CHAIRMAN’S COLUMN
One Member, One Vote Achieves Success By Mark Mettes, CFE
Amazingly, my year as your Chair of the Board of Directors is quickly coming to an end. It seems like only yesterday that I accepted the gav- el from Karen Totaro, CFE in Minneapolis. Yet, when I think about has been merely a few steps on the path to the future of the Associa- tion, a future that begins now. We know now that the path into the future for IAVM will be more
inclusive and diverse than ever before in our 90+ year history because you, the members, have made it clear through your support of the One Member, One Vote initiative that you want all members to have an equal opportunity to engage in the Association. The ballot period ended with a record number of votes cast and
nearly 90 percent were in favor of the initiative. These results are a clear mandate from the membership about a future of our Association that must be diverse and inclusive so as to allow all members to have a voice. We will draw on the strength and experience of everyone as we live out the mantra that diversity is necessary for good decision making. This initiative was successful because it recognizes the importance
of all of our members, from our Young Professionals to our Retired members, faculty to our Allied Members, who have shown such a deep appreciation for IAVM, our mission and the industry. The updates to the bylaws also include adding another level of transparency by including requiring a CFE and 10-years of senior venue management experience. Throughout this year, we heard appreciation for the thoroughness
of this process, which included more than two years of study by the Board, committees and task forces plus presentations at Sector and Region meetings, webinars and a discussion group – each with an op- portunity for feedback from our membership. We also heard from current and future giants of our industry including Robyn Williams, CFE, Carol Wallace, Randy Brown, CFE, Frank Russo, Sporty Jer- alds, Rick Haycock, Erin Jepson, CMP, and John Marquardt, CVP. Each gave their personal story as to why this initiative was important to them, our members and IAVM’s future. I appreciate their courage in speaking up on this important topic.
I want to thank everyone who contributed to the formation of this
initiative and in communicating its importance to their fellow mem- bers. Although there are too many to name everyone, I do need to ac- knowledge the members of the Board of Directors over the last several years, (especially Chairs John Bolton, CFE, Richard Andersen, CFE, Kim Bedier, CFE and Karen Totaro, CFE), the Membership Com- mittee and the Board’s Communications Committee, including Chair, Nina D. Simmons, and Imran Gill and Justin Ungerboeck. On behalf of the members who now have the right to vote, I also want to thank everyone who voted for this and for all of the members who engaged in this important discussion. Regardless of how individ- uals voted, it is clear that there is a lot of passion and care for IAVM. We must start from there as we all work together to continue to grow our Association and maintain our relevance and prominence in the industry.
One last note on this: Now that we all have the right to vote and
have an equal voice in our future, I can’t stress enough the importance of exercising that right whenever a ballot is sent out to you. Ultimate- ly, that’s what this was all about. The successful initiative isn’t the only thing this year that is shaping our future. In fact, you can’t talk about the future without recognizing the amazing leadership of IAVM’s President & CEO, Brad Mayne, CFE. His vision and passion for our Association as well as his tireless and our industry – and he’s just getting started. With several import- ant initiatives in the works especially around safety within our venues, I can’t wait to see where we go from here. Where I’m going from here is VenueConnect in Nashville with its
reimagined format that allows us to celebrate the diversity of our sec- tors and our unity as an Association and industry. I’m thrilled about this approach because it perfectly demonstrates our commitment and brand promise of “inspiring leaders, building expertise and creating connections for life.” I look forward to seeing you at VenueConnect when my year as
to serve you and play a small part in these exciting steps toward what promises to be an exciting future for IAVM. FM
IAVM 7
Photo provided by Mark Mettes
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68