industry, trade show exhibiting and conference attendance is a large part of our marketing budget. So how can we make sure that we spend our time and marketing dollars effectively at industry events?

Most people will consider the number of leads a show generated (and then subsequent sales) as the primary way of measuring a return on investment. This is certainly the most obvious benefit we want to reap from a show, but what if an event does not directly provide leads?

It can provide an opportunity for Networking 2.0.

Networking should be reimagined for the purpose of gauging the general sentiment on three primary issues:

1. The perception of your company and products
2. The perception of other companies and products
3. The state of the industry

This is Networking 2.0 because it’s twice as valuable as a stack of business cards and cold or lukewarm leads.

In addition to paying attention to what your customer says about your company, pay even more attention to what they stop saying about it. If you hear less and less praise, it doesn’t mean they have stopped using your product. What it does mean, however, is that they are not as engaged as they previously were.

This approach to networking is instrumental because it offers insight about when a company has lost credibility, has started to lose direction, or has strayed away from the values that clients initially loved about it.

Additionally, Networking 2.0 is a great chance to let people express how they perceive the current financial climate at their company. If they start talking about “hiring freezes,” it could be that they are anticipating an economic downturn. Take note of this, because it might be time to revise budgets yourself. Conversely, when people speak of expansions and new initiatives, this could be a signal that their business is going well. Such information could also reflect the state of the industry as a whole.

The rewards we reap from attending an industry event should go far beyond the potential revenue opportunities. It’s a unique chance to find out what is happening in the industry and how people perceive you and your products—through Networking 2.0.

Deadline to submit nominations for the 2017 Charles A. McElravy Award is Nov. 30, 2016.

The Charles A. McElravy Award may be awarded annually to an IAVM Professional, Honorary, or Retired member who, in the opinion of the IAVM Board of Directors, has made the greatest lifetime achievement to the welfare of IAVM or profession.

The following criteria are established for the McElravy Award nominees:

1. The nominee must have been an IAVM Professional, Honorary, or Retired member in good standing for at least 15 years total (though not necessarily consecutively).
2. The nominee needs to meet the minimum service to IAVM requirements for Honorary Membership, but is not required to be retired. The following criteria must be met for a member to be eligible for consideration for Honorary Membership: 1) Attendance at no fewer than 10 Annual Conferences (VenueConnect) during the past 15 years; 2) Attendance at no fewer than five Region Meetings during the past 15 years; 3) Service as chair of at least three international or two Region committees during the past 15 years; 4) Service as: Director of IAVM or officer in a Region at least once during the member’s tenure with IAVM or b) Program chair for an IAVM venue-specific or specialty meeting during the member’s tenure with IAVM or c) Member of Board of Regents, Board of Trustees, or Board of Governors during member’s tenure with IAVM.
3. Any member in good standing may make a nomination, which must provide, in writing, a minimum of three examples of the nominee’s outstanding contributions to IAVM and/or the industry (for example: leadership, accomplishments, professional service/activities, projects/results).
4. At least three letters of recommendation must accompany the nomination letter.
5. No IAVM Chairman of the Board (or past president) is eligible for consideration until the third annual conference (VenueConnect) following his/her term of office.
6. Previous recipients are ineligible (and may be found on our website under Legacy of Leaders).

The nominations and letters of recommendation should be written to IAVM President and CEO Brad Mayne, CFE, and submitted to Rosanne Duke electronically. The nomination letter and all letters of recommendation must be received by close of business Nov. 30, 2016.  If you have any questions, please contact Rosanne Duke at 972.538.1025.

IAVM is expanding its podcast circle with a new series, The Venue: Coffee Break with Alexis and Shelley. It is an addition to the successful series, The Venue, which airs monthly and is a call-in show that includes live chats straight from the headlines of IAVM’s VenueNet member forum and issues we face every day.

The Venue: Coffee Break will also include live chats and will be hosted by IAVM members Alexis Berggren, director of event services at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, and Shelley Ellis, general manager of the Visalia Convention Center. It will also include special guests.

The first episode of the new series was live at VenueConnect 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and featured Mark Gnatovic, senior vice president of SearchWide, a company that provides executive search services to convention centers, arenas, exhibition, and event companies. During this episode, Mark discussed how resumes have changed in recent years, the impact of LinkedIn, and what each of us can be doing on LinkedIn to stay relevant.

Future episodes will cover a range of topics, and will be designed to educate and entertain. The second episode will be The Venue: Coffee Break “Human Resource Edition.” Alexis and Shelley will discuss human resource issues and employee evaluations with Kelli Zohar-Davis, SPICE training manager at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Other upcoming topics will include:

• An interview with Brad Mayne, CFE, IAVM’s president and CEO. During this interview, we will all gain insight on Brad’s first few months as president and CEO, the future of IAVM, and ask Brad the question: “What would you tell your younger self when you first started this industry?”
• Book Club Edition – The first book that will be featured is The Girls Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being a Bitch): Valuable Lessons, Smart Suggestions, and True Stories for Succeeding by Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio. This one is sure to have some laughs. Grab your copy.
• Social Media Success Stories – Alexis and Shelley will interview a firsthand expert in our industry.
• Venue Horror Stories – We each have them, and we want to hear yours. Let’s laugh together.

Listeners can expect to have fun, relax, sit back, and enjoy chatting along with Alexis, Shelley, and special guests, but also hear about venue related trends and news content you crave.

“We want to provide information to IAVM members and listeners in an alternate way while having a lot fun,” Alexis and Shelley said. “We are all in this together and this podcast won’t be perfect. We will definitely have fun and we will make fools of ourselves at times, but we love what we do and we want to share our passion with others and want to hear from each of you. We are all on this journey together and the more we can share the better we can each become at what we do.”

Take a coffee break along with Alexis and Shelley! The next podcast will be Friday, October 7, and you can register here.