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By
Carl A. H. Martin
Please
let me ask one thing, don’t be the one who isn’t there next year, you will
only miss it again!” Bet none of you remember these words or when they were
written! **
Better still, how many of you actually remember the
International Pavilion pre-sentations last year? That’s the clue!
Well, if you don’t, you now have another chance to go
hear folks from around the world relate to us their experience of life in
the big bad ‘International’ world we all live in.
In Anaheim this year, at the IAAM’s Annual Conference &
Trade Show, there will again be presentations at the International Pavilion,
designed this year for us by the architectural practice of Skidmore, Owings
and Merrill, thank you. These will be on Sunday 27th July starting at 1
200hrs and on Monday 28th July from 0900hrs.
The Lineup
We are privileged once again this year to have an eclectic mixture of
speakers. These include:
Michael Lischer, from Sport Concepts in London,
England. Michael is an architect, who, along with his partners, has been
involved with, amongst other things, the design of facilities for several
Olympic Games, was employed by Sport England to review the new Wembley
Stadium designs (not that that seemed to do much good!), and has some
prestigious Arena designs to his name. Although he lives in England he hails
from Kansas. Still, you can’t have everything, but it does kind of give him
an International edge.
Mr. Eric Gao is the CEO of the Workers Stadium in
Beijing, China and has kindly accepted our invitation to present here in
Anaheim and, in the year of the Beijing Olympics, is certain to have plenty
of interesting anecdotes for us. We welcome Mr. Gao and look forward from
him.
Bob Hannigan from Feld Entertainment truly is one of
IAAM’s International members. A charming and modest man, Bob has sold Disney
on Ice around the world for a “few” years now and those of us who have been
fortunate enough to do business with Bob and still have fingers left after
shaking hands with him (you should always count them afterwards) will
eagerly await his stories.
The rest of you should come as well!
Despite the many pleas to the contrary, we have
accepted back Guy Dunstan from the NEC Group in Birmingham, England.
Recently the NEC got into bed with some new international partners and Guy
will be telling the story, possibly alongside the new partners who will tell
us their side. Sounds enthralling.
The new DVP of IAAM Europe, Henk Markerink, who also
has a proper job as managing director of the Amsterdam Arena in the
Netherlands, which is in fact a huge football stadium, will be there to
educate us with the future of our industry, both seriously and humorously.
If you haven’t heard Henk speak before you have to make the effort this
time. Charismatic to say the least, he is fascinating to listen to and to
learn from. Many leaders in the industry have agreed with that statement.
More Highlights
Pollstar magazine is both popular and respected in our industry. Gary Smith,
its chief operating officer from the States, can be seen at just about any
industry event throughout the world and so has a good idea what the word
International means.
He knows everyone (and probably all about them). Gary snatched my hand off
when I met him at the ILMC meeting in London and offered him the chance to
talk to us. He is making the effort, so we should.
Those of you who have had the opportunity to be in his
presence or to have read any of his “Book of the District” series will know
this man is certifiable. One of the nuttiest guys I have had the luck to
meet, yet intelligent and erudite at the same time, John Benett is the
executive officer of the VMA in Australia. Hailing from Down Under but very
well travelled, normally to vineyards worldwide, John understands
International and will no doubt have several things to say about it. He is
never short of words.
HOK, one of IAAM’s sponsors, to whom we are grateful,
are the last, but not least, on the list of speakers we have for your
entertainment and, dare one say, education. Another of our truly
International members, HOK practice worldwide, so know the meaning of
International and
it is certain we will be well served by their representative.
So there it is. You will all, I hope, have realised by
now that the theme is Interna- tional, the ‘I’ in IAAM. Wherever you are
from, however busy you may think you are going to be, please show some
respect and give these people who are giving theirs for free, some time.
Thank you.
fm
Carl A H
Martin is Director, European Services, for IAAM Europe.
**Facility Manager, October/November 2007
The
2008 Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress and Showcase ran from May 4-7 in
Auckland, New Zealand and was applauded by delegates as the ideal
opportunity for members of the VMA and their industry suppliers to highlight
their latest products and to foster stronger, more supportive mutual
relationships.
The 2008 event also heralded the first year of the
VMA’s affiliation with the IAAM, whose President Steve Peters, CFE, and 1st
VP Robyn Williams, CFE, attended and provided delegates a four-day
opportunity to share in all the benefits of being joined with such a
significant organization.
Hosted by comedian and author Terry Williams, the Congress this year saw
high-profile guest speakers including Lois Appleby, Board member for the
2011 Rugby World Cup;
Sandy Hollway, senior consultant to the consultancy company TFG and former
CEO of the Sydney Organizing Committee for the 2000 Olympic Games; and
Peters, IAAM President and founder and president of VenuWorks. The four
action-filled days of the Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress and Showcase
featured sessions, workshops and plenary events on hot environmental topics
including “Going green and being responsible” and “Climate change and its
effect on venue management” as well as subjects such as risk and disaster
management for venues, defining and delivering value, and recruitment and
retention of casual staff.
Ticketek Delivers a World-First
Online Tool
Ticketek is the leading ticketing partner to the sports and live
entertainment industry in Australia and New Zealand. With a strong focus on
customer service, innovative products and market-leading technology,
Ticketek processes over 18 million tickets to more than 13,000 events per
year.
It is no wonder Ticketek delivered the aptly named
Reserve A Seat – a world-first online tool, because it makes it quick and
easy for customers to organise a group of friends for an event, without the
hassle of having to pay for friends’ tickets upfront.
“Reserve A Seat taps into how our customers connect and
communicate today,” said Geoff Jones, CEO of Ticketek. “We have taken all
the hassle out of getting a group together for a night out at the theatre,
or a day at the game by making it a simple and quick online process for a
group of friends to buy their own seats and still sit together.”
Reserve A Seat is available on select events and is a simple three- step
process:
1.
A customer purchases their own tickets and can then select the
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Developed in-house, Reserve A Seat has already proven
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and promoters supporting the inventive online tool.
Ticketek has certainly paved the way in the industry by
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potential new customer base. It is an exceptional tool that creates more
opportunities for venues and promoters to sell a greater number of tickets
to their events.
fm
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