ie volume 31 issue 4

the business of international events

the business of international events

College During COVID From Festivals to Foursomes‌ Staying on Course During COVID-19 Finding the Silver Lining

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© 2020 First Data Corporation, a subsidiary of Fiserv, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The First Data name and logo are trademarks owned by First Data Corporation and registered or used in the U.S. and many foreign countries. All trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced in this material are the property of their respective owners. The Clover marks are trademarks owned by Clover Network, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Data Corporation, and registered or used in the U.S. and many foreign countries. 647915 2020-4

F E AT U R E S

the business of international events

18

College During COVID Why This New Generation of Event Management Grads May Be More Prepared Than Ever

By Tim Otteman, Ed.D. & Lori Irwin, Ed.D.

22

From Festivals to Foursomes… Staying on Course During COVID-19

By Mary Jo DiSalvo and Cathy Witchey

26

SOS for Working Moms: 5 Tips to Minimize Zoom Disasters

By Angela DeFinis

College During COVID From Festivals to Foursomes…

Staying on Course During COVID-19 Finding the Silver Lining

On the Cover: With virtual webinars, affinity groups, meetings, celebrations, happy hours and more, IFEA is here to help you keep the valuable member connections and networking going in 2020… and beyond!

DEPARTMENTS 8

IFEA President’s Letter

10

IFEA World Board

12

IFEA Foundation Board

16

The Sponsor Doc

28

Small Events, Big Sponsorships

40

Un-Comfort Zone

54

Everyone’s Invited

64 Festivals Without Borders 72

Leadership at all Levels

78

Remembering Judy Flanagan, CFEE, M.S.

80

IFEA Day Thank You

30

Four Tips for People Who Struggle to Unplug, Take Breaks, Recharge, or Decompress at the End of the Workday

By Robert Glazer

32

Finding the Silver Lining

By Trey Copeland & Amy Grossmann

36

A Virtual Salute to the Red, White and Blue in Elk Grove, CA

By Jodie Moreno

38

Folklorama: Pivoting for the Preservation of Culture

By Tanya Williams

42

Sex Trafficking and Events: The Truth behind the Statistics

By Alexis Bremer

46

Maintaining Tradition and Spreading Holiday Cheer Winterfest Style

By Dawn Read Diehl

50

Yawn Lawn to Bark Park

By Sean Fitzgerald

56

Be an Industry Disruptor: 5 Keys to Making Positive Change

By Shelley Armato

58

88 Marketplace

Winter 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4 “ie” is published quarterly by the International Festivals & Events Association, 2603 W. Eastover Terrace, Boise, ID 83706, USA. Permission to quote from material herein is granted provided proper credit is given to IFEA.

Communicating Compassion to Customers in Tough Times: Six Connections Suggestions for Showing Empathy

By Kate Zabriskie

60

Propel Your Events With Drones…

By Niesha Whitman

66

Get Energized! 5 Tips to Create Energy in Your Virtual Presentations

By Angela DeFinis

68

Managing in the New Normal: Tactics for Better Telework and Remote-Employee Engagement

By Jill J. Johnson

70

The Zoo Responds!

By Jennifer Kemnitz

74

Seven Steps for a Stronger Weather Plan

By Eric Hjellming

IFEA PRESIDENT’S LETTER

BY STEVEN WOOD SCHMADER, CFEE

SEASONS

OF CHANGE

L

ike many of you, the IFEA staff has been working from home for the last eight months. I not only know how long that has been from turning the pages on my calendar, but because my ‘office desk’ (formerly known as our kitchen table) looks out on our yard, and I have watched the seasons change during that time. While during a normal year, I would primarily be experiencing the yard as a weekend chore to be completed, before heading back to work each Monday. In the new safely-distanced world that we are now living in, I have gained a fresh appreciation for what I now realize I had come to view in the light of a set routine and pattern, forgetting to stop and enjoy what we have created.

Now I find myself taking daily walks; looking at the familiar from many new angles; taking photos (mentally and literally) ranging from sunsets to the floral blooms of summer to the changing leaves of fall, to enjoy myself and to share with others; and imagining new ideas and opportunities for added features, improvements, and ways that we might maximize our space in the months and years ahead, when we can safely gather with friends and family again. And as I have had more time to view the yard with new eyes, I have also gotten to know more about the many wildlife ‘stakeholders’ that share our space…a family (skulk) of foxes; a ‘scurry’ of squirrels, a real-life aviary of feathered friends; giant salamanders; and literally hundreds of tiny chorus frogs.

Stakeholders that I find myself considering and incorporating into our yard ‘experience’ now.

So as the vibrant fall colors and falling leaves mark yet another change of seasons, into the winter months ahead, I started to think of our current challenges in terms of what I have learned from the natural world around us. 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic are like a season (admittedly, our least favorite and 8

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

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longest season) that we must get through. A winter, that will ultimately turn into spring and the return of a greater sense of normalcy, the return of our festivals and events, and perhaps – like spring – with the blooming of new seeds of ideas and opportunities that may not have occurred naturally without the harsh reality of winter.

And while the change of COVID season cannot come soon enough, we don’t control it, anymore than we control the natural world and seasons around us. But we do control how we use our time in the interim.

I encourage you and your team to use this time to step away from the routines and patterns that you may have gotten caught up in, unknowingly, before the pandemic began. Use this time to take a new ‘walk’ around your event(s); to relook at the familiar from new angles; to remind yourselves of what you have built so successfully; and to imagine new ideas and opportunities that you might create, change or add for the future, when our collective communities can all gather together again.

Revisit your stakeholders that may have changed, or been equally impacted, in your community and imagine how you might make your future event(s) more accessible and magical for them, as well. Consider our challenges as an opportunity to resharpen your tools, learn new skills, open new windows, and be prepared for a new season that – like spring – will represent a rebirth of our communities and events around the world.

And no matter the season, you can be sure that the IFEA will be here for you and your peers around the world…providing the tools, the resources, the training, the advocacy, the guidance, the support, and the global network that will ensure that we are all ready for our next season in the sun!

Make the most of all your seasons. Stay safe and healthy.

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For a comprehensive review of your coverage and exposure, call 913 . 432 . 4400 or visit hwins.com/GoodTimes Independent agent representing Westchester, a Chubb Company, Programs Division. Insurance provided by Ace American Insurance Company and its U.S. based Chubb underwriting company affiliates. Chubb is the marketing name used to refer to subsidiaries of Chubb Limited providing insurance and related services. All products may not be available in all states.

For a list of these subsidiaries, please visit www.chubb.com.

IFEA WORLD BOARD

BY TED BAROODY, CFEE

HOORAY FOR

IFEA DAY!

T

here has not been much to cheer for as of late with no major festivals taking place, many sports teams not playing or not allowing fans, performing arts theaters closed and an election year that has been more negative than ever before. “T G I D” – Thank Goodness for IFEA Day! IFEA Day was a great success with presentations from the IFEA Task Force on Re-Presenting, Re-Opening, Re-Structuring, Re-Connecting and Re-Imagining our Festivals and Events, detailing the extensive research and educational information that was compiled by each Task Force throughout 2020. The information shared was invaluable in helping our broad array of organizations and partners navigate these difficult times. Having been a Committee Chair of the Re-Imagine Task Force, I was so impressed with the individuals I met through the work of the task force and those I met during IFEA Day! Capping off a successful IFEA Day, I was reignited with the excitement and commitment of the IFEA Foundation Board with their ability to put the ‘fun’ in all their FUNdraising efforts! Education, inspiration, networking and fundraising made IFEA Day an exciting and memorable day and a sincere ‘Thank You’ goes out to all who made this day possible and to all who were in attendance!

As a Member of the IFEA, you have seen firsthand the extensive and valuable information, resources, education and benefits the IFEA has added to your IFEA Membership this year. The information provided on-line, via e-mail and through social media this year has been truly priceless and we are confident you are receiving a tremendous value for your IFEA Membership. Adding further value to your IFEA Membership, if you were not able to attend IFEA Day, you can now access the IFEA Day presentations on-demand, as a valuable benefit to your Membership! If your membership is up for renewal soon, be sure to renew your membership to continue to access the many member only benefits, including the final IFEA Task Force Committee Reports and Findings coming soon. If you are not yet a member of the IFEA, there is no better time than right now, to be connected and informed through membership with the IFEA!

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During my opening remarks for IFEA Day, I had mentioned that one of the things I miss most about the Annual IFEA Convention is recognizing the IFEA Volunteer of the Year during the Awards Luncheon. The standing ovation we extend to the winner is such an emotional and proud moment for all their hard work and endless hours they devote to their Festival. This year, I have seen the heart of the volunteer back in all of us as we navigate through these tough times.

Steve McClatchy, the Keynote Speaker for IFEA Day, shared with us that leadership is doing the things we do not have to do. We do not have to come together to share insights, ideas and positive stories – yet we do. We do not have to be there for our cities and regions in an effort to be better educated and to improve – yet we do. We do not have to support each other or support the IFEA – yet we do! The passion, inspiration, dedication, connection and comradery we felt through IFEA Day will be back again soon, stronger than ever, when we are able to be together in person!

IFEA Day encouraged us to look to the future. Let’s continue leading the Festivals and Events industry through 2020/2021 by uniting our communities, preparing for financial success and reimagining Festivals and Events as IFEA has motivated us to do!

Thank you to all of you, who made IFEA Day a special event!

Ted Baroody, CFEE IFEA World Board Chair President Norfolk Festevents Norfolk, VA

PRODUCTION SERVICES SET CONSTRUCTION RENTAL SOLUTIONS DESIGN ATOMICDESIGN.TV

LITITZ, PA • LOS ANGELES • NEW YORK MIAMI • FRANKFURT

IFEA FOUNDATION BOARD

BY KEVIN GROTHE

A TIME TO BE

THANKFUL

T

he leaves are turning beautiful, bright colors and covering our lawns. The temperatures are dropping and we are pulling out our sweaters and coats to wear on a daily basis. The sun is setting before we have a chance to finish dinner with our families. This can mean only one thing…it is November, the one month more than any other when we take time to be thankful.

Let me be one of the first to express my gratitude to you, the IFEA membership. During this crazy year of festival and event postponements and cancellations, it would have been easy for you to take IFEA for granted. Well, that was certainly not the case with IFEA Day and let’s be honest, we’re consumed with our own events as we all continue struggling financially.

IFEA Day was created to serve two main purposes: 1) an educational platform to share the results of the various COVID19 Task Forces and 2) an avenue to fundraise for IFEA and its Foundation. Thanks to your overwhelming support, IFEA Day was a huge success on so many levels.

Participation with the individual Task Forces was outstanding.

Many of you spent hours discussing with your peers the impact of the pandemic and what the future may bring. After contributing your time and energy to the task forces, registration for the actual IFEA Day far exceeded anyone’s expectations.

Just as important, you recognized the importance of IFEA and stepped up financially to support the world’s leading festival and event organization. Many of you did this by making a personal donation since IFEA Day was offered for Free. I would be remiss, if I did not mention you can still donate to IFEA for the 2020 tax year.

To have some fun while we were raising funds during IFEA Day, we “produced” an hour-long segment called the IFEA Foundation Celebration. Hosted by Alison English, Cassie Roberts-Dispenza, Keli O’Neil Wenzel, CFEE and yours truly, the IFEA Foundation Celebration provided the perfect vehicle to share the mission of the IFEA Foundation. Featured was an interview with former scholarship recipient Mairin Petrone, now with the Pittsburgh Irish Festival. Mairin talked about the importance of the scholarship and the networking opportunities IFEA offers.

We also got to pop in on our dear friend Janet Landey, CFEE in South Africa. She stayed up past midnight just to participate in all the IFEA Day activities. The fun did not stop there as we gave away a free registration to next year’s IFEA Convention & Expo just for attending IFEA Day. Daphne Dickens, Production & Program Manager with the Des Moines Arts Festival was our winner.

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We also drew for the Ultimate Experience Getaway during the IFEA Foundation Celebration. Fifteen members helped secure packages for the Ultimate Experience Getaway. Since we did not have events to be the focal point of the trips this year, these packages included such destination spots as South Padre Island, Gulf Shores, Santa Barbara, Fort Lauderdale, Pigeon Forge and Traverse City to name a few. Our lucky winner was Joyce Miller, President and Founding Member of the Artisan Art Walk in Odessa, Texas. She will be enjoying four nights in the Rocky Mountains at Bruce and Linda Erley’s vacation home in Colorado.

The Online Silent Auction generated record revenue this year.

With over 100 items, 97 unique bidders participated. Still, there were bargains to be had including outdoor items such as grills, smokers and fire pits; household items like ceiling fans, light chandelier, and ring doorbell; recreational items like golf bags and coolers plus items for your children and pets.

IFEA Day concluded with a Happy Hour Hop. Cindy Lerick, CFEE was our greeter and made sure everyone was able to hop from Zoom Room to Zoom Room hosted by Ira Rosen, CFEE, Annie Frisoli, CFEE, Sam Lemheney, CFEE, Kat Paye, CFEE, Erin Fortune, CFEE, David Knutson and Carrie Ring, CFEE. The hosts played fun games and shared their favorite COVID-cocktails. It was such a great way to meet new friends and re-connect with those we missed by not having the Annual IFEA Convention & Expo.

At the end of the day…IFEA Day, you helped us raise almost enough money to cover the “pre-COVID” budget amount for the Foundation. That is amazing and the IFEA staff, IFEA World Board and IFEA Foundation Board cannot express our appreciation enough.

If I had to summarize an incredible IFEA Day and our IFEA membership, I would reference an old Chinese proverb: “People in the same boat should help each other.”

Members of IFEA, we are all in the same boat. In addition, we have always been an organization that helps one another. IFEA Day was just another great example. For that, I am thankful.

Kevin Grothe IFEA Foundation Board Chair Vice President of Sponsorships Memphis in May International Festival Memphis, TN

IFEA VISION A globally united industry

Publisher & Editor

that touches

Steven Wood Schmader, CFEE, President & CEO Assistant Editor

lives in a positive

Nia Hovde, CFEE, Vice President Director of Marketing & Communications

way through

Advertising Kaye Campbell, CFEE, Director of

celebration.

Partnerships & Programs Art Director Craig Sarton, Creative Director Contributing Writers Gail Lowney Alofsin, Shelley Armato, Robert Baird, Alexis Bremer, Trey Copeland, Angela DeFinis, Dawn Read Diehl, Mary Jo DiSalvo, Bruce L. Erley, APR, CFEE, Sean Fitzgerald, Robert Glazer, Amy Grossmann, Laura Grunfeld, Eric Hjellming, Lori Irwin, Ed.D., Jennifer Kemnitz, Jodie Moreno, Tim Otteman, Ed. D, Teresa Stas, Niesha Whitman, Tanya Williams, Robert Wilson, Cathy Witchey, Kate Zabriskie Photography Andrew Rafkind

For association or publication information: IFEA World Headquarters 2603 W. Eastover Terrace Boise, ID 83706, U.S.A. +1.208.433.0950 Fax +1.208.433.9812 With respect to interactions with members/customers or those applying to be members/customers, the IFEA will not cause or allow conditions, procedures, or decisions which are unsafe, undignified, unnecessarily intrusive, or which fail to provide appropriate confidentiality or privacy. If you believe that you have not been accorded a reasonable interpretation of your rights under this policy, please contact the IFEA office at +1-208-433-0950 ext. 8180.

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THE SPONSOR DOC

WITH BRUCE L. ERLEY, APR, CFEE

THE SURVEY SAYS… Dear Readers: In our effort to keep CSG the regional thought leader in sponsorship during these extraordinary times, we recently completed a survey of 100 key sponsorship decision-makers across the Denver metro area. Our goal was to get a sense of how companies are responding to the pandemic from a sponsorship perspective and to get some indication of what they anticipate in returning to event sponsorship in 2021. We received responses from nearly 40% of those surveyed which provides a statistically reliable sample. While this was a local survey, I am confident that you would find similar outcomes in your market.

The Survey Says…

The tabulation provided an insightful view into what we might expect in the year ahead. I wanted to provide you with my topline observations.

• Not surprisingly, virtually every sponsor was impacted by the pandemic with 97% experiencing canceled or postponed events.

• Of the sponsors who experienced disrupted events, 65% agreed to defer their sponsorship to 2021. If they had already paid their fees, nearly half allowed the property to retain all or part of the fee and apply it to 2021, while another third requested a refund of 2020 fees already paid.

• Looking ahead, there continues to be great uncertainty about the road ahead for sponsorship in Denver. 87% report that they are under corporate directives not to participate in any “in-person” events. Asked when they expect to return to in-person activities, whether internal or external, only 8% predicted by Q1 2021; 19% in Q2 2021; 8% in Q3 2021. However, the vast majority (65%) said their return to live events was “undermined.”

• Most, (55%) are presently unsure how the pandemic will impact their sponsorship budgets; with 32% anticipating a decrease in sponsorship spending; 11% no change; with only 3% anticipating an increase in spending.

• Further for most, sponsorship decisions will be delayed. While approximately a third predict no impact on their regular planning and budgeting cycle; 18% expect these decisions delayed to the very end of Q4 2020; 24% postponed to Q1 2021; and 26% reported decisions being pushed out to Q2 2021 or later.

• Asked about their marketing & communications priorities in 2021,76% said their focus will be to increase brand awareness and exposure; 53% to grow market share; 50% to build brand presence; 37% to focus on employee engagement; 37% said product launches and openings; and 24% B2B networking and sales.

• In terms of key company CSR and/or philanthropic priorities, education at 62% was the top focus; followed by 49% to health & wellness; 46% to racial equity; 35% to LGBTQ+; 27% to arts; and 24% to youth.

CSG’s Take: In our 26 years in business, we have never experienced this degree of business disruption. Even the Great Recession in 2008 paled by comparison.

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During the last eight months we have worked with our clients and sponsors on various workarounds, including virtual events, event redesigns to accommodate social distancing, creating viral sponsor activations and increased digital impressions and engagement.

The key to our strategy has been open, honest, expedient and compassionate communication with all our stakeholders. We have offered our best advice and remained flexible in finding solutions.

We will take that same strategy moving forward for it is the basis of keeping strong relationships with all our partners.

But frankly, until a vaccine is approved and broadly distributed, this is what event sponsorship will likely look like for the immediate months ahead. I remain cautiously optimistic that by July we will be able to return to events looking somewhat like pre-pandemic times.

In the meantime, we are anticipating fewer sponsorship deals with most commitments delayed to the spring of 2021. This will likely translate to a far more compressed sales window taking place between January and May 2021. Further, all agreements will require pandemics as a condition added to force majeure terms.

I hope this research and our insights are useful in your planning and expectations for the months ahead. My sincere best wishes for your success in 2021 Stay strong!

The Sponsor Doc With more than three decades in sponsorship sales and consultation, Bruce L. Erley is the President and CEO of the Creative Strategies Group, a full-service sponsorship and event marketing agency based in Denver, Colorado he founded in 1995. Accredited in Public Relations (APR) by the Public Relations Society of America and a Certified Festival & Events Executive (CFEE) by the International Festivals and Events Association, Erley is a highly-regarded speaker on event marketing and sponsorship having spoken on the topic around the world in such places as Dubai, Vienna, Beijing, Toronto and New York.

Contact Info: Bruce L. Erley, APR, CFEE President & CEO Creative Strategies Group Phone: +1-303-558-8181 Business Email: berley@csg-sponsorship.com Column Enquiries Email: bruce@sponsordoc.com

50

COLLEGE DURING

COVID

Why This New Generation of Event Management Grads May Be More Prepared Than Ever

By Tim Otteman, Ed. D & Lori Irwin, Ed.D.

18

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W

But some of the most important take aways were related to the critical soft skills students learned through this forced pivot. Students truly wanted to achieve their course outcomes and experiences in spite of the pandemic and they showed resiliency, adaptability, attention to detail, perseverance and adherence to excellence in the face of not only an international health crisis, but also through a major disruption to a learning model they have followed since kindergarten. We cannot imagine a better learning outcome for undergraduate event management students than being able to pivot at a moment notice and being highly proficient in “adjusting on the fly.”

hile the entire world has been impacted by COVID-19, higher education is no exception.

Students, faculty, staff and administrators are not only dealing with the health and safety concerns associated with the virus but are also attempting to manage the myriad of challenges related to the “new normal” of life within a pandemic. But there may be an unforeseen benefit for students enrolled in event management programs during this health crisis – they may be even more prepared to enter the profession due to the change in teaching methodologies and practical experiences. This case study article will highlight the modifications made to curriculum and internships and resulting successes within the recreation and event management (REM) program at Central Michigan University (CMU), a 2019 IFEA Gold Pinnacle recipient.

As the whispers of the virus began to leak into our everyday conversations early in 2020, it hit home at Central Michigan University on March 11th as the university announced that it would be moving to remote learning after the spring break holiday. At this point, eight weeks of the semester had been completed via traditional in-seat delivery. Initially publicized as a one-week online adjustment, eventually the entire Spring, 2020 semester was shifted to an online format.

Pivoting Content Delivery and Outcomes Due to the switch to an online platform, there was a huge pivot in how to effectively provide important deliverables and outcomes in core and elective classes such as programming, risk management, budgeting and funding, tourism, marketing, meeting and convention planning and managerial issues. As these courses were designed to be delivered in a classroom, with a heavy emphasis on group work and hands on, practical experiences, the biggest challenge was how to accomplish this without losing quality and with less than a week to prepare.

With an intentional examination of each course, we really focused on eliminating non-essential material and concentrated on how to emphasize the key content remaining in the semester. For example, we utilized the Lightboard Maker Space, a self-booking, user guided recording studio located within our Office of Curriculum and Instructional Support. This allowed us to create unique videos from old lectures and embed whiteboard style content within PowerPoint presentations to deliver class material in a more interactive and

entertaining way and also in “weekly real time” as things constantly changed due to the progression of the virus.

We also adapted the outcomes of courses to fit an online format more effectively. In our meeting and convention planning class, the final project is normally a 60-minute professional presentation delivered by a group of five students in a 200-seat lecture hall. This presentation highlights every component of a national/ international convention they have planned from an assigned request for proposal such as host city and hotel; theme, logo, slogan and tagline; registration procedures; gala dinner and keynote speaker; exposition hall; educational sessions; sightseeing tours and convention guide. The modification we implemented was 1) a choice of a 60 minute video replicating the presentation, 2) a “screenplay” of the presentation with scene settings, specific dialogue, assigned “actors” and performance timings or 3) a complete registration website with additional “instructor tabs” to explain how the content would have been delivered in the presentation.

While these types of approaches did take a substantial amount of additional time to produce and deliver, the outcomes surely proved to be worth the effort. Students constantly commented how important these instructor-recorded videos were in keeping them focused on learning and also how it made them still feel connected to their classmates, faculty and department due to the creativity and practicality of the videos and the flexibility in completing capstone projects. Not only did they learn and retain the material, they produced high quality products in courses across the curriculum.

Winter 2020

Face to Face and HyFlex Platforms As the university prepared for the Fall, 2020 semester, the goal was to make every effort for a traditional face-to-face delivery, but with a variety of options to insure maximum flexibility for students. CMU settled on the HyFlex model developed

by Brian Beatty at San Francisco State University and started the semester two weeks early. In the simplest terms, HyFlex is a course design and delivery model that brings together in-person, classroom-based instruction and synchronous (real-time) internet-based instruction (Beatty, 2019).

The largest benefit of this model for students was they could opt in and out of in-seat learning for any reason because each class was also being live streamed to anywhere with an internet connection.

Each campus classroom was retrofitted with new cameras, microphones and speakers with room size and function helping determine the types of upgrades needed. Tables and chairs were removed and replaced with chairs with arm desks, classroom capacities were reconfigured for the social distancing and Plexiglas screens were placed on teaching stations. Students were required to wear face coverings in all building on campus and faculty were instructed to teach in masks or face shields. Cleaning and sanitizing products were provided for students and faculty to individually clean desks before each class.

Based on valuable lessons learned in the Spring, 2020 semester, many methodological changes were adapted for Fall, 2020 implementation. New technologies were employed to engage students such as iPhones, laptops and handheld, portable cameras to film programs and small group facilitation. Group work, a staple of many core classes as we try and replicate real-life work and committee structures was reimagined using online

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

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In our 400-level programming class, students are traditionally placed in groups of four to five and have to plan a campus or community event, partner with a charity, execute the event and donate the proceeds of the event to that charity affiliate. platforms within and outside of scheduled class time.

In our 400-level programming class, students are traditionally placed in groups of four to five and have to plan a campus or community event, partner with a charity, execute the event and donate the proceeds of the event to that charity affiliate. Included in the planning of the event are mission statement, goals and objectives; estimated and actual animation plans; marketing strategies; risk management accountability; revenue and expense budgets; sponsorships; evaluation and self-reflection. The adjustment for the Fall, 2020 semester was altering the course and instruction to produce fully virtual events. Students were now learning to better acknowledge return on investments via social media platforms for sponsorships, animation strategies for creating and maintaining energy in shorter bursts of engagement, risk management plans that included pandemic language and tech support over facility walk throughs and equipment checks.

Again, the important take aways were hard skills learned in the in-seat/live streamed classroom, but also the soft skills acquired through implementation. While this generation of college students is very adept with technology, this pivot forced them to be even more aware of ways to effectively utilize communication (Zoom, WebEx, Microsoft Teams, Google Docs, etc.), social media and storage platforms. It has forced them think of the world of events not just as they experienced them in the past, but how they may be encountering them in the present and future and how that may be more challenging and difficult for consumers to accept. It forced them to work more independently with a greater sense of personal responsibility for not only their learning, but 20

also with outcomes and experience they could take immediately from college directly into internships and post-graduation jobs.

Modifying and Emphasizing Internships While the most challenging initially, our success in maintaining quality internships may be the most rewarding result of our efforts. The REM program at CMU has the only 30-week, 30 credit, 40 hours per week (1,200 hours) recreation and event management internship program in the United States. Interns have the option to do 30 weeks with one site or divide their internship into two 15-week experiences.

They sign a Letter of Agreement with the site supervisor outlining specific foundation, program development, financial operations, management and administration, facility operations and strategic planning goals they must achieve and are assigned a faculty supervisor to academically oversee monthly progress reports, supervisor evaluations and site visits. Internships traditionally follow academic calendars with placements from January through August, May through December or September through May mirroring the three CMU graduation dates.

With internships during this pandemic, several modifications have been implemented to help students stay on track to graduation while maintaining the quality of the internship as the last educational stop before becoming a practicing professional.

First, starting times for internships were altered due to better align with the needs of the hosting agencies. As the pandemic hit full steam in March, 2020, many sites needed to delay summer internships or suspend interns that had started in January. With the generous flexibility of students paired with their desire to

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

Winter 2020

want to complete their education with a quality hands-on internship experience, we modified experiences in a variety of ways: • Delayed graduation to complete a full 30-week internship at their chosen site (i.e. - starting in Fall, 2020 with a May, 2021 graduation instead of starting in May, 2020 with a December, 2020 graduation due).

• Suspend an internship that already started and restart the 30-week clock after the site reopened (i.e. - started in January, 2020 – suspended for shutdown in March, 2020 – restarted in July, 2020 – completed and graduate in December, 2020).

• Continuation of the internship throughout the pandemic, but worked remotely connecting to the site via online platforms for video conferencing, one-on-one meetings, screen shares etc.

• Creation of academic Credit Modification Modules to replace missing weeks for students who were a handful of weeks short of the required 30 weeks. The modules allowed for an expansive review (based on number of weeks needed to complete) of rules, policies and procedures generated to deal with COVID-19 at their internship sites such as reopening procedures, welcome back events, programmatic modifications, operational changes, virtual event planning and execution, remote work culture, specific organizational needs assessments, etc.

And through this all, interns thrived!

One student secured a job as the events manager of a microbrewery and accepted the position on the day she turned in her final internship paper. She received the offer because of the all virtual events she helped plan as the alumni engagement intern at CMU. Another student locked down a job at the resort she interned at in South Carolina as a recreation and fitness specialist. She got the job because she had the foresight to identify a need with gyms closing nationwide and took the time to become a certified fitness instructor to create and run daily beach workout boot camps. A third intern at an organization that produces competitive statewide competitions was charged with developing and managing their registration website for a Winter Games competition because of what she was able to show regarding registration materials from events she executed in her classes at CMU. So, as you can see, even with the challenges of internship placement and completion during COVID-19, the

Current students and interns have not only proven to be adaptable and resilient but have experienced and embraced changes that will make them even better professionals than they would have been without the challenges presented by this virus. successes outshined the initial hurdles.

Students have learned to be more resourceful and creative in finding viable solutions to very challenging problems, have pivoted from live to virtual events and have adjusted to thinking “outside the box” instead of the “this is just how we have always done it” mentality. Can we ask or want anything more from the young professionals entering our field?

Staying Connected and Fostering Relationships We also determined that it was super important to buoy the spirits of the current students and alumni of our program as chaos of COVID altered our world in 2020.

As our ability to connect to our current and prospective students and alumni face-toface was restricted, we were challenged to come up with new ways to help maintain a culture we worked so hard to establish. To that end, we implemented a variety of new engagement techniques in 2020: • Creation of the “TWENTY in 20 Recreation and Event Management Alumni Video Series.” These 20 videos (60-90 seconds in length) featuring REM alumni discussing their careers were created to highlight the breadth of our industry and illustrate the value of a CMU REM degree and subsequent professional path. The videos were created cooperatively by the REM faculty and alumni at no cost, the entire library is hosted on YouTube and there is a call to action to the RPL website at the end of each video.

• The Design and Delivery of Stickers to Current Students, Interns and Alumni of the Program. Due to the popularity of stickers (for

•

laptops, water bottles, etc.) with the college aged population, we used a caricature of one of our faculty members with motivational phrases to let students know we were “in this together.” Students were identified via social media posts and stickers were mailed direct to their homes to celebrate graduation, applaud internship placements and bolster students who appeared to be struggling.

New Recruitment and Retention Materials for Hard Copy and Digital Delivery. We decided to focus on the “end of rainbow” jobs versus curriculum to better explain what the industry encompasses to students and parents.

These materials came in the form of: o Pay Scale Cards which have a photo of a facet of the industry on the front and entry level salary data on the back. These are used with tabletop easels at recruitment events, shown in introductory classes, highlighted in student/parent advisor visits and sent electronically to interested parties. o 11x17 Foldable Brochures underscoring the top 16 categories of REM industry placements along with assigned advisors and CMU RPL website information. These are also used at recruitment events, shown in introductory classes, highlighted in student/parent advisor visits and sent electronically to interested parties. o Social Media Posts showing success throughout the spectrum of our program such the REM Winter 2020

Alumni Video Series, awards and acknowledgements, “Where Are They Now” alumni spotlights, etc.

All of these have proven to make students and alumni feel part of “the team” and better connected to their university, department and industry. Because of this bond and feeling of having a true academic support system, they have been more focused on completing their degrees, securing and completing quality internships and retaining a strong motivation for their next step toward entering the workforce.

Impacts for the Future Without a doubt, the events industry has been one of the hardest hit by this global pandemic. But as this case study from CMU’s recreation and event management program illustrates, the future of the industry is in good hands. Current students and interns have not only proven to be adaptable and resilient but have experienced and embraced changes that will make them even better professionals than they would have been without the challenges presented by this virus. As our industry bounces back, and we know it will with forever altered changes and expectations, this new generation of event management graduates are more prepared than ever for whatever comes next.

REFERENCES Beatty, B. J. (2019). Hybrid-Flexible Course Design. EdTech Books. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/hyflex/ Tim Otteman, Ed.D., is a professor in the recreation and event management program in the Department of Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration at Central Michigan University. He has authored several articles regarding event management and is a 2018 inductee to the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Festival Hall of Fame.

Lori Irwin, Ed.D., is an associate professor in the recreation and event management program in the Department of Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration at Central Michigan University. She is a Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) through the National Recreation and Park Association and is expert in community recreation and grant writing.

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From Festivals to Foursomes…

Staying on Course During COVID-19

By Mary Jo DiSalvo and Cathy Witchey

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needed, we projected our expenses to determine the amount of money required to break even. We decided on a price per foursome that would be affordable for our stakeholders and competitive with other golf outings in our area.

Rather than send emails and letters seeking donations for the auction, we decided to pick up the phone and call our key stakeholders to see if they were interested in participating in a foursome, donating an auction item or both. It proved to be a very successful approach. Not only was everyone happy to hear from us, their enthusiasm exceeded our expectations.

We secured a Hole-in-One sponsor without even trying. This added a degree of excitement to our event even though no one won.

Teeing It Up Irish attitude is all you need to experience the Dublin Irish Festival in Dublin, Ohio, USA. For 33 years, the first weekend in August has been reserved for what is now the largest three-day Festival on the planet. More than 100,000 guests are expected to attend. With 7 stages, 65 acts and more than 575 performers, there is something for everyone. The Dublin Irish Festival is produced by the City of Dublin. The primary source of funding for the Festival is Dublin’s Hotel/Motel tax and the support of sponsors. All proceeds for the Festival support community events and activities that enhance the resident and visitor experience in Dublin. Economic impact was estimated to be $8.5 million in 2017.

When large scale events were cancelled this year, our team embraced the idea of a golf outing as a socially-safe way to gather and keep our brand top of mind. We needed to stay connected with our Dublin Irish Festival friends and hosting a golf outing provided a way for us to do that while raising money for our college scholarship fund.

Due to the COVID-enhanced popularity of golf outings and our late decision to get in the game, golf courses were booked and dates were extremely limited. In addition, we learned that we would be competing with several other local outings no matter what date we secured.

A handicap for us was that we don’t play golf. In addition, many people told us that planning a golf outing was a lot of work. With a combination of naivety and arrogance, we asked each other, “How could planning a golf outing for a maximum

of 144 participants be hard when we were professionals used to planning events of more than 100,000 guests?”

Getting in the Game Our target market consisted of key stakeholders including Dublin City Council members, our City Manager, Honorary Chairs, sponsors, vendors and volunteers. Because we use action plans for all events, we created one for the Golf Outing so that we could organize information and keep track of our progress.

Once a contract was signed and the deposit was paid, we did what all professional event planners do…we googled Golf Outings, learned golf terminology, talked to golf mentors and created a budget. After making a list of what we

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Getting Out of the Rough During the course of planning the event, there were more than a few times when we felt we had landed in a sand trap. First, we learned we were competing with other local golf outings and had few dates from which to choose. We decided not to seek cash sponsors and have a silent auction to avoid sponsor fatigue.

We used resources including The City of Dublin Risk Manager to be sure we complied with all COVID safety guidelines.

Dublin’s City Attorney was consulted more than once to keep us out of the rough. We asked him questions such as whether or not a silent auction could be held and what, if any, guidelines we needed to follow. We also asked about liability/insurance when we were offered a hole-in-one prize. We asked about alcohol policies and 50/50 raffles.

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Scrambling for Tee Gifts and Prizes Tee gifts, we learned, are expected and appreciated at Golf Outings. A golf mentor recommended a vendor who could help. We were fortunate to learn he had a surplus of golf umbrellas and we got an incredible deal. This same vendor beat all other competitors on the price of branded golf balls and tees. We packaged gift bags including Dublin Irish Festival swag, lip balm, hand sanitizer, pens, stickers, coupons from partners, balls, and tees.

On-course competitions featuring prizes for men’s and women’s categories are popular at Golf Outings. Our contests were longest drive, closest to the pin, longest putt, and the hole-in-one. Winners of the skills contests received gift cards we purchased from our restaurant partners.

Gift certificates to the golf course pro shop were awarded to the top three teams.

may not play in the tournament yet might support the Festival’s scholarship.

Since we are better communicators and marketers than golfers, we came in well under par promoting our brand on the course. We chose an Irish theme, “Cead Mile Failte,” which is Gaelic for “One Hundred Thousand Welcomes.” Branding examples included: • A large banner spanning a 30’ distance between two trees welcoming guests to the outing • A program providing the schedule, the skills contests, and a list of foursomes by company name • Three large sandwich boards placed near the registration area with COVID safety guidelines, the schedule of the day, and a thank you sign

Well Under Par… Communications and Branding Emails were sent to Dublin City Council, City Manager, Dublin staff members, Dublin Irish Festival Sponsors, Honorary Chairs, Committee members and more inviting them to purchase a foursome, participate in the Silent Auction and /or make a direct contribution to the Scholarship fund.

Our team is lucky to include a media expert who recommended that the on-site auction be online to increase participation and exposure. We chose 32auctions. com for its ease and affordability. A benefit to having an online auction was the opportunity to tap into our 45,000 Dublin Irish Festival Facebook Fans. This made it possible to reach many people that 24

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• Tee markers repurposed from 5K and Kids Dash medals glued to small landscape stakes • The Dublin Irish Festival branded 10’ x 10’ tent and branded tablecloths at the registration area • Our Dublin Irish Festival branded inflatable arch welcoming golfers into the Event Center after they finished their round of golf • Beverage signs for the beverage carts featuring the logos of our beverage partners • A four-foot tall mobile tee and golf ball sculpture constructed for the 2013 President’s Cup held in Dublin at Muirfield Village painted with major landmarks and long-standing Dublin traditions • Dublin Irish Festival trashcans • The banquet hall and patio showcasing silent auction items on branded tablecloths next to signs describing each item.

A Hole-in-One From registration to awards, we found creative and resourceful ways to offer an experience on par with the Irish Festival.

Players were welcomed to the Safari Golf Club by a live bagpipe performance.

Each cart displayed golfers’ names and included a program and scorecard.

Following golf, players were welcomed by popular zoo animals from The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. At the dinner and the awards banquet, four Irish fiddlers performed. To ensure social distancing, tables were placed inside and outside on the patio. Dinner was served buffet-style by golf course staff. A fire pit added to the outdoor ambiance.

and reconnecting with our Dublin Irish Festival family. A special highlight was having with us one of the two 2020 scholarship winners. We announced his presence and offered our collective congratulations. After all, the future of the Dublin Irish Festival is in his hands and the hands of all past and future scholarship recipients.

Plans are underway to bundle the 2021 golf outing into one of our Dublin Irish Festival sponsorship packages. Our date for next year will most likely be late September again and probably not on a Monday based on survey comments. If time permits and the weather holds out, our team may even head to the driving range as a team building exercise. FORE! Expenses for the golf outing were approximately $9,000 and included tee gifts and bags, balls, tees, deposit to golf course, player fees, 12 prizes, 5 gift certificates for contest winners and centerpieces. Our per player fee not only paid our bills, but resulted in a $4,000 base for 2021 expenses. Silent auction revenue of $5,000 for the scholarship fund went directly to the Dublin Foundation. An additional $3,500 went to the foundation through direct scholarship contributions.

A volunteer photographer was given a shot list and a golf cart to go out on the course after play began. After the event, we shared her photos with golfers electronically with a word of thanks.

Personal hand written notes were sent to each silent auction contributor and all of our volunteer entertainers.

SurveyMonkey was used to gather feedback from participants so that we could make improvements for the future.

Eighty-eight percent of our respondents

rated the event as excellent and said they would recommend it to a friend or family member. As event planners, we were pleased to learn what survey respondents liked most about the event was that it was very well organized. We were not surprised to learn that dinner was what respondents liked least about the event.

As a result, our “Irish-themed” menu will be replaced in favor of the most popular basic golf course food options. A few of the comments we received included: • “What a great outing! It was a lot of fun and very well coordinated. Kudos to you!”

• “Great group of people and great pace of play.”

• “It was great being with dear friends and supporting the Dublin Irish Festival.”

The Winners and Champions As expected, everyone took credit for the weather since it was one of the most beautiful fall days of the year. In addition, we achieved our goal of gathering safely

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Mary Jo DiSalvo has served as an Event Administrator for the City of Dublin for over 20 years. Having received a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Arts in Communications from the University of Dayton, she has spent her career working extensively in public and media relations, brand marketing, and corporate sponsorship.

As an Event Administrator, Mary Jo serves as the Sponsorship Manager for the City’s Division of Community Events. She also coordinates hospitality opportunities across the Festival, and oversees the selection of VIPs and dignitaries, among many other roles that help market and promote the City of Dublin. In 2018, Mary Jo was awarded “Marketer of the Year” by the Columbus Chapter of the American Marketing Association. She is the chapter’s only dual recipient of this prestigious award.

Cathy Witchey having lived and worked in Dublin for over 30 years, Cathy Witchey’s transition from educator to Event Coordinator was easy. She specializes in lead generation, sponsor management, tracking, and retention. Cathy holds a master’s degree from The Ohio State University and her effective communication skills, insatiable curiosity, and positivity have produced tangible results. Whether guiding students or sponsors, she has a unique, inspired vision and places high value on helping people know themselves and become their very best.

Luckily, being a teacher-like working on the Events Team for the City of Dublin-is profoundly fulfilling. You know how much what you are doing matters to those you serve.

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SOS FOR WORKING MOMS:

5 Tips to Minimize Zoom Disasters

By Angela DeFinis

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As more and more mothers are working from home and engaging in online presentations and virtual meetings daily (all while dealing with kids and pets underfoot), it’s clear that the current set up is designed to fail. Unfortunately, there are few rules of engagement to apply when your kitchen table is suddenly your office (and your child’s classroom).

And we’re all seeing the results of this every day: crying toddlers in the background of important meetings, the dog barking at the delivery driver just as the speaker is making a key point, the offscreen audible whisper of “Mom, can I have a snack?”… and this is on a good day!

Historically, working mothers experience intense frustration, social isolation, and lack of support. Now they are not only working from home, but they are also homeschooling and, in many cases, the primary caregiver of young children. As such, they are managing never-beforeseen levels of anxiety and stress.

With so few guidelines, many have taken a “let the chips fall where they may” strategy. But going with the flow only goes so far in helping you manage the situation and can lead to deeper frustration. So rather than feel annoyed or anxious about your online meetings and what others will think about your professionalism, take the reins and give yourself permission to set new rules of engagement that work for you and your household so you can restore a level of control, personal well-being and yes, even peace.

When your next Zoom disaster threatens to strike, take these steps to help recover from the interruption and regain your composure.

1. Plan for the Worst: First, accept that things will go wrong and no matter how much you plan, interruptions are going to happen. But that’s no reason to avoid putting a plan in place.

Disasters are more prone to happen when you “wing it,” so at the very least, outline your meeting topic with a reliable beginning, middle, and end structure. Make sure to include transition points, so if you are interrupted by a family matter you will have a natural place to pause. Double down on what you can control: Your appearance (wear solid colors), lighting (make sure the light is in front of your face and not behind you), your computer set up (make sure your stand is stable and

your computer raised to eye level), and timing (be ready in advance).

2. Distinguish Between Distraction vs. Disaster: The dog barking at the delivery driver is a distraction, not a crisis. However, hearing a loud crash followed by a piercing shriek from your toddler is a crisis and needs to be handled immediately. Identify what family incidents fall into each category so you can prioritize when and how to take action. Ask your older children to help you create this list and agree to adhere to it. Keep it in front of you for every online meeting and don’t let simple distractions pull away your attention. Forewarned is forearmed.

3. Avoid Bleeding into the Meeting: Your state of mind when entering a virtual meeting can be a set up for success or disaster. If you just had an argument with your teenager and are already angry and stressed, it is hard to remain calm and focused. Do what actors do—leave your emotions backstage and clear your mind with this actor’s trick: Think of a famous person you admire and imagine this person sitting next to you in the meeting.

How would you behave if a notable individual like Oprah, for example, were actually in the room? This tried and true technique will help you turn potential disaster into success.

4. Use Humor to Calm Discomfort: In more casual online meetings where there is some level of familiarity with those you are speaking with, humor goes a long way to help defuse awkward and uncomfortable situations. If you can be gracious, laugh, and make a joke of the situation during the inevitable interruptions (“It sounds like the dog has something Winter 2020

important to add to this conversation”) you will be better able to take control and show grace under pressure.

5. Plan a Back-up Presenter. For more formal virtual presentations where the stakes are high, plan a back-up presenter. Think of it like an understudy—someone in the meeting who knows the information as well as you do and who can step in at a moment’s notice. This way when your child runs up to you crying or the smoke alarm goes off from your teen’s cooking experiment, you simply say, “Everyone, Jana is going to cover the remainder of this point. Please excuse me for a moment.”

But what if you don’t have anyone on the call who knows as much about the topic as you do? Empower a junior colleague with 2-3 questions that you plan in advance so he or she can lead a discussion during your absence. Plan questions like: “What key points have stood out for you?” or “What questions do you have at this point?” Coach your colleague to gather information and brief you when you return.

Create Your Own Rules No one knows when in-person meetings will be 100% safe, but we do know that virtual meetings and online presentations from home will continue to be challenging.

So, whatever you do, don’t give up! Try new strategies, be kind and forgiving to yourself and others, and continue to change your approach until you reach a level of comfort and control that works for you and your family. Remember that even the most skilled virtual presenters struggle with this medium at times. And as a working mother, you have more on your plate and more at stake.

But by implementing these strategies, you can quickly recover from a Zoom disaster and know that in this one small area of your work life, you’ve got this!

Angela DeFinis is President of DeFinis Communications. The company offers executive speech coaching, presentation skills training, and virtual video conferencing training. Through corporate sponsored and open-enrollment programs, the firm’s unique skill building approach helps business professionals become poised, polished, and powerful communicators capable of leading effective meetings and delivering compelling presentations. To sign up for an online session please go to www.definiscommunications.com.

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BIG

SMALL EVENT,

SPONSORSHIPS

WITH TERESA STAS

HOW DO YOU SELL

YOUR VIRTUAL EVENT?

Recently a report was released by EventMB called The Virtual Event Tech Guide about the state of virtual events as well as giving information about virtual tech. Two very noticeable stats that came to light for me is that only 32% of live events pivoted to virtual this year and only 2% of event professionals were able to recover 100% of their annual revenue and “70% of event professionals were unable to recover more than 25% of their annual revenue using virtual.” These stats just verified what my agency and myself had been experiencing firsthand. That Virtual events can’t replace live event revenue and part of that is sponsorships.

The following is an excerpt from my new book Sell Your Event!

The Easy to Follow Practical Guide to Getting Sponsors.

“How do I sell my virtual event?” This is the question I was asked the most in the early months of 2020. As events tried to create virtual events that would make up for the lost income of their canceled live events, they often expected to pull in their same sponsors. My answer to them was sell your virtual events with the same principles as you sell your live events. You follow the same steps, and you provide the same information.

The one thing I ask my clients when they are considering a virtual event is “What is the ultimate goal?” Are they creating this virtual event for marketing purposes to help keep their event top of mind and their patrons engaged? Are they creating this virtual event to make up the lost revenue? Or are they creating this virtual event to replace their live event for the year? Knowing what you are ultimately trying to accomplish will help you understand the reality of the situation and set your expectations.

Although I do not believe virtual will replace the live event experience, it is not going anywhere, so we need to adjust for this popular form of event. To do this, you want to keep a few things in mind when it comes to sponsorships: 1. Audience data is the lifeblood of your sponsorships. You don’t have to be Coachella to sell sponsorships, but you do have to understand you are selling access to your audience.

2. The principles for selling live event sponsorships are the same for virtual or hybrid events. You must understand what the sponsor is trying to get out of the sponsorship. Just like in a live event, you need to know what the sponsor is trying to achieve. You need to know if you can help them meet that goal no matter what type of event you are doing. Just taking a sponsor who had a major activation at your live event and offering them a logo on a Facebook stream will most likely not generate excitement or sponsorship dollars.

3. If this is the first time you have taken your event virtual or hybrid then you are up against unproven results. Keep this in mind when you consider how you price your sponsorships.

Perhaps you charge less than you normally would, but the event gets more sponsorship dollars based on impressions, clicks, or marketplace visits (if you are doing a virtual marketplace). You cannot just take the price of your live event and slap it on the virtual or hybrid event.

4. In the case of virtual or hybrid, make sure your production and your technology are good. When virtual events first took shape during the pandemic, it was okay to host in your living room, but things have changed. As virtual events become more commonplace, the audience is demanding more. Good production and professionalism are required for success.

5. You need to upgrade your marketing and make sure you message how your virtual event will work and how a patron can be a part of it. I have seen several events create great virtual events but did a bad job of marketing them or explaining how they work. This leads to low attendance numbers and low sponsorship dollars.

Virtual Event Assets Digital assets can still be utilized for a virtual event. In fact, the value of these may become higher, since all you have is your online presence to connect with your audience, but again, this all depends on how much of your audience is actually seeing these assets. Traditional assets such as naming rights can also be integrated into a virtual event. Depending on the setup of your main entertainment, multiple stages could be named after sponsors.

In addition, a virtual event could also host a presenting or title sponsor. Shaq’s Fun House vs Gronk Beach, Presented by The General® Insurance found many ways to involve sponsors. As you can see, in the name they hosted a presenting sponsor for their event. They also hosted multiple “challenges’’ that integrated sponsors into on-screen activities. These challenges included a Lip Sync Battle, presented by The General Insurance, where Shaq and Gronk faced off. The McCormick Grill Mates Steak Challenge had Shaq and Gronk grill, with Shaq taking home the title of top chef. Fortunately for Gronk, he won the jousting competition, presented by Monster Energy. Rocket Mortgage Sports Showdown involved a photo finish to see who won the final obstacle, an egg and spoon race. It ended with Gronk defeating Shaq in the Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin’ Challenge. As you can see, each activity involved the sponsor in a unique way. It also provided fans with hilarious entertainment to see two major athlete-celebrities go head to head in fun and light-hearted challenges.

Sampling can still be done with some virtual events through welcome packs or swag bags. Our client, Hood to Coast, teamed up with their sponsor, ONE Bar, to include bars in all of their “Finisher Packs.” When a runner completed their mileage, they would log on to the event website and enter their time.

Hood to Coast would then ship them a package which included their medal, a t-shirt (depending on the race), and a ONE Bar. This met the sponsor’s goal to get their product into the hands of their target consumer, and it did it when there were no events happening.

Mailing a racing package to a registrant is a great opportunity to involve sponsors in a virtual race. This is a way for the event Continued on page 84

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Four Tips for People Who Struggle to Unplug, Take Breaks, Recharge, or Decompress at the End of the Workday

By Robert Glazer

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AUTHOR NOTE: We may look back on 2020 as the most crucial year in the remote work revolution. Millions of workers are now working from home, and companies as large as Twitter have already announced employees never have to return to the office. The future of business is here, and it’s increasingly virtual. To help your organization stay ahead of the curve, you need the principles, tactics and tools to empower your team to excel in a remote world. Below, I share the importance of boundaries in remote work.

There’s a misconception that people who work from home are not accountable and let their home-life distractions spill into their work. For many remote workers, however, the opposite is more often the case.

Some employees find it difficult to set boundaries that separate work from their personal lives, they struggle to unplug, take breaks, to recharge, or decompress at the end of the workday. Sometimes they even struggle to end their workday, checking their email late and leaving their laptop on their bedside table so they can check email one last time before bed.

To address this challenge, we emphasize and train our employees on the importance of setting boundaries, particularly with respect to managing time and workspaces.

Set A Schedule First, it’s important to keep a structured schedule and be intentional about how time is used. We push team members to set a consistent wakeup time, determine what range of hours they’ll be working during the day and proactively plan what time is reserved for projects and meetings, lunch, exercise, and personal time. We also urge people to schedule breaks into their day and stick to those break times.

There are several built-in breaks for people who work in traditional offices— things like chatting with coworkers at the water cooler, taking a coffee break, or going out to pick up lunch. By contrast, remote employees can easily burrow into their work for several hours without even realizing how much of the day has gone by. By setting a schedule and following it, remote employees can ensure they have time to get their work done but also take time to rest and reset during the day.

Manage Your Energy It’s also important to manage your energy and keep yourself from burning

out from too much uninterrupted work.

As mentioned above, it can be easy to dive deep into work, not get up from your desk for hours, and exhaust yourself in the process. You’ll get a lot done in those hours, but you’ll likely hamper your performance for the rest of the day. When you build your schedule, it’s good to mix and match different types of activities along with breaks and to notice when your energy peaks and wanes.

In the fitness world, there’s a widespread practice of interval training: strong bursts of rigorous exercise, followed by a brief period of rest. This builds your strength and stamina without overexerting your body.

Interval training can be applied to mental tasks as well—it’s important to separate periods of mentally strenuous work with short breaks to ensure you don’t burn out.

I like to schedule periods of intense work in the morning—when I am cognitively strongest—for tasks that involve writing and development of new materials. Then, I’ll follow that with a break and reserve the afternoon for meetings and tasks that are discussion-oriented and don’t require as much mental capacity and acute focus.

It’s important to set a similar regimen for yourself and spend some time deciding which parts of the day are best for you to perform different types of tasks.

Separate Your Workspace Physical boundaries are also very important. We encourage employees to have a place in their home that is specifically designated for work. This not only helps you mentally delineate work time, but it also signals to other people in your home when you’re available and when you’re not.

This is especially important, because a person’s partner or children might believe that because they are visible, they’re available. They might be tempted to walk in and ask you a question without realizing Winter 2020

you’re actually in the middle of a sales pitch or on a client call. It’s hard for others to realize you’re working before it’s too late, but setting aside a designated space for work helps avoid this confusion.

For most employees, physical separation is easier said than done, especially for people who weren’t expecting to be working from home. Not everybody has a room in their home they can designate as an office.

In those cases, even setting up a folding table in the corner of the living room or designating a chair at the kitchen table as an “office chair” is an important step toward creating a mental and physical boundary.

End Your Day with A Buffer It’s also helpful to create buffers at the beginning and end of the designated workday, similar to what you would experience with a typical commute. It’s not a good idea to roll out of bed and immediately open your laptop and dive into work emails. I encourage people to set a normal morning routine—have coffee, eat breakfast, read the paper, or even do a morning workout if that’s needed. Then, when you start work, you feel engaged and clear-headed, rather than beginning your day feeling stressed about needing to jump out of bed and start working.

At the end of the day, it’s just as important to decompress before stepping back into your home life. Commuting can be a pain, but we often underestimate how much that time in the car or on the subway helps us separate from work on the way home.

Your playbook for the office won’t work perfectly in a remote environment. But using these tips, you’ll end the workday happier, more accomplished, and less worn down.

Robert Glazer is the founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners, a completely remote, award-winning partner marketing agency ranked #4 on Glassdoor’s best places to work. Robert was also named twice to Glassdoor’s list of Top CEO of Small and Medium Companies in the US, ranking #2 and was recently named one of Conscious Company’s top 22 conscious business leaders. He is a member of Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches initiative.

A Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author, his latest book, Friday Forward, comes out September 1. To learn more about building a top tier remote culture, get your copy of How to Make Virtual Teams Work on Amazon or see more options.

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FINDING THE SILVER LINING

By Trey Copeland & Amy Grossmann

The damage inflicted by the COVID-19 Pandemic on the North Carolina Folk Festival (NCFF) was swift and immediate, forcing our young nonprofit organization (established in 2017) to cancel our inaugural “Folk in the Park” event: a one-day spring concert event scheduled for the first weekend of March Madness (the Greensboro Coliseum was slated to host the 2020 regional first/second-round games). Disappointing as it was to cancel “Folk in the Park,” our signature 3-day, free-admission, festival celebration of cultural roots and heritage held every September was still six months away.

Surely, we concluded, plenty of time to brainstorm and prepare.

So our team, having increased its fulltime staff from 1 to 4 on February 1 of this year, remained cautiously optimistic as we sheltered-in-place with the rest of the country. A recipient of the PPP, we spent the following months learning vicariously from other festivals, attending IFEA webinars, conducting 1:1 meetings with various IFEA members around the country, and exploring partnerships, new and old.

One such partnership emerged with the Carolina Blues Festival - a 34-year-old 32

event that has been presented each Spring in our community by the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society. As they considered their options for postponing their May festival to the Fall, our teams jumped at an opportunity to present our events as a joint venture on our original dates in September. What made this concept to join forces even remotely possible was a mutual respect for each event’s mission and artistic aesthetic, and a commitment to transparent communication about our respective goals and objectives that would inform and empower the shape of our joint festival planning in the months to come.

Come June, we had vetted a myriad of scenarios: from all-virtual to a drive-in concept, to a modified version of the original. In the end, none of the in-person events were deemed viable options, no matter how modified or creative. Prior to the pandemic, adhering to the guidelines recommended by the Event Safety Alliance (ESA) was tantamount to our goals

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for an in-person festival. As such, ensuring the well-being of any artist, crew member, volunteer or guest associated with our event was a priority we feared impossible to uphold during the pandemic.

Look no farther than our culture of being a free-admission, non-ticketed event with no gates or fences around the site to understand the monumental challenge involved with producing just a small, modified event, from both operations and budgetary perspectives. Adding to our uncertainty was the projected rise of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in North Carolina over the summer months.

Even if we developed an operational plan to meet both ESA and CDC guidelines and produce an event on a budget, in the end, chances were high that we would end up being forced to cancel the in-person

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event altogether due to stricter ordinances from the state limiting the numbers allowed for mass gatherings of people.

With in-person, live performances off the table, producing some form of a virtual festival, or canceling the event altogether, were our only options left.

The idea of canceling the NCFF was a reality none of us were willing to entertain at that juncture. Conversely, we were cautiously optimistic about a few virtual ideas discussed and researched over the previous months. Our main concern with all our virtual ideas always came back to our aggregate lack of experience in producing a virtual event.

We committed ourselves to be nimble, flexible, and motivated to see the silver lining of our situation as a means to showcase our community to the world while creating new, valuable content and sponsorship assets.

At a crucial crossroads, Amy Grossmann, President & CEO of the North Carolina Folk Festival, and several of our board members suggested we solicit advice from 7 Cinematics: Emmy Award-winning, international video and streaming production company based in Greensboro, NC. Adam Paul, CEO of 7 Cinematics and a native of Greensboro, was a fan of the festival and had approached Grossmann in 2017 to explore how his company could help the festival and give back to the community. At the time, while growing NCFF’s digital and video platforms were important, Grossmann was a one-woman show managing hundreds of seasonal contractors and volunteers. Until she could find more bandwidth, the compelling ideas discussed over a friendly lunch had to be placed on the back-burner.

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Fast-forward three years and one pandemic later, and our need for a partner with applicable virtual production experience was at a premium. To our delight, 7 Cinematics, having just produced a record-setting virtual concert for the Red Hot Chili Peppers in front of Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza, was excited to finally explore working with the NCFF. Out the gate, 7 Cinematic pitched a unique virtual concert concept that was a winner with all of us. A few deep-dive brainstorming sessions later, and the NCFF “Virtual Concert Series” was born.

Absent a national pandemic, the North Carolina Folk Festival is a 3-day, free-admission, outdoor event that presents music, dance, crafts, and other folk arts from across the globe. We typically fill our stages with performances by national and international touring artists and host educational workshops, crafts demonstrations, and family

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games and activities. When we committed to the Virtual Concert Series, we rescheduled all previously booked participants to 2021, and quickly honed in on three objectives for our new virtual format in 2020: 1. At the suggestion of 7 Cinematics, and based on their experience producing virtual concert streams, we chose to focus on retaining the aesthetic of a live concert experience each of our three nights that could be viewed in a format around the length of a motion picture. Our goal was to maximize online viewing time by promoting a rich, 2-hour experience in which everyone got a front-row seat.

2. To distinguish the look of our virtual programming, we filmed at locations with historical and cultural significance around our home community of Greensboro, NC. Representatives of each location introduced audiences to profound stories of the people, places, and movements that contribute to our local cultural identity. We truly hope that people will visit these amazing places to learn more when they feel safe to travel again.

3. We embraced the opportunity to focus our virtual program on North Carolina artists. For reasons both practical and socially relevant to the time in which we find ourselves as a nation, we chose to showcase a taste of the diverse tapestry of cultural traditions from our home state – bluegrass and Appalachian old-time tunes, Blues, R&B and Soul, Hip-Hop, Native American, Country, and West African – and invest our dollars in the people (crew included) who make us who we are year-round as North Carolinians.

ability to adapt and change is tantamount to both our future survival and success.

Having reached all of these objectives, the 2020 North Carolina Folk Festival Virtual Concert Series (VCS) premiered in 3 segments of approximately two hours each over the evenings of Friday, September 11, Saturday, September 12, and Sunday, September 13. It was available on several media outlets including Greensboro Television Network (GTN), YouTube, Nugs. net, and simulcasted via various artist and partner social media (Facebook) pages.

10 performing artists and 9 film locations around Greensboro appeared in the VCS. Overall, the VCS was a success on all fronts. Some highlights were: 1. The budget for the event was cash flow positive while enabling us to gainfully employ performers and supporting crew; direct support an industry hit hard by the pandemic and critical to our future success.

2. Reach, frequency and engagement exceeded industry averages with over 80,000 viewers (and counting).

3. Sponsors of all levels welcomed the opportunity to support the NCFF while receiving valuable, stand-alone, measurable marketing assets. A prime example of this was with the Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau, who had a direct influence on the choice of performance locations.

4. Utilizing a new fundraising technology called Kindful, we shattered previous figures for individual giving by 90%, raising over $41,000 from over 340 individual supporters.

and long term. Specific to 2020, we accomplished our goal of staying relevant to our constituency: the City of Greensboro and state of North Carolina; our corporate sponsors and foundation supporters; regional performing artists; the hundreds of thousands of fans who attend the event each year. In addition, our social media audience increased by 15% and our YouTube channel now has evergreen content to promote for years to come. The VCS experience has also provided valuable insight into realizing our goal of producing year-round, meaningful content and events, as we find ourselves poised to implement several new ideas and concepts come spring 2021.

Overall, the VCS has placed the NCFF in a better position to emerge stronger post-COVID19. There is no perfect substitute for live, in-person music and we hope for its return as soon as possible. That prefaced, we recognize life may not be back to normal in 2021 and if the past six months have taught us anything, the willingness and

About the North Carolina Folk Festival (NCFF) The NCFF is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that presents music, dance, crafts, and other folk arts through year-round programs for the public and through its signature event hosted each September in downtown Greensboro, NC. The NCFF, co-produced by the City of Greensboro, is a free-admission, three-day event that continues the legacy of the National Folk Festival, which was held in Greensboro from 2015–2017.

In the tradition of “The National,” the North Carolina Folk Festival features performing groups representing a diverse array of cultural traditions from around the world on multiple stages, including continuous music and dance performances, a North Carolina Folklife Area featuring ongoing demonstrations, an interactive Family Area, a makers marketplace, regional and ethnic foods, festival merchandise and more. Additional information is available at www.ncfolkfestival.com.

Trey Copeland joined the NCFF team on February 1, 2020, as the new Corporate Sponsorship Manager of the North Carolina Folk Festival. He has over twenty-eight years of experience in forming resilient relationships with varied constituencies from a myriad of industries.

Amy Grossmann is the president & CEO of the North Carolina Folk Festival. Her twenty-year nonprofit career and experience in the arts have focused on building relationships, programs, and events that celebrate and honor diverse expressions of folk and traditional culture.

A month after the VCS and we are still learning from and assessing the positives gained from the experience, both short Winter 2020

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A VIRTUAL SALUTE

TO THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE IN ELK GROVE, CA

By Jodie Moreno

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n Elk Grove, Ca, we like to dream big! Nestled 12 miles outside of Sacramento with a population of over 180,000 people, Elk Grove prides itself on community involvement through our programs, our services and our events.

When COVID hit, just like every other event planner, my heart sank. Elk Grove was actually one of the first cities in Northern California to cancel an event in January due to the health scare, which resulted in a lot of negative feedback, but it was the right thing to do. We immediately started looking forward to determine a long-range plan for our upcoming event season to find ways we could still deliver an event-like experience to our residents.

One of our biggest events is Elk Grove’s Salute to the Red, White and Blue on July 4th. How could we celebrate our nation and our city, sans the 22,000 plus folks that typically come out to the park to enjoy the show? How could we offer folks that had been stuck inside with no entertainment avenues, a way to celebrate

the 4th and comply with County and State guidelines? We were determined to find a way and pitched 3 different scenarios to our City Manager and Council. Thank goodness for one of the most supportive teams around that not only loved our ideas, but encouraged us to go big!

Working with the local ABC television station and a local radio conglomerate, we ventured out to secure a partnership that would allow us to broadcast our fireworks show LIVE, not only to the Elk Grove/ Sacramento area, but to all of our neighboring cities to the North, South, East and West within the broadcast market!

Plus, we simulcasted the soundtrack on our radio partner’s station making for a double whammy where anyone could watch, listen and enjoy the show. Our marketing consisted of encouraging residents to celebrate in place, going so far as to move the shoot location from the Park where it had been held for years to a secret undisclosed location that was more central to town to avoid gathering and Winter 2020

allow residents to step outside their home and look the skies!

The end result was fantastic! We had a live shot at 5 p.m. from City Hall teasing the “Sky Concert” later in the evening, still never giving away the whereabouts. Then that night, with more logistics than usual to keep the location a secret, we pulled it off and had a 4-camera live broadcast of the skies above Elk Grove from our brand-new Aquatics and Community Center, giving us a chance to highlight our facility, celebrate with residents and shoot off those beloved fireworks!!! Elk Grove definitely went out with a bang on this one!

Jodie Moreno is the Community Events and Special Projects Coordinator at the City Manager’s Office for the City of Elk Grove in Elk Grove, CA. For more information on the City of Elk Grove, go to: elkgrovecity.org

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FOLKLORAMA:

Pivoting for the Preservation of Culture

By Tanya Williams

Folklorama is an organization that promotes the ethno-cultural diversity of Manitoba, Canada through entertainment and public celebrations of culture and education. Folklorama provides the opportunity for ethno-cultural communities to promote and celebrate their intangible culture.

In August, Folklorama hosts a Festival at 40 unique venues. It is a two-week celebration where the motto of “travel around the world while staying in one city – Winnipeg” is strong. Visitors witness world-class entertainment, enjoy delicious authentic cuisine, take-in vivid displays, and experience the beautiful cultures that make up the fabric of Winnipeg.

Folklorama is known as the largest and longest-running multicultural Festival of its kind in the world.

And then Covid-19 hit. On April 24, 2020, Folklorama made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 event. The cancellation not only directly impacted the operations team, but it also impacted over 40 ethno-cultural communities.

With the mantra of “When culture isn’t celebrated – it becomes lost” securely in our hearts, the Folklorama Operations team began to brainstorm. They quickly pivoted to a new model of Folklorama At Home, At Work, At School, and At Play.

Essentially the Folklorama Operations

team took what everyone loves about Folklorama, and created mini-festivals that could be brought Covid safely to people’s backyards, senior homes, schools, and driveways. Within weeks, over 80 events were booked.

Here is some of the amazing feedback received: • “All of the performers exceeded our expectations in terms of the time they performed and their willingness to be flexible with space and timing.”

• “Very happy with the event. The Irish dancers were fantastic. Set-up was a breeze. They were a part of a birthday party and everything in attendance agreed it was a very unique and enjoyable addition. Would definitely recommend booking to others in the future.”

• “What an amazing experience. It was truly more than I could have ever imagined. Something my family and I will cherish forever!”

Thinking of more ways to assist the struggling communities, the team launched the Folklorama Cultural Preservation Fund.

The Fund was established to align with Folklorama’s mandate of celebrating diversity and promoting cultural understanding.

This Fund will provide Folklorama members access to funds to support their Winter 2020

ongoing or new projects that celebrate, educate, promote, and preserve culture after a year or successful fundraising.

Like many other events, Folklorama does not have a crystal ball. What they do have is an incredible volunteer membership and operations team who are planning for many different scenarios in 2021.

To read more about what Folklorama has accomplished in 2020, visit folklorama.ca.

A 25-year marketing and communications veteran, Tanya Williams joined Folklorama as the director of marketing and communications just before Covid-19 started. As a graduate of Ryerson University majoring in radio and television, Tanya drove the marketing, communications, and public relations for the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba – including the Children’s Miracle Network program.

Before making her way back home to Manitoba, she spent over 17 years in Toronto with National Event Management, Canada’s Wonderland, Canadian Film Centre, and numerous television stations. Giving back to her community is very important to her. In her spare time, she likes to inspire youth as a Girl Guide leader and runs senior cheer-up programs in her spare time.

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THE UN-COMFORT ZONE

WITH ROBERT WILSON

I WAS MOTIVATED BY NOSTALGIA

UNTIL GOOD SENSE KICKED IN

I’ve always wanted to ride a Penny-Farthing.

Last Sunday I was having lunch with my cousin Lucy in a trendy section of Atlanta known for its variety of restaurants, bars, and unique shops. We were dining by the window when I noticed something across the street that I’d always wanted to try.

It was a contraption known as a Penny-Farthing. It was the world’s first bicycle; invented in 1870. Oh, there were other double-inline-wheeled vehicles before this one, but they were coaster bikes that you propelled Fred Flintstone style by pushing your feet against the ground. The Penny-Farthing was the first one on which you could mechanically propel yourself by pedaling.

As a biking enthusiast, who also has a strong sense of nostalgia for the olden days, I’ve always wanted to ride one, but I’d only seen them in pictures. You’ve probably seen a picture of one before - it’s the original big-wheel. Giant wheel in front with a tiny wheel in back. That’s how it got its name; it reminded someone of penny next to a farthing (an old British penny and quarter penny - you could look them up; I did, but after seeing the proportions, I thought “Silver Dollar-Dime” would’ve been a better name).

This one was on display in front of a bicycle store. After we finished eating, we crossed the street for what I hoped was an opportunity to scratch an item off my bucket list. Lee, the shopkeeper, was happy to tell us all about it, but first he said it wasn’t for sale or rent. Wah! So much for my bucket list. He explained that it had been brought in for a repair three months earlier, but the bike’s owner hadn’t returned to pick it up. Hence he turned it into a display item to attract people into the store. It sure worked on me, but I was so excited at seeing one, that I didn’t care it was only a tease.

These bikes have been out of production since 1893, mostly because they are mortally dangerous. The rider’s body weight is centered over the big front wheel, and if the wheel hits a pothole, the rider is thrown head first over the handlebars. Unfortunately for those early adopters, bike helmets weren’t invented until the mid-1970s.

This Penny-Farthing had been custom built, and it stood as tall as a man. Lee helped us get on it. He held it steady, while we took turns climbing into the seat. It was way higher than I had imagined. My foot at its lowest extension was still two and a half feet off the ground. There was no way I could touch the ground with my toes. Which made me curious, how would I actually get on it if Lee wasn’t there?

Lee explained: you had to run alongside it, put your foot on the small step conveniently placed just above the rear wheel, then launch yourself onto the seat (sort of like rodeo cowboys do when they leapfrog onto a horse from behind), all while trying to grab the handlebars (which are too high and far from the back to hold while running), getting your feet on the pedals, and maintaining your balance so that you don’t fall over. If the bike does fall over, 40

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then you get to start over... albeit sorer from the bruises and abrasions you got while body slamming the pavement.

I’m thinking that the average rider, in the 1880s when these bikes were most common, may not have had to go through all those gymnastics. Most houses and buildings had carriage blocks so that people would have a step between their horse-drawn vehicles and the ground. These would have been a perfect height for climbing on your bike and pushing off. Then again, most of the people riding these bikes were athletic young men in their 20s and 30s who would’ve looked at me in contempt for even considering using a stepping stone. OK, I’m a few decades past my 20s, which is my sole excuse for even thinking of it.

If you’re wondering why these bikes had such a big wheel (typically between 55 and 65 inches in diameter), it was to give them more speed. The bigger the wheel the faster it would go.

The Penny-Farthing did not have a chain - it was direct drive propulsion - which means the pedals were fixed to the wheel.

Think about that for a moment. That means as long as the wheel is turning, so are the pedals. When you ride downhill, you have to take your feet off the pedals because they would be going around too fast for your legs to keep up. Back in the day, most riders put their legs on top of the handlebars while going downhill. Why? Because if they hit a bump and were thrown over the handlebars, they would land on their feet instead of their heads. Oh, one more thing, most of these bikes did NOT have brakes.

NO BRAKES? That leads me to one conclusion: these bikes were designed to be ridden in cities with flat hill-less roads. That pretty much eliminates my hometown of Atlanta, which of major U.S. cities is second in elevation behind Denver, which means there are no flat roads to ride on. Here in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the only way we can get a flat surface to bike on is to pave over an old railroad bed.

Despite all I learned, I still want to ride a Penny-Farthing. I just want to do it where the roads are flat, traffic is light, and before I have to worry about breaking a hip. So..., what’s on your bucket-list?

Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. is an author, humorist/speaker and innovation consultant. He works with companies that want to be more competitive and with people who want to think like innovators. Robert is the author of ...and Never Coming Back, a psychological thriller-novel about a motion picture director; The Annoying Ghost Kid, a humorous children’s book about dealing with a bully; and the inspirational book: Wisdom in the Weirdest Places. For more information on Robert, please visit www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com.

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Sex Trafficking and Events: The Truth behind the Statistics

By Alexis Bremer The world of safety and security has changed dramatically over the past few years and events are at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts especially when it comes the need to keep guests safe. Incidents such as active shooter are always brought to the attention of the media, but what about the incidents that aren’t as visible but can equally cause as much destruction. Human Trafficking, or for the purpose of this article, sex trafficking, is quickly becoming a more prevalent crime surrounding events.

In this article, I will articulate the risks that events present as catalysts of Human Trafficking. I will also bring attention to some previously believed myths about the demographics of victims of Human Trafficking as well as the types of events that are believed to increase this type of criminal behavior. As event organizers, our responsibility lies not only in creating long lasting memories for our guests but also to do everything in our power to prevent these risks and start the conversation regarding how we can work to stop this behavior.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security defines Human Trafficking as: • The act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining a person for labor, services of commercial sex acts • By means of force, fraud or coercion; • For the purpose of exploitation, involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, slavery or any commercial sex act involving a minor.

It is important to keep in mind that there are multiple types of Human Trafficking.

There is sex trafficking, which remains the highest in reported cases of trafficking, and Labor Trafficking which include areas like agriculture and domestic work (Hotline, 2019).

The Super Bowl was originally believed to be the single largest event for Human Trafficking and there are many myths surrounding that belief, however, there are also countless studies that reveal the

Super Bowl attracts no more criminal behavior than any other large event within an area. A data study performed by Carnegie Mellon University stated that, “we have identified multiple other venues, events, times, and locations that show a more significant influx of sex advertising than the Super Bowl” (Emily Kennedy, 2016). According to a CNN article written in February of 2019, the initial belief that the Super Bowl was the largest event for Human Trafficking was due to the increased awareness surrounding the event (Grinberg, 2019). The Polaris Project, a leading anti-trafficking group, disagrees that Human Trafficking increases substantially around the Super Bowl and states that trafficking happens all year round in communities around the country.

However, “Polaris attributes the boost to heavier promotion of the hotline, not an increase in the prevalence of human trafficking on Super Bowl weekend. If someone calls during the Super Bowl weekend to report being trafficked, they were very likely being trafficked before that too” (Grinberg, 2019). It is not to say that events don’t play a part in attracting sex trafficking to event venues and surrounding areas, however, with increased exposure and awareness of this activity, a light is finally being shown on the under belly of Human Trafficking which mimics the belief that the behavior is drastically increasing around an event.

“The first documented concerns about the impact of major sporting events on sex trafficking were for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Projections of high number of trafficking victims did not materialize, but the response ’set the template‘ for how host cities and NGOs treated sex trafficking in subsequent major international sporting events, including Super Bowls” (Grinberg, 2019). The biggest mistake that can be made by event organizers is to believe that this underground criminal activity is not happening at their event. Although it might not be happening within their event, Winter 2020

there is surely sex trafficking happening in surrounding areas brought on by the influx of people attending the event.

One way that the National Cherry Festival has worked toward decreasing all areas of criminal activity was to implement a Unified Command Center within a very close proximity to the festival itself. Unified Command Centers are used by various events to coordinate efforts made by local law enforcement. High tech cameras were also installed within the venue area to have a bird’s eye view of the activity that goes with putting on an event. For example, the cameras were able to catch a local bar fight that was happening just down the road from the festival and local law enforcement was able to review the footage in order to contact the pertinent parties involved.

Data pulled from the 2019 National Human Trafficking Hotline webpage stated that 4,585 cases of Human Trafficking were reported, with 749 of those cases coming from California (Hotline, 2019).

Along with the large number of cases reported in 2019, it was also stated that the third top venue for specifically Sex Trafficking was hotel/motel based.

Events rely on nearby hotels and motels to help accommodate the influx of people brought to town by their event, however, this also increases the risk factor of Human Trafficking. Of the 4,585 cases reported, 3,736 cases involved females of an adult age. According to research done by Grand Valley State University regarding the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City Michigan, the demographic characteristics collected showed 66% of the attendees were Females (Janes, 2018). We should not be looking at events as merely magnets of Human Trafficking but also the possible ground zero for perpetrators to victimize event guests.

So, the biggest question that some ask is, “why are events targeted for this type of criminal activity?” Now more than ever, Human Traffickers are using the internet to both find their victims as well as to advertise their illegal behaviors. According

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to an article from NBC News, “To the untrained eye, these ads are nothing more than escorts looking to offer services. But to law enforcement agents, keywords like “young” and “no pimps” can be indicators that the person in the photo is a trafficking victim rather that someone who knowingly entered the illicit trade.” (Saliba, 2016) Deborah Richardson, Director of the International Human Trafficking Institute at the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta states that, “What we do know is whenever you have large events where primarily men come into a place, a city, with a lot of disposable money, you’re going to have human trafficking.” (Hurt, 2019). The top three things to look for while trying to identify signs of trafficked individuals are, 1. Lack of Control, 2. Poor physical health, 3. Abnormal behavior (Hotline, 2019). When referring to lack of control, this would normally resemble a parent or guardian that is in charge of identification documents, money, and is also not allowing the individual to speak for themselves. Poor physical health would be reflected as either poor hygiene, signs of physical abuse, and even malnourishment.

Finally, abnormal behavior, which would fall more into the category of possible drug use, exhibits fear and anxious behavior, and sometimes paranoia. Although these signs do not 100% of the time mean that someone if being trafficked, it is important to know what to look for when trying to identify potential victims.

So, what are some ways that we can help decrease the likelihood of Human Trafficking coming to our events? In 2019, the National Cherry Festival and several other events in the Traverse City area partnered together to bring a Human Trafficking guest speaker, Stephanie Krieger, to discuss ways to deter this criminal behavior. Stephanie was familiar with Human Trafficking because she had spent most of her young adult life in the world of trafficked people. She shared her experience regarding how and why people are targeted and then coerced or forced into sex trafficking. According to the Polaris Project, although there are certain signs that might point to the fact that someone if being trafficked, the sign that pertains to most events is, “They have an older, or simply controlling parent, guardian, romantic partner or “sponsor” who will not allow you to meet or speak with the person alone or monitors their movements, spending and/ or communications” (Project, 2020).

During this training session, examples of young women with much older men or 44

even women where the young women were given very little freedom could be potential threats of trafficked individuals.

The training provided to volunteers as well as staff on the signs of potential human trafficking could be greatly beneficial to event coordinators as well as local law enforcement. The Polaris Project is one such group that offers training in the form of seminars, you can find more information at humantraffickinghotline.org.

Awareness is the first step in identifying possible threats of Human Trafficking within our events. Unified Command Centers have substantially helped by gathering data and disseminating information in real time to prospective agencies. Mardi Gras in New Orleans engaged with Homeland Security to coordinate security efforts during the event. According to sources within Homeland Security, “efforts have already paid off. In February, 2020, two men from Texas were arrested at a hotel in Metairie. The men had brought a woman and her child with them from Texas for the purpose of Prostitution. Jefferson Perish Sheriffs working with Homeland Security were able to rescue the woman and her child.” (Perumean, 2020). During the Super Bowl in 2019, anti-trafficking groups started advertising the Human Trafficking hotline and saw a major boost in cases reported, showing that by offering opportunities to report suspicious behaviors or even victims reporting themselves, it had a major impact during the event time. Unified Command Centers are not only valuable for their boots on the ground, but also the ability to house representatives from local emergency agencies under one roof. The dissemination of information is one of the best ways to get ahead of any potential threat whether it be Human Trafficking, active shooter, theft, or even fraud. Gregg Bird, the Grand Traverse County Emergency Manager whose responsibility lies with coordinating with events around the Grand Traverse Area, stated that the following are benefits of a Command Center, • A central point of command and coordination for a Unified Command approach • Face to face with all agencies is the best method of communication • Central location for surveillance and decision making • On the spot planning/response-ability (think scrambling of resources for an unplanned issue) to non-festival incidents/ events that may affect the festival • Immediate communication/coordination ability of festival staff and public safety and/or jurisdictional leadership.

Although it is still a struggle to quantify the

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number of Human Trafficking incidents due to the secrecy and difficulty in identifying victims, efforts made by both event coordinators along with local government agencies can at least offer help to those in need.

References Emily Kennedy, K. M. (2016). Do Public Events Affect Sex Trafficking Activity?

Auton Lab, Carnegie Mellon Universtiy.

Grinberg, E. (2019, February 3). CNN. Retrieved from CNN: https://www.cnn. com/2019/01/31/us/sex-trafficking-superbowl-myth/index.html Hotline, T. N. (2019, June 30). National Human Trafficking Hotline. Retrieved from humantraffickinghotline.org/states Hurt, E. (2019, January 31). WABE. Retrieved from WABE: https://www.wabe. org/super-bowl-the-biggest-us-sex-trafficking-event-is-that-a-myth/ Janes, P. (2018). NCF Visitor Study.

Grand Valley University.

Perumean, T. (2020, Feburary 17). Sex Trafficking: DHS-ICE take on smugglers during Mardi Gras.

Project, P. (2020). Polaris Project. Retrieved from https://polarisproject.org/ sex-trafficking/ Saliba, E. (2016, February 16). NBC News. Retrieved from NBC News: https:// www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/studytakes-new-look-how-big-events-fuel-us-n519071 Alexis Bremer is the Operations Director with the National Cherry Festival. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University and a Master’s degree in Analysis of Criminal Behavior from Cincinnati University. She participated in an internship with the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center and was fascinated with the field of Open Source Research. The world of safety and security is very important to Alexis and she hopes that she can help other events through her experience and background. Alexis Bremer can be reached at: abremer@cherryfestival.org or 231-947-4230 x 105.

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Maintaining Tradition and Spreading Holiday Cheer Winterfest Style

By Dawn Read Diehl

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L

C E LE B R

ike the rest of the world, Winterfest is adapting our 2020 season to fit the narrative of what “can” be done instead of focusing on what we cannot do. We all watched and waited in early March to see how this unprecedented time would unfold and when we would go back to “normal” with business as usual.

We paused, we listened and we spoke to those who support us doing “well checks” along the way. We kept thinking… ‘So glad we are in December and we have the benefit of time’ as those in other parts of the country were rescheduling events for late summer… then having to cancel when that date drew near as it became evident Covid-19 was sticking around a while.

Fast forward to August, 2020. We knew our normal schedule of events wasn’t going to happen but we weren’t speaking about it publicly. We really thought we could pull off our Parade in December and give everyone what they so desperately needed at the end of the year - the tradition of the 49th Annual Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade! After all, people are boating, right?

After conversations with our Title Sponsor (Seminole Hard Rock) and our Television Partner (WSVN), they were thinking things out from a different perspective. The (Hard Rock) had 1700 people out of work with no end in sight, it didn’t feel like the right time to have their name in lights, or to celebrate as usual. The parties that happen along our 12-mile parade route and people “gathering” eating and drinking with no masks was concerning. What would those optics look like and how would that be perceived?

It was still August. We couldn’t possibly predict what would be in place for December. Would social distancing still be a thing?

We know masks will be here for a while and hand sanitizer is our new best friend!

So, maybe (hopefully) we could gather by December? But nobody had that crystal ball.

It felt so sad to make the announcement that the parade would not happen this year as planned. People didn’t understand why.

People are boating already, why would we make this decision so soon? Some events are happening now that were anticipated to also take the year off and regroup for 2021. Why can they happen and not the Parade, we are continually asked. Every article in the news about events that are happening in our area mentions the Parade being cancelled. While in usual years, all news is good news as long as they are talking about you, right? We do need to get the word out that we are, in fact, sitting 2020 out for the Boat Parade and our usual calendar of live events. HOWEVER, we are in NO WAY sitting out 2020!

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a mini vacation in Fort Lauderdale before his big day and we are keeping his itinerary full for the North Pole. We will be tracking him around town starting in November (our Santa Tracker will be active on our Winterfest APP). We’re not going to give away any secrets as to Santa’s whereabouts.

Nor can we confirm or deny rumors that Santa may be at certain locations like the Hard Rock Guitar Hotel lounging at the new Bora Bora poolside; the Historic Stranahan House on Las Olas Boulevard or Hoffman’s Chocolates for some delicious Hot Cocoa and chocolate covered Oreos! Everyone will just have to wait and see!

This campaign is being sponsored by a few of our partners. The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors bureau loved it so much they are producing a video for it! Twas the Night Before Christmas is Santa’s favorite book, if you didn’t know and he is set to read this amazing story via Zoom, on December 5th. It will be streamed live so it can be aired thru out the holiday season.

For the first 100 registered Zoomers, they will be mailed the same beautiful hard cover FAO Schwartz book that Santa will be reading. Free of charge of course, as we have sponsors for this program as well.

I mentioned earlier that there will be no parade this year, but we figured it out - we are going to decorate a single Water Taxi and have it cruising for the month of December promoting our theme “Home for the Holidays” as it spreads holiday greetings and joy to the people on the shoreline.

This boat will also be doing holiday lights cruises during the month. Santa will be on board on one evening wishing everyone Merry Christmas and a good night to all.

We have created a “Home for the Holidays” poster and will still produce a brochure and newsletter as usual, to let everyone know just what we have in store for them. A new page on our website will be a Holiday tab that will include holiday This is the year of being creative… and boy have we seen great things imagined these last few months. Kudos to our industry for doing what we do best, rolling with the punches. While we had no plans of being part of the virtual world, we have arrived and are excited to be here.

While Santa usually gets a free ride with his sleigh on top of the World-Famous Jungle Queen as the grand finale of the Parade each year, this year’s ride has tires and we are ready to show him off, South Florida Style! His new ride has horsepower instead of reindeer, it’s a shiny white Ford Mustang Convertible (can you figure out who the sponsor is?). Santa will be taking 48

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New this year, we have also integrated holiday “contests” photo submission contests to be voted on in a variety of categories to keep it all going strong as we end the year with Winterfest.

We have many great prizes and partners standing strong with us. We are known for our Silent/Live Auction annually and that is going on NOW! It’s a 2-month virtual auction that would typically end the night of our Black-Tie Ball with 1000 guests and over 200 items. I am happy to report that 3 weeks in, we are trending a month ahead of 2019 in every way! Donations, bidders, and $$ in the bank already!

We all have been forced to think outside of the box more so than ever before. We are up for that challenge regularly, but this year has been more rewarding for that effort. Our partners are saying yes, commending us on our creativity and still offering great ROI. The season is just beginning for us and we are ready to bring it all on for our community. This is where healthy and solid partner relationships come in to play and the trust that our brand is worthy of aligning with, no matter what.

So, the lemonade is tasting pretty sweet right now! As a not for profit organization, we are humbled and grateful in every way.

Dawn Read Diehl is the Event Director at Winterfest, Inc. and the Immediate Past Chair for the Florida Festival & Events Association Board of Directors. She is a Fort Lauderdale Native and has been a part of the Winterfest Team for 27 years. She takes great pride in her community and being a part of different charity efforts and boards. She enjoys the collaboration Winterfest has with others in the community and being able to help so many others connect and grow.

recipes, DIY ornaments and a variety of things related to staying home and having fun along the way.

Another “adapting moment” we are working on is our 1-hour television special that is produced by WSVN (our television partner for 40 years) (and also airs on Fox Sports Sun) as a retrospective taking us on a trip down memory lane as we take a look inside how we got to where we are today and looking forward to our 50th Anniversary in 2021. We even got an opportunity for the first time (and only time, I am told) to sell our own tv commercials in our show, giving us even more leverage for sponsors to sink their teeth into.

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YA W N L A W N TO

BARK PARK

By Sean Fitzgerald

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“Yawn Lawn to Bark Park: How the City of Oviedo transformed a boring, oddly shaped, and otherwise unusable section of a park to a fun, colorful, dynamic space for beloved dogs to run free and their ‘pet parents’ to relax and socialize.”

This overnight success story was actually years in the making. The new Bark Park at Shane Kelly Park in the City of Oviedo was the culmination of equal parts hard work, collaboration, imagination, with a spritz of luck. The long time (25 years!) Recreation & Parks Director, Dru D. Boulware, had a vision of transforming an otherwise useless space in to a vibrant park for visitors and their beloved dogs. It has quickly become the “go to” spot for Dog Dads and Mutt Moms from throughout the community and even all over the area.

The location was an unusual shaped area within an existing park that was essentially a programing “dead space”. There were some elevation changes with some low and potentially wet areas, it was triangular shaped, it had limited shade, and it wasn’t ideal for a playing surface or a traditional playground. The Oviedo community is very family-centric and pet friendly so if it wasn’t going to work well for our two-legged friends then the decision was made to focus on our four-legged ones.

A much smaller dog park was constructed about six years ago as part of the “new downtown” in Center Lake Park in the Oviedo on the Park development. It immediately became a very popular spot and remains so but the size is far from ideal and makes it very limiting. There was clearly an appetite from the community to have something bigger and better. The problem, as it is often times, was funding. So that is where staff stepped up and made it all happen.

Parks crews got creative and brainstormed ways to implement existing items that had been underutilized, saved for

another project that never materialized, or were essentially discarded just collecting dust. They partnered with Public Works and Seminole County for similar type items. Picnic tables, benches, bushes, and other landscaping was repurposed

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from other parks and City property under construction. For example, several palm trees that had to be removed due to a tennis court expansion project were replanted in the Bark Park instead of trashed. Giant industrial sized tires that were no longer functional on heavy duty commercial equipment were half buried in a pattern and colorfully painted to create a fun hurdles course for dogs to run through or even climb or jump over. Large concrete drainage pipe sections and culverts were being installed to create unique obstacles.

Old playground equipment sections that were removed from other locations were re-assembled for multilevel platforms. *Note: One big lesson learned was that some bushes (i.e. holly) that were moved in were potentially harmful to dogs so they had to be removed. Double check to make sure that whatever planted is appropriate.

The City did have to pay for chain link fence line around the perimeter but was able to negotiate a good rate with a local vendor once they were told how it was going to be used. Another good deal was arranged for the concrete work needed to be done as well for ADA accessible parking and pathways. Public Works was able to squeeze in some of the work required. Of course, lots of signage was needed, some water and electrical hookups, and other more traditional amenities were installed. Some of the play features were purchased but for the most part the bulk of the project was “free”.

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Significant staff time was involved.

Others may have experienced this before but it was new to us. It was determined to be a park within a park so it needed a new address: 499 Waggin Trail. Staff came up with this creative one that tied in the obvious dog reference (tail wagging) but also some local history since this site was formerly an equestrian property (i.e. horse drawn wagons).

Word had started to get out and about the Bark Park so once it was close to opening some “progress pics” were posted to our Department social media pages. (Shameless plug: @OviedoParksNRec) In particular, one on Facebook went “viral” and ended up with a reach of over 20,000. It is by far the most interest in anything we have ever shared before and the best part is it was 100% organic. We did not pay to “boost” it at all.

The community was clearly very excited to have this facility opening soon.

That brings us to the Grand Opening on Saturday, February 9, 2019 which was kicked off with a traditional ribbon cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. involving City 52

Council plus the key Parks staff involved.

Obviously, “Who Let the Dogs Out” was blasted from the PA when it was open to the public immediately afterwards. The festivities continued until noon with food

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trucks, vendors, and raffles.

It was decided to require a membership to access the Bark Park. Information was distributed with the rules and regulations, policies and procedures, plus

opportunities for sponsorships. In order to be accommodating to as many people as possible initially there was a two month “grace period” before the memberships kicked in and cards would be checked.

We did not want to open the facility then immediately limit who could enter. It was a trial period for people to check it out before committing. It also gave them time to get the appropriate shots completed and copies of paperwork collected for submission. This also allowed us to collect contact info for families so we can better communicate with them if there were closures due to inclement weather or poor facility conditions, etc.

There was a great deal of discussion internally about the membership. We ultimately decided to just make it $5 per dog annually. We wanted to be as inclusive as possible. It is expected to increase at some point but even at that rate over $1,000 has been raised for the facility. The feedback has overall been very positive especially when we explain that all proceeds are earmarked specifically for the Bark Park repairs, maintenance, and amenities. A special account has been set up that can rotate from fiscal year to fiscal year so that it can be saved for unexpected and/or larger purchases in the future.

There has been great success by expanding our existing banner sponsorship program. For only $250 per banner per year sponsors can advertise on a 3’ x 5’ banner (or similar sized). That location alone has nearly 50% of all banner sponsorships throughout the City which includes almost 10 other facilities. Almost exactly $5,000 was raised in just the first few months. Again, all the funds raised are kept solely to benefit the Bark Park which has been a key selling point. Many of our other locations primarily get vehicle traffic so there are more total impressions by far but at the Bark Park they are for a much longer period of time. (A good example of quality over quantity so to speak!)

Now that it’s been over a year since the much-anticipated opening we have learned a lot. While it is important to keep it open as much as possible for members to enjoy there has to be regular down time built in for ongoing maintenance and repairs.

Based on staff schedules and other facility operations it is closed on Tuesday, Thursday, and periodically on Sunday mornings to mow, edge, fertilize, etc. Although it should not be treated as carefully as a soccer or baseball field it needs to be shut down when conditions are poor. It could be a safety issue (note: liability) but it could lead to unnecessary damage such

as holes and ruts or over worn areas if too wet. It is a tough decision many times but if in doubt, then lock them out.

Early feedback within some circles was concern about not having a separate section for “big” dogs and “small” dogs.

We decided to keep the area as large as possible and as it turns out there have been very few issues. There was an additional fenced in area off the far side from the main entrance for future obedience or other training type classes. We have not finalized any agreements with vendors yet but that is another area with great potential.

During this time, we have also discovered the desire for quarterly events at the park as well. National Dog Day, Howl-o-ween, Santa Paws, Pups & Pints, and many others are great examples. These are great for the members to get together with food trucks and music. The banner sponsors and other vendors are invited to set up on site to promote their products and services. These are great ways to generate additional funds for the park by doing a membership drive and highlighting existing sponsors and recruiting new ones.

A wise man once said, “It’s not about finances. It’s about choices.” Our director likes to periodically share that quote from a previous City Manager. Ultimately, it is still about money but it changes the thought process enough to turn a “No, we can’t do that!” to a “Maybe we can do that” then possibly an “Ok, sure, let’s do it!”

Do you have the space and the desire to build a dog park? Look around to see what equipment you already have laying around.

Next ask around to see who has certain skills and expertise that may be willing to help. Then pull all that together and just Winter 2020

dream big! Brainstorm wild and crazy ideas and pare them down to more reasonable and realistic ones without losing too much of the energy and creativity.

So, who let the dogs out? You can!

Get the right people together and work collaboratively toward a common goal to provide a wonderful opportunity for your community. That’s a good choice! You will be very glad you did.

Sean Fitzgerald, CPRP, CPO, has been a life-long recreation and events enthusiast growing up in Florida with Little League baseball, farmers markets, and festivals. One of his first (and favorite) jobs was at a local YMCA. He worked in campus recreation as a sports official, lifeguard, and for various intramural and club sports tournaments while earning a bachelors in Sports Management at Georgia Southern University and then continued in campus recreation at Mississippi State University and Southeast Missouri State University before moving to California and transitioning to community recreation.

After moving back to Florida about 7 years ago, he is now the Events Manager for the City of Oviedo (Orlando suburb). Sean is married to Michelle Fitzgerald, a former parks & recreation professional that has switched to campus recreation at University of Central Florida. Together they have two sons (Rylan, 15, Keltan, 12), two dogs (Murphy and Hudson), and two cats (Chipper and Maddux). Sean can be reached at: sfitzgerald@cityofoviedo.net | www.cityofoviedo.net.

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EVERYONE’S INVITED

WITH LAURA GRUNFELD

INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

WHEN PEOPLE NEED

A

ADDITIONAL ACCOMMODATIONS

s Access Program managers, patrons with disabilities sometimes ask us for accommodations that are not part of our usual bag of tricks. This issue’s column will discuss some of the requests I have received and how we handled it.

Must you accommodate every request? The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that we not discriminate against people with disabilities and that we make sure that our events are inclusive. At times we will need to make reasonable modifications to our policies, practices, and procedures. This can be worked out on a case-by-case basis. You might not give the person exactly what they have requested but you do need to come up with an alternative that works for both of you.

In practice, I usually find that patrons ask for too little. They are not aware of how large the event is and how much energy it will take to attend. They may ask for one small accommodation but I let them know about other services that may help.

Have a conversation or back and forth email with the individual to see what they feel they need. Describe your event to them in detail. Sometimes it will help if they discuss the event with their doctor. If they need to use Accessible Parking/Camping and if they don’t already have one, will their doctor authorize a temporary official accessible parking tag? If not and they need accessible parking, arrange to give them permission.

You must be cautious with how you have this conversation.

The ADA protects people’s privacy and, while many people are forthcoming about their conditions, you must not ask them to identify their disability or ask questions about it. I simply ask “How may we assist?” If I want to suggest an accommodation I might say, “Some people who fatigue easily or who have difficulty traveling distances benefit from staying in our Accessible Camping area. Would that be of assistance to you?”

Here are some examples of requests that I have had, with names changed of course.

Carol uses insulin for her diabetes. She writes with concerns about this event’s clear backpack policy. She doesn’t want people to see her meds and syringes. I explain that she may put her supplies in opaque smaller bags of a certain dimension and that she should be prepared for the bags to be opened and searched by the Security team. But wait, there’s more. It’s up to me to be proactive and let her know about some other accommodations that may help her. I offer her permission to use the Access Entrance to the venue where the gate staff are specially trained and understanding. I tell her about the refrigerator available for storing medications in the medical tent.

If she fatigues easily, I offer shorter walks with accessible parking and camping. If she experiences urination frequency, I offer use of 54

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the accessible toilets where there are shorter lines. I ask if there is anything else she might need.

Jamal wrote to say that he has seizures because of his epilepsy and wanted to know more about our medical systems. Not only did I explain where and how many medical tents there were and where the EMT outposts were located, but I also made some suggestions and asked if we could assist in other ways. I advised that he carry contact information for his friends at the festival and that he consider wearing a medical alert bracelet. We entered into a conversation where I offered various other services such as accessible parking/camping to avoid over-exertion. He asked which shows included strobe lighting as that can sometimes trigger seizures. I contacted the Music Production Department to get that information and to share it with Jamal.

Fred had jaw surgery and needed to bring a hand-crank blender to a camping festival. I sent him a special permission slip to show to the security team that might search his car. I didn’t think a blender would be a problem but wanted to make sure.

(We also notified Security in advance). I gave him permission to use the Access Entrance to the venue where he would have permission to bring his blended food in a small soft-sided cooler.

Carlos wrote to say that he is especially sensitive to the sun because of the medication he takes. He asked to bring a small umbrella and we give him permission for the umbrella and use of the Access Entrance. I made sure he knew where the Access Center was and about our other services should he feel he needed additional assistance.

Ebony had a kidney transplant and needed to drink copious amounts of water each day. She wanted to bring water into the venue and of course we allowed her to do that. We also gave her permission to park and camp close to the venue, use the Access Entrance and use the accessible portable toilets. That’s all she wanted but when she fatigued easily on the first day, we gave her permission to use the accessible shuttles and raised viewing platforms.

Ned needed to leave for dialysis in the middle of a four-day camping event. The policy was no in and out but we gave him permission to do so. I also offered Accessible Camping where he would be close to assistance if he needed it.

Kim had arthritis and could not sit on the ground or get up from a low position. She asked to bring a folding lawn chair of standard height. She wanted to stay with her large group of friends and did not accept an offer to use the raised viewing platforms. This event only allowed very low chairs but we made an exception so that she could bring her chair and enjoy the event.

She used the Access Entrance where permission for special equipment is handled.

Continued on page 84

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DISRU PTOR:

5

KEYS

TO MAKING

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POSITIVE

By Shelley Armato

CHANGE

Everyone has the potential to be an industry leader. These leaders are the ones who transform the world—who disrupt their industry and launch massive and positive change.

The challenge is that too many people are comfortable and complacent with where they are. They’ve settled into the pattern of reacting to disruptions rather than causing them. Think about your own industry and how it’s changed over the years. Who initiated the biggest changes?

Who were the disruptors? Were they the people who sat on the sidelines? Or the ones who took bold action?

Contrary to popular belief, having access to large amounts of money isn’t what makes someone a disruptor. Money alone isn’t what makes change happen.

In reality, tenacity and courage are all you need. So stop blaming others or outside circumstances for limiting your ability to enact change. By using the internal resources you already have, you can take action today.

If you’re ready to lead your industry to new heights, here are the five keys that will help shift your mindset so you can be the disruptor others react to.

1. Get Comfortable with Change Disruption is all about change. Any company that survives long-term has changed over the years. Whether they added new products or services, catered to a different market, or totally reinvented themselves, they had the courage to morph in some way. Unfortunately, many people get stuck in the vision of what their company was in the past, rather than what it could be in the future. This mindset forces them to always be reactive to the disruptions others make—they are never the disruptors themselves because they are too tied to the past. To transform your industry, you have to be future-oriented and ready to make a change at a moment’s notice. If you’re not nimble, you’ll never be the leader. Remember that everything is different today than it was just a few years ago, and that has to include you and your company.

2. Look for the Common Challenges in your Industry If you want to be an industry disruptor, you need to always be looking to solve challenges—at work as well as at home. In other words, problem-solving must become a way of life, not just something you do when times are tough. Look around and ask yourself, “What can I do differently and better?” Realize that if you think something is challenging or in need of change, chances are that others think that too. Ask your customers and employees what changes they wish would transpire. Then really listen to their answers. Insight leads to change.

3. Research Everything In order to find the problems and the solutions, you need to know what’s going on in your industry at all times.

Research solutions that others have tried to introduce. Sometimes disruption isn’t about reinventing the wheel; it’s about making the existing solutions better. Often, even a tenth of a degree improvement can make massive progress. Additionally, do research for your emotional wellness, because when you’re emotionally healthy, you can take on anything. Broaden your research to encompass all aspects of yourself, your business, and your industry.

4. Be Resilient in your Ability to Solve Problems Being a disruptor means being resilient.

To build your resilience, refrain from asking disempowering questions like “How am I going to do this?” A better question is “Why am I going to do this?” “Why” leads to “When,” and then “When” becomes “How.” With your “why” and “when” already mapped out, the “how” becomes much easier and you’re more apt to take that first step. Along the way, you’ll run into roadblocks and rejection. That’s okay.

Learn from any setbacks and then harness your resilience to bounce back and keep going. One important step is to decide ahead of time what type of challenges you will allow to disrupt you emotionally.

This way, when you face a challenge, you can determine if you’re making decisions Winter 2020

emotionally or if you simply need to look at a situation differently. From that capacity you can take massive action.

5. Find the Eagles in Your Life The people in your life can either lift you up or pull you down. We all have people in our life who love hearing our problems and then telling us all the things we shouldn’t do. But if you let these people dictate your decisions, you’ll never be a disruptor. Instead, you have to find the eagles. During storms, eagles soar higher because they know the crosswinds will help them gain altitude. In other words, during challenges they rise. Those are the kind of people you want in your inner circle. Realize that the eagles in your life don’t have to be your friends. They can be coaches or mentors you hire or only see in a professional capacity. Ultimately, their goal is to help you soar higher, not encourage you to cower when things get tough. When you rely on your eagles for support and advice, you can see problems in a new light and come up with solutions that will transform your world.

Be the Change Regardless of your past successes or failures, you can initiate massive industry change. So why settle for always reacting to the disruptions that others enact?

Have the courage to take action. Be the disruptor that leads your industry to new heights … and your company to even greater success.

Shelley Armato is CEO at MySmartPlans, a provider of best-inclass, SaaS construction technology that eliminates risk, creates transparency and protects the budget. She provides professional construction services to some of the most prestigious business owners in the healthcare, scholastic, government, and commercial market sectors throughout the United States. Contact her at www.mysmartplans.com.

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COMMUNICATING COMPASSION…

to Customers in Tough Times: Six Connections Suggestions for Showing Empathy

By Kate Zabriskie 58

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Hi. This is Trish with Copytech and we’re running a special on ink I thought you might be interested in.

Really, Trish? Our business is down so much that we’re barely making copies right now. Thanks for being tonedeaf. No, I don’t want to hear about your specials.

In February you had expressed interest in our trust platform for reviews. Now is the perfect time to pick up the conversation.

It is? Now is actually the perfect time for me to focus on keeping our doors open. It’s not the time for your product.

Of course, you would know that if you’d asked how business was before pushing your agenda. I’m going to think long and hard before using your service. I don’t trust you.

I’m calling because you’ve sponsored us for the last ten years. We haven’t heard anything from you and are relying on your donation.

Did it dawn on you that I might not be in a position to give?

I appreciate that you need my money. Please appreciate that I do too. I guess you would know that if you had picked up the phone and checked in at some point.

There’s no mistake about it; COVID-19 has devastated certain business sectors, and many would-be buyers, customers, and donors are hurting. To add insult to injury, there are a lot of tone-deaf people sending emails and making calls. Although most likely not deliberately obtuse, they’re insensitive and ineffective just the same.

In times like these, a little empathy can go a long way and have lasting effects. After all, we will come out of this eventually, and when we do, people will remember who was kind and who was cruel. With a little bit of effort, you can up your empathy game and ability to connect with others.

Connection Suggestion One: Recognize that today is not yesterday.

While some people haven’t experienced much change during the pandemic, others have had their entire worlds turned upside down. To put it another way, we’re in the same storm but not in the same boat. Some of us have situations that are akin to a yacht and others are struggling in an overcrowded kayak with a leak.

Don’t assume people have the situations they did in February or one similar to someone else’s.

Connection Suggest Two: Call to check in, not to sell. “Hi, this is Brad with Speedy Oil Change. Prior to COVID, we were seeing you in here about every three months. It’s been a while, and I want to check in. A lot of people have had some pretty significant changes to their driving patterns, and I want to let you know we’re here when you need us. If you need your fluids and tire pressure checked before your oil is due, just stop in. We’d love to see you.” Thanks, Brad! Everyone else who has called me is a bill collector or trying to sell me. You sound like you might actually like to see me. I’ve always liked Speedy Oil Change. They’re quality people.

Connection Suggestion Three: If your customer base has become price sensitive, if possible, give people options that allow them to remain your customer.

Some customers will come right out and tell you they can’t afford something.

Others may feel too proud or believe that Winter 2020

their finances are none of your business.

“Maggie, I can give the boys slightly shorter cuts. They ought to last an extra two weeks. What do you think?” Before you think a move like that won’t serve you in the long run, imagine Maggie decides she simply can’t afford professional cuts.

She might invest in some scissors and attempt to navigate a trim herself. A cut every six weeks is better than no cut at all.

Connection Suggestion Four: Know that you may not be seeing customers at their best. Kids doing distance learning, the entire family working around the kitchen table, the dog barking during meetings – you name it, someone you know is probably dealing with it. Month after month, it’s just not that much fun.

In fact, it can be downright depressing.

Work to give people the benefit of the doubt. They may not be running on all cylinders. A little generosity on your part may turn an otherwise potentially stressful situation around.

Connection Suggestion Five: Avoid the templates you used last year, they’re probably wrong. Instead, think about what’s bothering or concerning your customers. If your template doesn’t answer those pains, scrap it and start over. “We know cooking night after night can get a little old. We’re here to give you a break. We’ve got curbside delivery and four family-friendly specials to choose from. Instead of worrying what’s for dinner, let us handle the oven tonight.” That’s speaking the right language. I am sick of cooking.

Connection Suggestion Six: Offer choices and highlight how those choices are helping people. “Since March, a lot more of our customers have been taking advantage of our financing plan for braces. I think some people really like how the plan is low interest and spreads payments out over a few years. Would you have any interest in seeing some details?”

With a little practice, anyone can build their connection skills and strengthen their relationship with customers during these tough times. When it finally ends, they’ll remember how you behaved.

Kate Zabriskie is the president of Business Training Works, Inc., a Maryland-based talent development firm.

She and her team help businesses establish customer service strategies and train their people to live up to what’s promised. For more information, visit www.businesstrainingworks.com.

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PROPEL YOUR EVENTS

WITH DRONES…

By Niesha Whitman

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An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or “drone,” usually refers to a pilotless aircraft that operates through a combination of technologies. Guided by remote control or onboard computers, these devices can be used in a variety of ways. In the past, drones have been associated with the military, used for anti-aircraft target practice, intelligence-gathering and as weapons platforms. Today, drones are no longer unique to the military, as small unmanned aircrafts are proving themselves useful to everyone from farmers and filmmakers, to real estate developers, and continues to increase in popularity at events and festivals, as well.

As drone use becomes increasingly popular at events and festivals, it is critical for event organizers to follow proper protocol to hire and use properly insured Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified pilots to ensure a safe, entertaining event. People want authentic experiences and desire to connect with people in meaningful ways for those brief moments that they’re not on their phones.

Festival attendees love enjoying the music, the art, the performance and the food - all those things that connect us as people on the most fundamental level. This article will take a look at rules and regulations governing drone pilots and the usage of drones as well as different ways they can be used for events.

Event-Related Uses Include: 1. Livestreaming 2. Logistics monitoring 3. Sponsorship 4. Photos 5. Videos Risk Management Uses Include: 1. Surveillance and security 2. Traffic and weather monitoring 3. Lost and found Rules and regulations for flying drones vary from state to state and whether the drone is used for commercial or business purposes. Before hiring a drone operator, develop a plan of what you wish to capture and ensure the contractor you hire is well-trained with a clear understanding of your goals. Once proper permission has been obtained (we’ll cover that later), map out safe locations onsite from which to take off and land drones during the event. There are many safe, creative ways to capture great footage at festivals, concerts and events without flying over the crowd. Also make sure the hosting facility allows drones, and that the

space can accommodate the necessary clearance required to fly a drone. This includes ceiling height for indoor events as well as signs or other displays that could obstruct the drone’s view.

It’s important when looking to hire a pilot that the organizer verifies the pilot is certified and in compliance with FAA standards outlined below. Why? Because in the event something does go wrong, the FAA will expect that you have performed your due diligence when hiring the drone operator. Additionally, look for an operator who has relevant experience and can mitigate some of the restrictions by knowing, for example, to fly along the perimeter of an event or to fly over buildings near stages to allow drones to get closer to the action while remaining at a legal and safe distance from crowds, in compliance with FAA regulations.

In 2014, the National Board of Transportation defined any device used for flight as an aircraft, whether it be manned or unmanned. If you are flying a drone for commercial use, you will need to register the drone with the FAA here. If you are flying for recreation or hobby, you do not.

Recreational or hobby drones can be interpreted as flying for enjoyment and not for work or business purposes, or for compensation or hire. In the FAA’s interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft, the FAA relied on the ordinary, dictionary definition of these terms. A drone used for hobby is a “pursuit outside

one’s regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation.”

As an organizer you should get familiar with the variety of laws you will need to adhere to while using them at events, although a certified pilot should already know and be familiar with them. Laws can differ from state to state.

Certified drone operators should at a minimum possess the following: ​ • An FAA 107 certificate in the name of the operator. Also known as Part 107 Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule governs commercial drone pilot operations, it is also known as a “drone license.” The FAA Part 107 drone license allows operators to sell aerial drone photos and videos and to charge money for their services.

• Company must possess Certificates of Waiver or Authorization (COA) to operate in area with airspace in Class E, D, C and B (see chart on next page for airspace classes). The COA is an authorization issued by the Air Traffic Organization to a public operator for a specific drone activity.

• Knowledge of the maximum operating altitude permitted at your location.

Being proactive can ensure they will be able to capture the shots you need at the event.

• An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) aviation insurance policy. Many municipalities require general liability

Hobby or Recreation

Not Hobby or Recreation

Flying a model aircraft at the local model aircraft club.

Receiving money for demonstrating aerobatics with a model aircraft.

Taking photographs with a model aircraft for personal use.

A realtor using a model aircraft to photograph a property that he is trying to sell and using the photos in the property’s real estate listing.

A person photographing a property or event and selling the photos to someone else.

Using a model aircraft to move a box from point to point without any kind of compensation.

Delivering packages to people for a fee.

Viewing a field to determine whether crops need water when they are grown for personal enjoyment.

Determining whether crops need to be watered that are grown as part of commercial farming operation.

FAA*Definition courtesy of https://www.faa.gov/uas/ Winter 2020

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Photo courtesy of FFA.GOV insurance certificates which provide protection against claims. However, a lot of general liability policies exclude aircraft which poses another challenge – no coverage for bodily injury or property damage. As a result, most drone companies carry two liability policies, hull and liability.

The hull provides coverage for any damage to the drone itself while the liability offers coverage for bodily and property damage.

Drone operators should adhere to the following at your event: • Keep the drone in eyesight at all times. A pilot must always be able to see the drone while it’s in the air.

Very few companies have approval to operate at night. If your event requires flying and filming at night, make sure you get a copy of the Part 107 Waiver and check that it’s current. “These

• •

•

•

waivers allow drone pilots to deviate from certain rules under part 107 by demonstrating they can still fly safely using alternative methods.”

Remain well clear of and not interfere with manned aircraft operations.

Cannot intentionally fly over unprotected persons or moving vehicles, and remain at least 25 feet away from individuals and vulnerable property.

Sensitive infrastructure or vulnerable property includes power stations, water treatment facilities, correctional facilities, heavily traveled roadways, government facilities, etc.

Check and follow all local laws and ordinances before flying over private property. Obtain permission before flying within five miles of an airport or heliport, as well as federal buildings and national parks.

Do not fly in adverse weather conditions such as in high winds

Using drone photography for events gives your audience a spectacular view of the action and scale of your event. Their small size and ability to tolerate harsh environments give them the ability to get much closer to the action than any photographer.

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or reduced visibility or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Photographs and video taken with traditional cameras may only catch limited parts of the action, and standard solutions for aerial photography can be difficult and too expensive to use for events. Drone photography is electrifying for events because it enables a bird’s eye view of images and video to be captured that might not be otherwise possible for human photographers and videographers. Capturing the action at a race, concert, festival or other large-scale events may pose challenges. Using drone photography for events gives your audience a spectacular view of the action and scale of your event.

Their small size and ability to tolerate harsh environments give them the ability to get much closer to the action than any photographer.

Additional ways drones can be used at your event include: 1. Entertainment – Drones are great for entertainment, particularly visual shows. Visual aerial light shows coordinated with music draw crowds and creates shareable moments.

Attendees take videos of drones performing with their smartphones and share them on Facebook, Instagram, and more. Lady Gaga used Intel’s shooting star drone to create a half time show at Superbowl LI which had over 300 dancing drones flying in formation and transformed stars into the flag.

2. Advertising – Drones can create a social media buzz by getting

Once you have an understanding of the laws and start looking for a drone pilot, start with your multimedia/audiovisual staff or contractor for referrals as there’s not necessarily a website where you can find pilots. attendees excited about your event with footage posted online before the event. Images can capture aerial photos of the event setup, stages coming together, and décor and signage put on display. Showing your attendees event footage from setup to breakdown makes the event more personable for guests. Attendees, vendors and sponsors will appreciate the ability to see the event space beforehand so that they can become familiar with the event space and have a better idea of how to prepare for the event. Additionally, people love to see progress, and exciting footage encourages those who have already purchased tickets to share the images on their social media, thus increasing word-of- mouth marketing and may get those who haven’t purchased a ticket motivated to do so.

3. Sponsorship – Generally, event sponsorships allow sponsors to place their logos in specific places during events such as banners, posters, fliers, t-shirts etc. Strategically placing a sponsor logo on a drone is a great way to get sponsors in front of attendees. Putting a sponsor’s name on a drone or drone-captured footage brings brand awareness that attendees will remember. Taking it a step further, you could use drones for valet service and to drop off food, drinks or giveaways. Drones can provide a virtual tour of the event space to attendees or sponsors so that they may get a glimpse of behind-the-scene footage and the progression of the event coming together. Essentially, this footage gives your guests a virtual backstage pass, and adding images or video captured by drones brings an extra

exciting element.

4. Livestreaming – Keep in mind drones can’t be flown over people but drones can move around the event and add so much more to the experience by making the viewers feel like they are actually part of the event.

5. Logistical Monitoring - Drones can be used to monitor traffic in parking lots and the entry /exit points if lines get long and additional staff can quickly be dispatched.

6. Surveillance and Security – Drones can operate as mobile security cameras allowing you to identify anything that might be out of place or pose a danger to attendees.

Drones can also assist with Lost and Found since they can fly over places that are hard to reach by foot, like congested crowds.

7. Videos – You can capture gorgeous aerial footage and scout potential event locations by capturing the entire site and hard to photograph areas with drones. This could be particularly useful if working on a team where you need to share visuals of the possible venue and details of each location.

8. Traffic and Weather Monitoring - Drones are better able to predict storm forces than traditional methods.

Today, meteorologists employ radar, satellites, mobile measurements and weather balloons to surround storms and collect as much data as possible.

Nothing ruins an outdoor event faster than inclement weather. However, intentional planning for weather conditions is key for a successful outdoor event or meeting.

When it comes to hiring a pilot or launching your own drone, consider your Winter 2020

intention. Plan ahead, consult the resources available to you and be cautious. Do your homework, understand the laws, work with a licensed, properly insured pilot who understands the rules and your event.

Once you have an understanding of the laws and start looking for a drone pilot, start with your multimedia/audiovisual staff or contractor for referrals as there’s not necessarily a website where you can find pilots. If you don’t have in-house media look into your local production association.

In Arizona, we have the Arizona Production Association. Many pilots operate by word-of-mouth; they are a small tightknit community but the word gets out and word-of-mouth makes effective connections. At the end of the day, you are putting an object in the sky that has the potential to come crashing down to earth or making impact with something, so exercise extreme caution. Always remember to respect your attendees and their privacy.

While drones are new and exciting, they can be disruptive or bothersome to some.

Everyone wants to have a good time and create memories, not end up in jail or on a YouTube drone fails compilation such as this. Be smart, and you will have a great time taking to the skies.

Niesha Whitman, CPRP is the Special Event Coordinator for Community Services for the City of Maricopa in Maricopa, Arizona.

Resources & References: https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/ user_identification_tool/ https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/ register_drone/ https://www.newegg.com/insider/faadrone-regulations-you-must-know/ https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_ id=29229 https://www.embroker.com/blog/drone-insurance/ https://www.extremeaerialproductions. com/post/why-hire-certified-drone-operator https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/part_107_waivers/ https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/

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FESTIVALS WITHOUT BORDERS

WITH ROBERT BAIRD

A HOPEFUL SNAPSHOT

OF NORTH AMERICA

O

utside of my log home north of Toronto, the birds continue to sing, the garden continues to grow and the chipmunks scurry across the driveway incessantly.

Life seems quite normal in my little “bubble.” The world beyond my property, however, is completely altered.

COVID-19 has changed many things: There are fewer people about, everyone wears a mask and keeps social distancing, and doing the simplest of things has become difficult. There is always the tension of being near other people (will I contract COVID19?), wearing a mask whenever one goes indoors (don’t touch the mask!), paying for goods (will they accept cash or credit card only?) and always planning in advance so as to minimize the number of trips needed to keep supplies stocked up, getting the mail, doing banking, etc. It is amazing that ordinary life could so rapidly become so difficult.

As the pandemic progressed, we have had to deal with the outbreak of cases in more vulnerable sectors of our population such as patients in long-term care facilities, the homeless who have nowhere to go except the street, and the less affluent who have to endure crowded living conditions and fewer resources to cope with enforced unemployment, either through personal sickness or the loss of jobs caused by the pandemic shutdowns.

In the performing arts world, nothing is as it was. Conferences where we all used to gather are now being organized virtually, with a few exceptions. Mainstream artists in popular music and tribute acts are no longer able to tour and festivals worldwide have shut down. Concerts as we knew them are a thing of the past: now masking and social distancing are required for artists and audience alike and this severely affects what groups can perform and to what size audience. Planning for an uncertain future when the course of the pandemic is unknown becomes a task based on a “wing and a prayer.”

Generally, it is a waiting game with interim measures being instituted to bridge the effects of the pandemic on the performing arts world until people can once more gather to be entertained and/or edified by artistic performers. One unfortunate consequence of being unable to function normally means that many artists, agencies, conferences, festivals and venues simply will not be able to survive and, when the smoke clears, the landscape will be significantly altered.

Coping with the new normal is underway. Artists have turned to virtual performances and there are literally thousands of opportunities to access artists on the internet. Listings of upcoming performances are available from many organizations and there are new initiatives begun which provide artists with a platform for performance and an opportunity to earn some income from 64

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virtual performances. Exclusive virtual performances have been contracted by some venues. Venues have shut down and have had to consider options for either shuttering until performances can happen or offering alternatives for garnering income, e.g. small groups meetings, streaming performances to socially-distanced, mask-wearing audiences, etc. Venues able to remain open have to adhere to stringent health measures to ensure the safety of artists, audience and staff in this pandemic. All venues are making every effort possible to maintain their relationships with subscribers and supporters. Agencies have furloughed staff, relocated to more economically-viable geographical areas, or changed their focus to the promotion of virtual performances for their artists. Drive-in concerts have been undertaken in several jurisdictions with great success. The Mayo Performing Arts Center in New Jersey hosted 150 socially-distanced vehicles viewing a live performance onstage with rock keyboardist John Ginty and his band. The event was held at a local farm.

The good news is that we are in a creative field and dealing with the vicissitudes of life is simply something with which we have to cope. Historically, the arts have always been in a state of flux as society’s institutions and expectations changed. The heyday of big bands or lounge pianists passed away long ago as society’s tastes and routines were affected by new generations and the historical and societal events which shaped them.

Having to perform with fewer people to smaller audiences under COVID-19 restrictions is simply another societal crisis with which artists have to cope.

The fact that artists are flexible and creative under adverse circumstances is a testament to their commitment to artistic expression and a harbinger of a glorious return to a multitude of live performance around the world when the pandemic ultimately comes under control and everyone feels confident in a return to being with crowds in confined spaces.

Until then, we await the day when artists will grace our stages once more!

Robert Baird is President of BAM! Baird Artists Management Consulting in Toronto, Canada and an acknowledged expert in international touring including visas, withholding and taxation.

He offers free advice to artists, agents, managers and venues and has an international clientele. He served for many years on the Executive Board of Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO) and is a former Vice-President of that organization. He can be reached at: P: 1-800-867-3281 E: robert@bairdartists.com or for more information go to: www.bairdartists.com

ASSOCIATION ENDORSED PARTNERS

ASSOCIATION SPONSORS

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS & EVENTS ASSOCIATION

ASSOCIATION SUPPORTERS | BENEFIT PROVIDERS

Interested in sponsoring? Contact Kaye Campbell, Director of Partnerships & Programs at (208) 433-0950 ext. 1 or kaye@ifea.com

GET ENERGIZED! 5 Tips to Create Energy in Your Virtual Presentations

By Angela DeFinis 66

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Whether you’re new to working remotely or have been doing it for years, you know one thing is true: Giving virtual presentations via Zoom and other online meeting platforms can be a challenge. Many professionals feel that online meetings lack the excitement and passion that comes naturally during face-toface communication. And they’re right!

more to create performance energy than you imagine. And don’t forget to smile and raise your eyebrows right before you sign on. If you’re happy, tell your face!

The fact is that energy is contagious.

When you’re speaking to a live audience, whether it’s a group of 5 or 500, your adrenaline is high and your presentation reflects that excitement. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to mimic that feeling when you’re giving a virtual presentation in your bedroom with perhaps your sleeping cat stretched out diagonally on your bed. In that instance you might suddenly feel “sleepy” too and you might start behaving this way. You may even speak in a whisper so you don’t wake the cat! While stillness and calm are great skills to use for your meditation practice, they won’t win the hearts and minds of your listener on any virtual platform.

So, what is the secret to giving high impact virtual presentations? Use more energy! Create a stimulating virtual meeting by infusing excitement into both your content and your delivery. Remember that the purpose of your virtual presentation, just like your live presentation, is keeping your audience engaged and involved. If you focus on the idea that it is your job to keep your audience interested in both the message and the messenger, then you will take the necessary steps to make that happen.

Here are a few energy-boosting tips to keep in mind:

5. Work with Other Family Members to Set Boundaries on Private Work Time Unfortunately, family or housemates can be a big energy drain when you’re presenting. Develop a system of ‘red, yellow, green’ and announce what kind of meeting you are entering. Red is highly important (new customer meeting) and that means everyone needs to be quiet and not interrupt. Yellow is less important (work team meeting) but still quiet is required.

Green (close colleague) means anyone can come into your space and you will not have to apologize to the person you are talking to. Setting boundaries with a color code will help everyone know the rules and follow them. When you don’t have to focus on anyone else, you can focus on sustaining your energy throughout the presentation.

When conducting virtual meetings, you simply can’t depend on the stimulating influence of outside energy to give you the boost you need to perform. But you can use the time-tested tools of planning, preparation, and practice to help do the job for you. Use these best practices.

And whatever you do, don’t let the cat fall asleep in your workspace.

1. Make Time to Prepare Your Content Develop your virtual meeting content the same way you would for a live presentation—well in advance. Don’t let the casual physical environment of home dictate a laissez-faire attitude. If you don’t plan, you and your message may sound disorganized and unconvincing. Structure your virtual presentation in three distinct parts with an Opening, Body, and Close. When you plan your Opening, start with a “Hook,” establish a clear purpose, and develop an agenda. Then develop The Body—the “meat in the middle” where the action really

happens—by including stories, examples, data, statistics, and graphs. Bring your presentation to a Close by summarizing what you have covered and asking for action. Remember, the way you structure your message is critical not only to helping your listeners follow along but also to keeping them engaged and connected.

2. Disrupt the Pattern Pattern Disruption is a concept that works well in virtual presentations. The idea is to disrupt the normal flow of information so that listeners are taken by surprise or jolted out of their complacency. Because of the flat 2D format, virtual presentations have to be “made” exciting, and pattern disruption is one strategy that never fails. What can you do to disrupt the ever-boring nature of the predictable “data dump” presentation? Tell a vivid story, share a startling statistic, show a mind-altering image, raise your voice, or quicken your pace. While you don’t have as many skills and techniques available to use in a virtual presentation, you still have enough; and if you use them in creative ways you can rouse your listeners and hold their attention. Aim to disrupt the pattern every 4-5 minutes. When you plan these disruptions as part of your content, you’ll quickly have your listeners eating out of the palm of your virtual hand.

3. Prime the Energy Pump Your physical, vocal, and verbal skills will go a long way in helping you create and maintain energy throughout your virtual presentation. Use them! Prior to your presentation jump-start your physical and vocal energy by warming up. Speak in a loud voice, practice tongue twisters, sing a song, take a walk outside or around your house, go up and down stairs, make faces in the mirror… do anything to get your heart rate and your energy up. If you speak loudly and move quickly, you will do Winter 2020

4. Organize and Clean Out Your Work Space Clutter is energy draining; organization is energy boosting. Therefore, remove all coffee cups, golf clubs, electric guitars, dog beds, dirty laundry, games and puzzles.

Create one area, no matter how small, that is yours and that you can keep organized, neat, and clean. If you can’t keep a neat space use a green screen background of a “faux” organized office space.

Angela DeFinis is President of DeFinis Communications. The company offers executive speech coaching, presentation skills training, and virtual video conferencing training. Through corporate sponsored and open-enrollment programs, the firm’s unique skill building approach helps business professionals become poised, polished, and powerful communicators capable of leading effective meetings and delivering compelling presentations. To sign up for an online session please go to www.definiscommunications.com.

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MANAGING IN THE NEW NORMAL: Tactics for Better Telework and Remote-Employee Engagement

By Kate Zabriskie 68

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It was one thing to see her entire family during meetings when everyone first went into lockdown, but we’re months into this.

Shouldn’t she have come up with some kind of work-at-home plan by now? I did. The situation is maddening! Her kids, dog, and husband do not mix well with work.

At first, I was thrilled with my new commute and the idea of working from home. At this point, I’m a little lonely and disconnected. Worse still, there doesn’t seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel.

If I have to have another on-camera meeting, I may scream. Enough is enough. What happened to good old email? It was working just fine. I don’t need to see his face or his kitchen to communicate basic information. I’m worn out.

Sound familiar? It just might if you and your team members are participating in the new normal of remote work. For those of us not expecting it, the switch came fast a furious, and we did the best we could.

Some parts of the transition went well, and others are prime examples of what not to do when working from home.

At this point, many managers find themselves in an uncomfortable calculus.

Remote work isn’t going anywhere, and it’s not going as well as it needs to. The good news is there are concrete actions managers can take to steadily improve to make the new normal productive and enjoyable.

Tip One: Think in Stages We’ve had the introductory phase and at some point, we’ll be bringing people back to the office. Now, we’re living in that middle space, and it’s time to focus on smoothing out the rough edges.

When talking with your team, stay positive about stage one, and take the opportunity to congratulate people for making it this far.

Then, once you’ve recognized the positives, you can begin to discuss steps to improve.

For example, “Everyone, I appreciate how quickly you transitioned from working in the office to working remotely. We get a grade “A” for speed and attitude. Now that we’re a few months in, it’s time to start thinking long term about what remote work should look like between now and the end of the year.”

Tip Two: Revisit Expectations In a perfect world, organizations that move to telework have policies, procedures, guidelines, and even training to prepare people for the transition. During the pandemic, however, the cart may have come before the horse. But nothing says you can’t get the horse back on its feet and start planning after the fact. The key

to this process is communication and seeking input. This is especially important if you’ve been operating in something that looks and feels like the Wild West.

As a manager you may (and probably will) encounter resistance from people who are happy conquering the frontier and operating without a lot of policies, procedures, or rules. Go slow, use the questions found listed in tip four, and be prepared to handle a range of reactions.

Tip Three: Be Honest About What’s Working and What Isn’t When something is wrong on a team, it rarely fixes itself, and this is especially true when work goes remote. A member seems checked out, someone is missing deadlines, or people seem disconnected: whatever the problem, it probably won’t magically disappear. As the person in charge, you have the obligation and responsibility to find the issues. If you don’t, your team will never function at its full potential.

Tip Four: Ask Questions People rarely argue with their own data.

And for that reason, you can accomplish more with questions than you ever will by simply telling it like it is. Here are a few questions any manager should ask related to working in the new normal: • Do people need to keep set hours to perform their jobs remotely?

• Are there core hours when we expect people to be available and free from home interruptions?

• Can people switch to part-time status if they’re having difficulty balancing work and home?

• Must people work a certain number or hours, complete a number of tasks, or both?

• What are the protocols for updating task status?

Winter 2020

• What are the rules for returning calls, emails, and other communication?

• What communication channels make sense for various interactions?

• Do people need to be on camera when they meet as a team?

• How often does the team need to meet?

• What technology is standard?

• How can we infuse a little fun into our interactions?

• How much communication is too much or too little?

Tip Five: Develop a Regular Rhythm, and Seek Continuous Improvement Few teams get the telework equation right on their first try, and yours probably won’t either. Adopting an “evaluate – plan – act” mindset will allow your team to systematically reflect on what’s working and make adjustments. Start practicing that cycle at regular intervals as you transition your team’s norms. Once you’ve established a rhythm, you’ll most likely find people become used to the process and frequency of change.

Tip Six: Connect People to Their Work When a team is not together, employees can feel disconnected from each other and from the purpose of their work. As a manager, you have an opportunity to reestablish those connections. Do this publicly when possible. “Thank you, Chris for finding the new online collaboration tool. It’s going to make our online brainstorming sessions a lot easier. This is important because new ideas are the core of what we’re working on for the next six months. Good job.”

Tip Seven: Repeat Important Messages Even with advances in technology, remote communications often compete with a multitude of distractions. Know that you may need to repeat messages and send them using more than one channel.

With some focus, tenacity and those seven ideas, any manager can successfully navigate the new normal. Now what will you do to chart a course?

Kate Zabriskie is the president of Business Training Works, Inc., a Maryland-based talent development firm.

She and her team help businesses establish customer service strategies and train their people to live up to what’s promised. For more information, visit www.businesstrainingworks.com.

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The ZOO Responds!

By Jennifer Kemnitz

Behind her mask, Anna Stradley prepares a treat for the seals and sea lions.

Taking care of elephants isn’t exactly something you can do from home.

When the Zoo closed to the public due to COVID-19, all of the 1,000+ animals that call the Zoo home still needed food, water, health care and enrichment. “What our staff does, it’s all essential for the well-being of the animals,” said Steve Taylor, Assistant Director of Conservation, Education and Collections. “And most of our staff were asked to do things in addition to what they normally do.”

In March, changes were swiftly put into place to protect both staff and animals from COVID-19. Keepers were split into two teams in each of the animal areas, working opposite shifts so that there was no overlap. Similarly, guest services, maintenance, horticulture, education and Animal Health Center staff were divided into teams. “That way, if anyone got sick and we had to quarantine a team, we wouldn’t lose all of our keepers in one area, or everyone in education, or both our vets,” Taylor explained. “We were being safe and careful while making sure the animals were fed, cleaned and managed. But it didn’t leave time for much else.”

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Thank you sign posted by guest in the staff parking lot.

No Telehealth for Orangutans For Senior Staff Veterinarian Dr. Zoli Gyimesi, getting up to speed on how the coronavirus could potentially spread to animals was a new priority. Since primates are susceptible to other airborne human illnesses, special measures were taken immediately.

“Everyone who prepares food or medicine around primates has to be healthy, wear a mask and gloves,” Gyimesi said.

Scientific research has also shown that COVID-19 may be transferable to bats, ferrets and cats, with several reported cases in New York City. So, staff have been especially cautious around these mammals, too.

With reduced staff power, Gyimesi and the Animal Health Center staff focused on essential tasks and needs, holding off on certain elective procedures.

For example, Teak, the 32-year old orangutan, has an ongoing respiratory issue and was due for a CT scan of his air sacs in May. This would have meant taking him off Zoo grounds to an imaging facility. Together with his keepers, the Health Center staff determined that was an unnecessary risk at the present time.

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“He’s doing well,” Gyimesi said. “But we’ll be ready to get back to our normal routine. Of course, we don’t know what that looks like yet.”

A New Zoo Normal As staff adjusted to new procedures, they weren’t the only ones to notice a difference around the Zoo. “We all miss the guests,” said Director John Walczak.

“And we’ve seen subtle changes in the ways the animals behave too.”

During the closure, every effort was made to maintain a sense of normalcy for the animals. Training, husbandry and enrichment took place every day as usual.

But there was no way to recreate a vital part of the animals’ experience — the public. Many of the animals are used to seeing people regularly on the walkways.

Now, for three months, the Zoo had been considerably quieter.

“I was walking by the Amur tigers one day, and our male tiger, Vikentii, saw me. He came right down the hill from the top of the yard, directly toward me,” said Walczak. “He was very focused. It reminded me that these animals — bears, orangutans, tigers, gorillas — these are all

Colleen McKenna feeds lorikeets some nectar. brilliant animals. Their observation skills are finely tuned.”

Steve Taylor refers to this behavior as hypervigilance. “There’s a primitive instinct that kicks in, that’s hardwired in both predator and prey,” he described.

“With fewer distractions, they’ll pay more attention to that one person, especially the prey animals.”

Considering that the Zoo is ordinarily closed only three days of the year, it’s no surprise most animals were aware that something was different. “We had to consider that as we were planning to re-open,” Taylor said. “We needed to do it slowly, to recondition the animals to having people back in the park.”

Haley Smith pushes a wheelbarrow in Gorilla Forest.

From a medical perspective, Dr. Gyimesi agrees there may at least be one positive outcome. “Not working when you’re sick is a wise policy, regardless of whether there’s a health crisis or not.”

The re-opening plan took the combined efforts of everyone at the Zoo, along with Mayor Greg Fischer and the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness.

Although some favorite events like summer camps, Zoofari! and the 5K Throo the Zoo

Run had to be canceled or postponed, Walczak is grateful for the community’s patience and understanding. “We’re lucky to have such tremendous support.”

The pandemic underscores another important connection for Walczak, one he’s made before. “We have a lot of dedicated people who are committed to our mission and ensuring that the animals are healthy,” he said. “It’s a privilege to be their director.”

New & Renewed Connections Not every challenge at the Zoo posed

by COVID-19 was a restraint. “The pandemic gave us a chance to amp up our efforts in social media, so we can stay better connected to the community,” Walczak said. The response has been hugely successful. “It’s great for everyone to have a chance to meet our keepers and educators up close. They’re walking encyclopedias, and they love sharing their knowledge with the public.”

Speaking of learning opportunities, Walczak also hopes that a new interest in science will increase our understanding of biology. “Maybe we should be teaching more epidemiology and pathology, and all the ways that diseases spread in our environments.” He added, “For me personally, it’s actually made me much more cognizant of my own health and hygiene.”

Stephanie Green sweeps up some hay in Glacier Run. Winter 2020

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LEADERSHIP AT ALL LEVELS

WITH GAIL LOWNEY ALOFSIN

VH1 – WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

TUNING UP YOUR NETWORK sheets. Reach out to former clients. You can play your own version of “VH1 – Where Are They Now?”

In addition to tuning up your network, use this time to update your own LinkedIn website and online presence. The value of LinkedIn extends far beyond finding a job. Use it to stay in touch and meet new friends.

Over the past months, networking in person has been very challenging. Events, conferences and meetings have been cancelled, rescheduled or transitioned to virtual. Though we lose a lot of personal interaction at virtual events and meetings, all is not lost.

Now is the time to continue to reach out to friends, colleagues and clients to let them know you are thinking about them.

Over the past decades, I have worked with thousands of clients and students. Sharing my network is a privilege. I enjoy “connecting” and introducing people. One of my former colleagues recently complimented: “Before there was LinkedIn and Facebook, there was Gail!”

What can you do to maintain your relationships? Let’s review a few best practices you can utilize as you conclude 2020 and jumpstart 2021.

• You Had Me at Hello Most of us are familiar with the adage “You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.” Studies show that first impressions are made within 7 seconds of meeting someone for the first time. Do what you can to influence your first impression. Listen intently. As we listen to others, we learn about their goals and aspirations. How can we assist them?

As our network grows, how can we help others enhance their career or achieve their goals through our contacts? “Give” first in networking and your “gain” will be exponential. Give to gain – don’t worry about erring on the side of generosity.

• Hello, It’s Me Regularly “check in” with past and current clients. “How are you doing?” versus “I would like to discuss a business opportunity.” Ask about their family, current work situation and challenges. Inquire about their hobbies, books they are reading, favorite Netflix shows. Let people know you care about them as a person versus a payment.

• VH1 – Where are They Now? From 1998 -2001, there was a television series on VH1 featuring past celebrities. The interviews provided updates on their current professional and personal status.

When you find yourself with extra time, use this time to navigate your LinkedIn connections, business cards and lead 72

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• What Have I Done for YOU Lately?

How do people feel after interacting with you? Years ago, I was at my first IEG (International Events Group) conference in Chicago. The focus of the conference is best practices in sponsorship and experiential marketing. There are more properties than sponsors who attend. The opening cocktail party was attended by over 1,800 people. There was a man who walked around the entire room, shuffled up to the attendees, looked at their name badge and would state loudly “not a sponsor” as he shuffled away. Wow – that was a lesson in innate networking insincerity!

• Are You Valuable? Are You Interesting?

Join organizations. Get involved and stay involved. If you are attending board meetings and networking events via a virtual platform, turn your video on. Be present. Give to receive. There is more to networking than just showing up. Your follow up will set you apart.

• Bring Your Own Blanket (BYOB) Take it outside! This past spring and summer, our team met with clients and industry colleagues at what we coined our “branch office” overlooking the marina where we produce the Newport International Boat Show. I have met with friends on our home deck and porch. This allows us to tune our network in a safe way. As the practice will continue into the cold months, we will bring our own blankets!

Be grateful for the opportunity to network. Whether you are a student or a seasoned employee, you have a network. Your network is comprised of friends, friends of friends, classmates, alumni, organizations, community, non-profit organizations and professionals in both your field of business and other corporations.

Are you ready to network? Pack your networking toolkit with a smile, positive attitude and neat attire. Turn on your camera and have a terrific time!

As a sales & marketing executive for Newport Restaurant Group, Adjunct Professor at the University of Rhode Island, active volunteer, board member and international speaker (gailspeaks.com), Gail Lowney Alofsin does her best to merge these separate worlds while assisting others with natural and sincere networking. Her book, Your “Someday” is NOW! What are YOU Waiting For?, focused on best practices in life and business, has raised over $42,000 for non-profit organizations. Gail can be reached at 401-6404418 or gail@gailspeaks.com.

Remember the Helping Hands that Got You Where You are Today?

The IFEA Foundation “Fund for the Future” provides critical funding to ensure that the IFEA has reserves in place to protect against future economic shifts and realities in a constantly changing world! It allows the organization to keep pace with new and changing

technologies necessary to communicate with and serve our global industry and it supports a continued expansion of our services, resources, programming and outreach around the world. In a nutshell… it enables those who power celebration.

Now You Can Pay It Forward.

Help Sustain the “Premier Association Supporting and Enabling Festival & Events Worldwide”

Donate Today IFEA.com / Foundation / Ways to Give Questions? Contact Kaye Campbell, CFEE, Director of Partnerships & Programs

at kaye@ifea.com or +1-208-433-0950, ext. 8150

Seven Steps for a Stronger Weather Plan STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 STEP 6 STEP 7

Identify the Identify the Creating Different Stakeholder the X-Axis Areas of Groups in Your Event Each Area

Set Your Response Trigger Rings

Create Your Y-Axis

Fill in Your Response Plan

Brief Your Staff

70° 65° 63° 67° 72° 75° 73° 61° 58° 58° 60° 63° 63° 60°

By Eric Hjellming Picture an all too familiar scene: 72 hours before an event, refreshing the forecast on your browser, seeking the one weather service that makes you feel better, hoping that high chance of rain goes away. You’ve prepared load in plans, staffing schedules, confirmed your vendors, but have you taken the time to develop a comprehensive weather plan? Luckily, you don’t need to be a meteorologist to put your management skills to use in determining your weather response plans well in advance of your event. Utilizing weather & heat action matrices to predetermine your reaction to a set criteria of weather concerns will take the guesswork out of the equation when you’re anticipating adverse weather – and reduce your stress load leading in to your events.

There are many, many potential risks and factors that go in to a full risk management plan, but here we’re going to focus specifically on weather threats and proactive approaches to mitigating the risk to your on-site stakeholders. The weather concerns we are focusing on now are lightning, wind and rain.

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LIGHTNING When we discuss weather risks at live events, thunderstorms come to mind most often. Visually and audibly imposing, your patrons naturally respond to storms as they occur at any live event or even when they see a storm on the horizon. However, if you begin your weather response as the thunderstorm makes contact, you are likely responding too late to the impending risk.

For a moment, let’s rename a thunderstorm to a lightning storm, the latter of which keeps the key risk front of mind. Thunder peals may be indicative of lightning, but it’s the thunder bolt that poses a threat to your event. I offer the rebranded term to start modifying our mental perspective on storms.

When we think of a thunderstorm, we think strong rain, wind, thunder and lightning combined. But thunderstorms do not always produce rain. Lightning can strike 10 miles in front of rain, appearing out of clear air. As you monitor the weather, always remember that lightning is not reliant on a visible storm, do not just rely on visual cues to guide your weather response.

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I’ve heard many event managers who believe a weather threat appeared out of nowhere because they never received notification of a severe thunderstorm inbound. As an event manager, you need to be aware of the very specific criteria that must exist for a storm to be labeled severe. A severe thunderstorm is a thunderstorm that contains large hail, one inch in diameter or larger, and/ or damaging winds of 58 mph or greater.

We can all agree that a thunderstorm with 50mph winds and no hail can still wreak havoc on your event, but that storm would never be classified as “severe” in any weather forecast. The key take-away: If you’re waiting for a phone notification that a severe storm is inbound, you are missing a large range of storms that can cause damage and loss of property/life to your event ground.

WIND When you consider weather impacts on live events, wind doesn’t come to immediate mind. But with tents, video walls, speakers,

and more to consider, this element should rank higher on all of our radars.

What are the first pieces of equipment that come to mind which cause damage and injury as the wind picks up? Unsecured pop up tents! Take a 10’x10’ vendor tent and raise it to the maximum height. It won’t take strong wind to start tugging at that canopy. Unfortunately, it’s our vendor areas that typically carry the bad rap for unweighted tents so you should make sure you’re requiring vendors to weight their tents in contracts and verify onsite that vendors are in compliance.

But what may not come to mind at first is all of the stage equipment you have onsite – videoboards, speakers, rigging, scaffolding, platforms, etc. Each of these pieces of equipment were designed with specific wind tolerances. When renting equipment, you need to understand the wind tolerances from a structural engineer. Ask your rental vendors for the structural ratings on these items to determine the safe limits for the equipment you’re bringing onsite. Once you know the wind loads for your equipment, you can determine the wind speed that triggers your preventative measures and the higher speed that should cause immediate action to avoid damage or loss.

RAIN Rain is another weather concern you usually don’t associate with imminent risk,

but swamped event grounds or parking lots still pose varying degrees of danger to your participants and spectators, as well as potential damage to your event site. You want to have a preventative reaction to heavy rainfall before your portables and golf carts start floating away – a situation that has happened on one of my event sites. Additionally, inbound rain can always come with a risk of forming cloud-to-cloud or cloud-toground lightning.

CREATING YOUR WEATHER ACTION MATRIX At Drum Corps International, we produce 115 outdoor summer music competitions across the United States in just an eight week period between late June and midAugust. With approximately 110 of those occurring outdoors, we invariably will end up dealing with any of the above weather conditions at multiple events throughout our annual season. Several years ago we adopted the Weather Action Matrix from the Event Safety Alliance to organize our pre-event weather planning and guide our on-site response when we experience a weather concern. Here I’ll walk you through the process we utilize to craft our weather response for each of our events.

STEP ONE: Identify the Different Areas of Your Event When you’re planning out your weather action matrix, it’s important to identify and approach each area of your event site with a different plan. The performers on the main stage, the audience at the main stage, your vendor area, kid’s area, midway, etc. This becomes especially important the larger your event site is.

After all, if the distance from your main stage to the parking lot is two miles, then you’ll need to have different emergency responses to each location with sheer physical distance. By breaking the site out in to groups defined by different physical areas, you will start to tailor-make a cohesive weather response. Once you’ve determined the number of different areas you need to include in a weather response, you’ll have the total number of weather matrices you are creating for your event.

Now create your Weather Action Matrix page for each area you’ve identified. Across the header place “Weather Action Plan for VENUE”, filling in each area/venue name.

STEP TWO: Identify the Stakeholder Groups in Each Area Focusing at one identified response area at a time, determine all the different stakeholders groups you have in each area. For example, at the main stage you

Weather Action Plan for Mercedes-Benz Statium THREAT SURFACE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH OR TORNADO ACTIVITY

ALERT METHOD

FIELD (STAGE)

CORPS STAGING AREA

WARM-UP AREA

CORPS PARKING

JUDGING AREA

MARKETPLACE

SPECTATOR SEATING

VIDEO PRODUCTION

TICKETING

TEXT #3, RADIO, PA

MOVE TO EVENT LEVEL TUNNELS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

SHELTER IN PLACE STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

PROCEED TO GWCC & SHELTER IN HALL C1/C2

SHELTER IN BUSES

UPSTAIRS: MOVE TO THE CONCOURSE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS FIELD: SHELTER IN PLACE

MOVE INSIDE THE STADIUM AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

ANNOUNCEMENT #3 MOVE TO THE CONCOURSE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

MOVE TO THE CONCOURSE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

SHELTER IN PLACE MOVE AWAY FROM WINDOWS

PROCEED TO GWCC & SHELTER IN HALL C1/C2

SHELTER IN BUSES

UPSTAIRS: MOVE TO THE CONCOURSE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS FIELD: SHELTER IN PLACE

MOVE INSIDE THE STADIUM AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

ANNOUNCEMENT #2 MOVE TO THE CONCOURSE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

MOVE TO THE CONCOURSE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

SHELTER IN PLACE

WINDS 30 MPH OR GREATER

TEXT #2, RADIO, PA

SHELTER IN PLACE

SHELTER IN PLACE STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

LIGHTNING W/I 8 MILES

TEXT #2, RADIO, PA

SHELTER IN PLACE

SHELTER IN PLACE STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

PROCEED TO GWCC & SHELTER IN HALL C1/C2

SHELTER IN BUSES

UPSTAIRS: SHELTER IN PLACE FIELD: SHELTER IN PLACE

MOVE INSIDE THE STADIUM AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

ANNOUNCEMENT #2 SHELTER IN PLACE

SHELTER IN PLACE

SHELTER IN PLACE

WINDS NEARING 30 MPH

TEXT #1, RADIO

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

UPSTAIRS: MONITOR FIELD: MONITOR

BEGIN TO SECURE ITEMS AND TAKE TENTS DOWN

ANNOUNCEMENT #1 MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

WINDS GREATER 30 MPH

TEXT #1, RADIO

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

RADIO CALL PREPARE TO SECURE BOOTH

ANNOUNCEMENT #1 MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

STORM / LIGHTNING TRACKING TOWARDS SITE W/I 20 MILES

TEXT #1, RADIO

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

ANNOUNCEMENT #1 MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

RAIN EVENT TRACKING TOWARDS SITE W/I 20 MILES

TEXT #1, RADIO

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

ANNOUNCEMENT #1 MONITOR

MONITOR

MONITOR

ALL CLEAR

TEXT, RADIO, PA

WEATHER IS ALL CLEAR - ALL AREAS CAN RESTORE NORMAL ACTIVITIES Winter 2020

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have your patrons, vendors, control board, stagehands, the performing act on stage, your headliner preparing to go on, etc.

Additionally, you should consider any structures/equipment onsite that can be affected by weather. Video boards, speaker stacks, scaffolding, tents, you will want to figure out a sensible way to lay this equipment out in your weather plan. Through this process you will consider how to handle each of these stakeholder groups. While some may have the same response, you may handle other groups differently.

STEP THREE: Creating the X-Axis Grab your Weather Action Matrix sheets. Now you have the column headers at the top of your X-Axis. Fill in each of the stakeholder/structure groupings that you’ve identified for a weather response.

STEP FOUR: Set Your Response Trigger Rings Before we dive in to the types of risks, let’s codify the risk level by color levels: • Green: Low Risk, All Clear • Yellow: Impending Risk • Red: Immanent Risk • Black: Catastrophic Risk In order to guide our response, we need to set up response rings – rings around your event site at set distances that will guide your response up and down the color levels onsite.

First, start with a standard ring distance: • Green: Over 20 miles from your event site • Yellow: 20-8 miles from your event site • Red: Less than 8 miles from your event site Typically, we will not set a response ring for the black zone as that response at many of our events is less about distance of weather and more about severity of the weather inside any of the other response rings.

Now that you have the standard zone distances, you will start to tweak those distances to your exact event. No two sites will be exactly alike, so your response time may need to be modified. Let’s return to the main stage example. In the case of severe weather, will our patrons need to return to their cars or do we have suitable shelter in place for all of our attendees? More than likely we will need them to return to their vehicles, but that means we need to give them lead time to travel. What is the average age of our attendees? Are we dealing with mobility concerns with an elderly audience?

Are we serving alcohol and expecting inebriated attendees? What direction do 76

they need to travel to get to the parking area – the most typical weather pattern around the country approaches from the West.

We’ll need to do some math to determine the lead time we need to evacuate the event site and how long will it take to evacuate the mainstage? The average walking speed is 3.1 miles per hour (and varies dramatically across a population). At that speed, it will take an able bodied attendee with an unobstructed path 20 minutes to reach their vehicle one mile away.

Consider the speed of your inbound weather - the average lightning storm moves at a ground speed of 20mph. At that speed, this storm will travel from your red trigger ring to the center of your event site in 24 minutes and take one hour to travel from your yellow trigger ring to the center of your event site. Note that as you monitor the weather on event day, you will need to monitor the speed your storm is travelling, to inform if you need to modify your response ring distances onsite.

With the above example, I only have four minutes to spare between calling an evacuation and having my attendees reach their vehicles. However, I know that the evacuation will involve a large number of patrons, slowing down the average walking speed. What if my parking lot is 2 miles away and reliant on shuttle busses to get my patrons safely to their vehicles?

These factors will dramatically alter the amount of time needed to get my patrons to safety, and would therefore alter when I need to initiate an evacuation.

Having considered all of the above factors, I may choose to modify the distances to my trigger rings. If I need 45 minutes to get my attendees to safety, I may set my red trigger to 15 miles rather than 8, pushing my yellow trigger further out. You’ll want to follow this same process to tailor your trigger rings to the right distance to your event space.

STEP FIVE: Create Your Y-Axis We’ve identified the three weather conditions we’re monitoring and we’ve set the trigger ring distances for our event site, now we’re ready to set up the Y-Axis of our Weather Action Matrix!

Down the Y-Axis you’ll group your weather risks by color code: • Green for your All Clear • Yellow for when a lightning storm enters the mile marker on your yellow trigger, rain enters the mile marker on your yellow trigger, or when wind exceeds a warning speed for the equipment on your site • Red for when a lightning storm enters the mile marker on your red trigger, rain

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enters the mile marker on your red trigger, or when wind exceeds a dangerous speed for the equipment on your site • Black for tornadic activity STEP SIX: Fill in Your Response Plan Now we’re ready to fill in our Weather Action Matrix. You’ve indicated your weather triggers by color, speed and distance along the Y-Axis and your major stakeholders for each area of your venue along the top of the X-Axis. The final step to complete your weather action matrix is to go up each column and set a specific response for each stakeholder group you’ve identified.

These responses can be as complex or simple as makes sense for your event, but make sure they’re specific enough that your event staff and/or volunteers can follow the directions you’ve assigned them to.

STEP SEVEN: Brief Your Staff It is event day, you’ve put in all of the work to map out a proactive weather response plan – now make sure your staff is briefed on the plan! At Drum Corps International we host pre-event safety briefings with all event staff. If we’re already aware of a chance of weather, we will hold a focused discussion about the specifics of the Weather Action Matrix and respond to questions.

One final piece of advice. I would strongly suggest hiring the services of a weather forecasting service to assist you in the monitoring of the weather patterns on your event day. There are a number of services out there that specialize in live events over a wide spread of price points. I’m willing to bet you have several weather apps downloaded to your phones already, but these apps are providing you incomplete data, often delayed as much as 15 minutes.

On a day with inbound weather, you will want the most up to date information and will appreciate the professional knowledge of your forecasting service!

Best of luck crafting your Weather Action Matrix and wishing you all successful and safe events this summer!

Eric Hjellming is the Event Operations Manager for Drum Corps International, the leader in producing events for the world’s most elite and exclusive marching ensembles for student musicians and performers. Since 2013, Eric has produced and consulted with marching arts events across three continents, combining professional experience and education in nonprofit arts management to create and foster opportunities for worldwide music making

Good

Great

CFEE

An Important Step in the Career Track of Industry Leaders As a professional in the Festivals & Events Industry, you know the difference between Good and Great. You’ve dedicated yourself to the “whatever it takes” approach that has become your hallmark. You understand the importance and value of continuing to hone your skills, growing your knowledge base, expanding your professional network, and surrounding yourself with others who have reached the top levels of their careers as well.

CFEE (Certified Festival & Event Executive), the IFEA’s professional certification program, provides the essential difference between good and great among professionals in our industry. It signifies the highest level of achievement. Attainment of your CFEE certification provides recognition of your commitment to excellence, experience, and to your career, placing you in an elite group of the top festival and event professionals in your field. It’s a statement of quality that you bring to the table.

For more information about the IFEA’s professional certification program and our CFEE FastTrack® Program, contact Cindy Lerick at cindy@ifea.com or call +1-314-614-7152.

The CFEE Professional Certification Program is Sponsored by

REMEMBERING Judy Flanagan, CFEE, M.S. 1950 – 2020

J

udy Flanagan, CFEE, M.S., spent a lifetime synergizing people interested in special events as an accomplished public speaker and consultant on special events, parades, conventions, conferences, and seminars.

Judy graduated from Osceola High School in 1968 while growing up in Kissimmee, Florida. Higher education accomplishments included a B.S. degree in Education, major in Speech and minor in Sociology from Memphis State University, spring 1972 and a Master of Science degree in Communications at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville December 2004, with a thesis titled “Special Event Communication in the Age of Terrorism,” to help keep heightened awareness among event planners from all walks of life.

Judy’s professional career began at Walt Disney World, Florida in June 1972. On the job education came from Disney Cast Members who had worked directly for Walt Disney in Anaheim, California. The Disney method of perfection has been passed onto generations through work ethics, storytelling, and education; methods that set the stage for Judy’s creative style of perfection.

Judy directed special events and parades for Walt Disney World; Knoxville, Tennessee 1982 and New Orleans, Louisiana 1984 World Fairs; and was involved with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1977; Gatlinburg’s Christmas Parades from 1981-1985; events in Puerto Rico; Ottawa, Canada; Boston, Massachusetts; and other cities in the United States. The 1983 Miss U.S.A. Pageant utilized her services for on-location sites for pre-recording ‘fun scenes’ throughout East Tennessee. In 1988-90 Judy served as a planning and development scheduler for rides and shows of the Universal 78

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Studios Florida phase 1 project, while at Universal City, California.

In 1989 she served as an on-site project coordinator building ET’s Adventure Ride at Universal Studios Orlando, Florida.

In 1990 Judy became Director of Special Occasions in the Office of University Relations system-wide at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1994 the title changed to Director of Special Events, once it became clear the magnitude of events she was able to stage and produce. Flanagan served seven University of Tennessee presidents including emeriti during her tenure. She staged the University’s 200th anniversary events in 1994; groundbreakings and dedication ceremonies; Neyland Stadium’s 1996 Expansion Dedication; VOLS 1998 National Championship Celebration in Neyland Stadium; Lady VOLS Basketball Championship Banquets in the Thompson-Boling Assembly Center and Arena; quarterbacked more events than can be counted; and was a professional public speaker on a variety of subjects in special events, parades, conventions, conferences and seminars in the age of terrorism.

Judy Flanagan was listed in the following publications: America’s Registry of Outstanding Professionals, Marquis’s Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in Finance and Industry, and Who’s Who in the World; The International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, England had her listed in The World Who’s Who of Women, Who’s Who in the World, International Leaders in Achievement, The Dictionary of International Biography, and the International Book of Honor; Strathmore’s Who’s Who; The American Biographical Institute Notable American Women; as well as other diverse profession-al publications. She was first recognized in 1981 in the publication Outstanding Young Women of America.

She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Biographical Institute in 1993 for her work in the entertainment industry. She was a member of the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA); served on the IFEA President’s Council and IFEA Foundation Board; and the Tennessee Festivals and Events Association’s Executive Committee. She received her Certified Festivals and Events Executive Certification (CFEE) in 2002.

Judy was born April 28, 1950 in Lubbock, TX and passed away on July 29, 2020 at her home in Savannah, TN. Judy is survived by two brothers & their families: James (Jim) and Marcie Flanagan of Longwood, FL and Jim’s son, Sean Patrick & Tracy Flanagan of Lake Mary, FL and their three children, Logan, Bailey, and Kirsten; John and Maryann Flanagan of Nashville, TN and their children, Amy Jean, Clinton, and Devin. Judy is preceded in death by her parents, James Joseph Flanagan, Jr and Emily Jean Breckenridge Flanagan.

Judy’s legacy in event planning and animal rights will be remembered through two scholarships at the University of Tennessee, The Judy Flanagan Special Events Scholarship and the Judy Flanagan Animal Law Excellence Endowment, in addition to the Judy Flanagan Legacy Scholarship with the International Festivals & Events Association Foundation.

YOUR EVENT HAS IMPACT…

SHOW IT! r.”

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H Street Festival Impact The average visitor spent $63 during the festival, generating $6.1 million in sales along the corridor.

Eating and drinking establishments experienced the largest increase in sales during the festival with an average increase of 132% more sales than on a Festival Impact typical Saturday in September.

Neighborhoods Goods & Services and Merchandise stores were also positively impacted by the festival, experiencing a sales increase of 57% and 22% respectively.

Restaurants Goods and Merchandise On-Street and Bars Services Retailers Vendors

Overall Impact On H Street Retail

Avg. Sales on a September Saturday

$15,381

$5,175

$2,074

n/a

$10,526

The average visitor spent $23 on food, $20 on alcohol, and $13 shopping during the festival.

The H Street Festival attracts visitors from all across the region.

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The H Street Festival is public, free, and openDev oingall. H Street sult Cont Main Street relies on contributions to fund and operate this important event.

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The festival draws a young and diverse crowd.

The H Street Festival resulted in nearly $2.3 million in salaries and the equivalent of 58 fulltime positions, and generated approximately $728,000 in tax revenue for the District.

Avg. Sales During the H Street Festival

$35,684

$8,112

$2,535

n/a

$22,812

Direct Impact

Indirect Impact

Induced Impact

Overall Impact

Avg. Increase in Sales Per Business (%)

132%

57%

22%

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117%

Jobs Created

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$20,303

$2,936

$461

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$12,286

Labor Income

$1.9 M

$241,650

$155,318

$2.3 M

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$31,448

Number of Businesses on H Street

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Sales Revenue

$6.1 M

$648,069

$337,611

$7.1 M

Personal Income Tax

$27,925

Increased Sales Due to the Festival

$1,543,051

$146,822

$5,531

$4,419,953

$6,115,356

City Permits & Fees

$134,699

Increased Tax Revenue Due to Festival

$728,706

Fiscal Impact for the District of Columbia Sales Tax

Overall Impact

There are many ways to get involved and support the H Street Festival. H Street businesses and local artists and performers can participate in the event as vendors or volunteers. A range of sponsorship opportunities exist, and are vital to making the festival possible. Contact H Street Main Street to learn more about how you can help!

$534,634

Leverage Cost & Credibility IFEA’s cost effective, industry credible program brings a critical tool within financial reach and provides reliable results from a trusted and recognized resource.

Quantify & Articulate Value Understand and communicate the impact your event brings to your local economy and local tax revenue.

Gain Support & Increase Funding Demonstrate how your event benefits area businesses and your city at large, convey the need for public and private assistance, and secure additional financial support.

Enhance Participation Increase business participation, recruit additional vendors, and strengthen stakeholder commitment.

Improve Operations Incorporate a data-driven approach to evaluate and make adjustments to your event or program each year.

READY TO GET STARTED? Find Out More on our IFEA Professional Products & Services Web Page or Contact Kaye Campbell, CFEE, Director of Partnerships & Programs • +1-208-433-0950 Ext. 8150 • kaye@ifea.com

International Festivals & Events Association

IFEA World

IFEA DAY

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS & EVENTS ASSOCIATION

A look to the future

! u o Y k n a Th Thank you to all those who helped make IFEA Day and the IFEA Foundation Celebration & Happy Hour Hop a great success!

IFEA ASSOCIATION ENDORSED PARTNERS:

IFEA FOUNDATION BOARD • Kevin Grothe, Chair, IFEA Foundation Board; Memphis in May International Festival • Alison Baringer English North Carolina Azalea Festival • Cassie Dispenza, Saffire • Keli O’Neill Wenzell, CFEE, O’Neill Marketing and Event Management • Erin Fortune, CFEE, Music for All • Annie Frisoli, CFEE, Creating Community, LLC • Gayle Hall, CFEE, Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau • David Knutson, City of Santa Clarita • Sam Lemheney, CFEE, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society • Delores Macadam, City of Ottawa Events Central Branch • Kat Paye, CFEE, National Cherry Festival • Ira Rosen, CFEE, Temple University • Bruce Smiley-Kaliff, CFEE, Kaliff Insurance 80

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IFEA DAY SPONSOR:

IFEA WORLD BOARD: • • • • • • • • • • • •

Ted Baroody, CFEE, Chair, IFEA World Board; Norfolk Festevents Diana Mayhew, CFEE, National Cherry Blossom Festival Johan Moerman, Rotterdam Festivals Janet Landey, CFEE, CSEP, IFEA Africa Peter Ashwin, Event Risk Management Solutions Bob Bryant, 500 Festival Karen Churchard, CFEE, City of Scottsdale Jazelle Jones, City of Philadelphia Office of Special Events Stephen King, CFEE, Des Moines Arts Festival Sam Lemheney, CFEE, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Cindy Lerick, CFEE, The ART of Events LLC Wright Tilley, CFEE, Boone & Watauga County Tourism Development Authority

• Vanessa Van de Putte, dfest® (Dixie Flag Event Services Team) • Joe Vera, CFEE, City of McAllen

IFEA KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Steve McClatchy, Alleer Training & Consulting

RE-PRESENTING TASK FORCE COMMITTEE • Committee Co-Chair: Jeff Curtis, CEO, Portland Rose Festival Foundation • Committee Co-Chair: Alison Baringer English, Executive Director, North Carolina Azalea Festival • Debbie Rinckey, Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce • Rachel Trice, CFEE, Portland Metro Home Builders Association • Kasey Kelly, Midland County Fair • Diana Mayhew, CFEE, National Cherry Blossom Festival • Andrea Hostetler, National Cherry Blossom Festival • Heather Tzairi-Blackham, Comcast, Denver Colorado Mkt. • Joe Vera, CFEE, City of McAllen

• • • • • • • • • •

Hayden Kramer, City of Indian Trail Sharon Hoffman, Sunfest Cara Blackmon Harting, City of Frisco Stephanie McIntryre, CFEE, The North Carolina Seafood Festival Lisa Tovar, City of Henderson Serri Ayers, City of Richardson Jay Downie, CFEE Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives Mark Demko, ArtsQuest Kevin Grothe, Memphis in May Karen Churchard, CFEE, City of Scottsdale

RE-OPENING TASK FORCE COMMITTEE • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Committee Co-Chair: Jeff English, CFEE, Louisville, KY Committee Co-Chair: Kat Paye, CFEE, National Cherry Festival Chuck Ashby, City of Henderson Parks & Recreation Peter Ashwin, Event Risk Management Solutions Serri Ayers, Richardson, TX Parks and Recreation Dana Baird, Frisco Texas Jennifer Burns, Illumination Fireworks Daphne Dickens, Des Moines Art Festival Jay Downie, CFEE, Downtown Fort Worth Initiative, Inc. Tavi Fulkerson, The Fulkerson Group Tammy Gazzola, Weatherford, TX Chamber of Commerce Dan Goode, SunFest Gayle Hall, CFEE, Grapevine TX Convention and Visitors Bureau Cara Harting, City of Frisco Jessica Haynes, Frankenmuth River Place Shops Eric Hjellming, Drum Corps International Jim Holt, CFEE, Memphis in May Greg Jackson, Tucson Parks and Recreation

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Paul Jamieson, CFEE, SunFest Carina Jimenez, CFEE, McAllen Parks and Recreation Hayden Kramer, Town of Indian Trail Parks & Recreation Nan Krushinski, City of Delray Beach Dianna Lawrence, CFEE, City of Richardson Julie Machon, City of Montgomery JoAnn Nasser, National Cherry Blossom Festival Whitney Nelson, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Suzanne Neve, Florida Festivals and Events Association Kat Paye, CFEE, The Festival Foundation Lisa Potvin, CFEE City of Concord Randy Prasse, Kentucky Bourbon Festival Denise Rice, Honey Bucket Portable Restrooms Kenney Sarah, NC Azalea Festival Karol Shepherd, Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival Jenny Wright, CFEE, Woodlands, TX Arts Council Kelly Zanders, CFEE, EAA

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RE-STRUCTURING TASK FORCE COMMITTEE • • • •

Paul Jamieson, CFEE, Sunfest Jim Holt, CFEE, Memphis in May Jay Downie, CFEE, Downie Productions Dianna Craven, CFEE, Sunfest

RE-CONNECTING TASK FORCE COMMITTEE • Committee Co-Chair: Keli O’Neill Wenzel, CFEE, O’Neill Marketing & Event Management • Committee Co-Chair: Stephen King, CFEE, Des Moines Arts Festival • Karen Churchard, CFEE, City of Scottsdale • Dianna Craven, CFEE, SunFest of Palm Beach County • Kalie Crose, City of Henderson, NV • Randy Dewitz, CFEE, CFM Fanfare Attractions, LLC • Jasmine Freeman, City of Las Vegas • Kevin Grothe, Memphis in May International • Andrea Hostetler, National Cherry Blossom Festival • Jessica Howard, National Cherry Blossom Festival • Lillian Iverson, National Cherry Blossom Festival • Paul Jamieson, CFEE, SunFest of Palm Beach County • Hayden Kramer, Town of Indian Trail Parks & Recreation • Janet Landey, CFEE, IFEA Africa • Dom Leyden, Rosterfly • Brittney Lindsay, City of Chamblee • Delores MacAdam, City of Ottawa Cvents Central Branch • Colleen Murphy, Greater Des Moines Partnership • Mary Pinak, CFEE, City of West Palm Beach • Steve Schmader, CFEE, International Festivals & Events Association • Katy Strascina, City and County of Denver • Joe Vera, CFEE, City of McAllen

RE-IMAGINING TASK FORCE COMMITTEE • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Committee Co-Chair: Ted Baroody, CFEE, Norfolk Festevents Committee Co-Chair: Annie Frisoli, CFEE, Creating Community, LLC Floyd Benson, Memphis in May Eric Corning, Seafair Ashley Depew, National Cherry Blossom Festival Randy Dewitz, CFEE, Fanfare Attractions Barry Feldner, Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Dan Goode, SunFest Noel Gramlich, Downtown Norfolk Council Audrey Haake, San Antonio Conservation Society Baylor Hall, Birthplace of Country Music Charlene Ham, City of Henderson Cara Harting, City of Frisco Jim Holt, CFEE, Memphis in May International Festival Paul Jamieson, CFEE, SunFest Kristin Knop, Lakeshore Art Festival

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• • • • • • • •

Hayden Kramer, Town of Indian Trail Parks & Recreation Dianna Lawrence, CFEE, City of Richardson Sam Lemheney, CFEE, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gloria Martinez, Weatherford Chamber of Commerce Mairin Petrone, Pittsburgh Irish Festival Carol Popejoy Davis, CFEE, Outdoor Adventures by Boojum Jamie Prins, Scottsdale Arts Ira Rosen, CFEE Temple University School of Sport, Tourism & Hospitality • Mary Margaret Satterfield, CFEE, Conway Area Chamber of Commerce • Nancy Stewart, CFEE, Festival Management Group • Meghan Tadlock, North Carolina Azalea Festival

IFEA FOUNDATION AUCTION DONORS: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

500 Festival Alto’s Tequila AT&T Athen’s Distributing Barefoot Wine Big Green Egg Bimbo Bakeries Blue Chair Bay Rum Brown-Foreman Carvana Central BBQ ChefTorial City of Philadelphia, Office of Special Events Coca-Cola Corky’s BBQ Creating Community, LLC Creative Strategies Group Cutco David Knutson Deep Eddy Vodka Des Moines Arts Festival Dick’s Sporting Goods Dixie Flag (dfest)

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Doc’s Wine, Spirits & More Dr. Pepper Empire Distributing Event Risk Management Solutions (ERMS) Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce Gnarly Head Wines Grand Traverse Resort & Spa Great Scrape GrillGrate Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism Hammer Stahl Hardee’s Home Depot Hunter Fan Insomnia Cookies International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) Ira Rosen Jack Daniels Joe & Alma Vera Kentucky Derby Festival

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

King William Fair Kingsford Lowe’s Mackinac Island Tourism & The Benser Family Memphis in May International Festival Merrick Pet Care Monogram Foods Monster Energy National Cherry Festival National Turkey Federation Norfolk Festevents North Carolina Azalea Festival at Wilmington Inc. Old Dominick Distillery Old World Spices & Seasonings Ole Smokey Distillery PawPaw Analytics Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Pigeon Forge Office of Special Events Prairie Fresh Meats

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

recteq Red Bull Safety Set Consulting Saint Louis Art Fair Sazerac Spirits Scottsdale Arts Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood Smithfield Sugarlands Distilling Co. ThermoWorks Three Chord Bourbon Tito’s Vodka Traeger Grills Traverse City Tourism Tyson Fresh Meats Veterans Q Walmart Weber - Stephen William Grant & Sons Winterfest

ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE THANKS TO: The team at O’Neill Marketing & Event Management; Carrie Ring, City of Yuma; AuctionFrogs; Tara Kaufman, Alleer Training & Consulting IFEA Staff: Steve Schmader, CFEE; Nia Hovde, CFEE; Kaye Campbell, CFEE, Beth Petersen, Craig Sarton Winter 2020

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Continued from Small Event, Big Sponsorships, page 28

organizers to connect with their fans and engage with sponsors in a way that feels like how a normal in-person event would. It also gives races a chance to keep their most staple sponsor asset, the event t-shirt, along with the opportunity to include unique products. However, make sure you factor in shipping and production costs when adding items to the package.

Coupons or free sample cards have the best return on investment. By using a tracking code, you can also see the usage from those bounce-back coupons. As an event organizer, you will want to limit the number of sponsors you include in any type of package and make sure you include items of value. You don’t want to be shipping junk mail. Not only will it drive up shipping costs, but it dilutes the value of the sponsorship. Limiting how many can be involved in the direct-mail assets will help keep the costs down and the value high.

Virtual Expos and Conferences A virtual expo might also be the way to go. It provides another gateway for an online event to connect partners and viewers.

A virtual expo allows organizers to incorporate vendors and sponsors into one portal. EventHub created a platform that allows for meaningful and high-quality interactions. Event partners can engage with attendees in real time through virtual booths. Each virtual booth allows for video conferencing between the attendee and booth host. Sponsors and vendors are organized in a grid format and can be sorted and searched by category.

A Toronto marathon found through the virtual expo, they could showcase their sponsors, vendors, and even the charities they support. They even added programming to attract attendees to the platform. Throughout the virtual event, they hosted a speaker series that featured informational sessions for runners of all abilities hosted by celebrities and elite athletes.

A virtual expo does not just have to be for race events.

Organizers of all kinds of events can integrate this platform into their live streams. Music festivals, pride events, state fairs, wellness expos, and more can benefit by adding this outlet for interaction between attendees and partners. The portal can even be organized by priority, allowing for sponsors to pay more for a premium spot.

Hybrid Events Live streaming a music festival is nothing new. Major festivals like Coachella and Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas have been live streaming their events for years. Coachella historically has received millions of views and broke viewership records when it hosted Beyoncé as a headliner. These would be considered hybrid events, where there is an in-person and virtual experience for the same event. But not all hybrid events are six-figured attendance numbers.

I just spoke at a conference in Florida where there was a small, socially distanced summit with 100 people over two days. It was recorded and streamed to a much larger virtual conference audience of event professionals. The combination of both the live and virtual is the direction that many events are headed as we wait for the reopening of the event industry. Hybrid sponsorships tend to lend themselves to higher sponsorship dollars than just virtual, because they allow for some element of the in-person connection that is so important to virtual events.

My biggest piece of advice that I can offer in the virtual/hybrid event space is just like your live event: Audience data is the lifeblood of your sponsorships. If you know your audience, then target those prospects who want access to them. These are unprecedented times, but I have seen such innovation from the event world this year that I know firsthand you can sell sponsorships to virtual and hybrid events if you use the same principles and techniques used to sell successful live event sponsorships. Don’t wait! Get out there because now is the time to make it happen!

Teresa Stas is an author, national speaker, and the CEO of Green Cactus, an event sponsorship agency based in Fresno, CA and Portland, OR. She has brokered millions of dollars in sponsorships working with regional and national brands throughout the United States. She currently handles partnerships for several events along the west coast such as the national relay Hood to Coast, the Oregon State Fair, and the nationally recognized Gilroy Garlic Festival. Teresa is the author of “Sell Your Event! The Easy to Follow Practical Guide to Getting Sponsors.” Her online course SellSponsorships.com has been used in the coursework at Florida International University and Troy University.

Continued from Everyone’s Invited, page 54

Luca’s mom contacted me and said that her 17-year-old son had cancer and just 6 months to live. He wanted to attend our event for the first and last time. We made sure to reserve the closest possible spot for their RV. Because he tired easily, we gave him permissions for the shuttle, raised viewing, accessible portos, and Access Entrance. I visited with them when they first arrived to make sure they knew where everything was, how to find us if anything was needed, and I gave them my direct cell phone number. Luca had a wonderful time.

When people with disabilities make the extra effort on their part to attend our events, it is only right that we go to a little extra effort to help them enjoy their experience and have a bit of a change from the daily grind. That is what we are all looking for from these amazing events we create. Soon, we will be able to do

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this again. Meanwhile, plan, train, prepare, and wear your mask.

Everyone’s Invited, LLC, founded by Laura Grunfeld, is winner of the gold level “Best Accessibility Program,” for the 2018 and 2019 IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards. Laura writes a regular column helping producers make their events accessible to people with disabilities. She has worked many festivals across the nation and readers can learn more about her event accessibility consulting, training, and production company at www.EveryonesInvited.com and www.linkedin. com/in/lauragrunfeld. Suggest topics or ask questions by writing to Laura@EveryonesInvited.com. © Laura Grunfeld, Everyone’s Invited, LLC, July 2020.

WITH SEAN KING

ASSOCIATION ENDORSED PARTNER

ASSOCIATION ENDORSED PARTNER

The IFEA would like to thank the following partners for their dedicated support of the association.

Association Endorsed Partners have made a commitment to the continued success of our association, our members, and our industry through their umbrella sponsorship support of all IFEA programs and services.

Show your support for these dedicated providers to our industry by getting to know them, and the high quality products and services that they supply, better.

Interested in becoming an Association Endorsed Partner?

Contact Kaye Campbell, Director of Partnerships & Programs (208) 433-0950 ext. 8150 or kaye@ifea.com Winter 2020 IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

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REPUTATION IS EVERYTHING…

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO

PROTECT YOURS? In the new world of event safety and security concerns that we find ourselves operating in every day, proactively covering all of the bases to protect your attendees and your stakeholders, their families, their communities, their own reputations and their peace-of-mind, is simply professional common sense.

Assuring them that you have done so is where we come in.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Warwick Hall, Dip OHSM, CFEE • Email: warwick@safetysc.com • Phone: (+64) 021 633 128 Note: The International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA World) offers safety training and the Event Safety Audit program as a service to the industry, in the interest of encouraging and increasing the safety of all events. Audit certification signifies curriculum and/or safety process/ component completion only. The IFEA does not represent or certify, in any way, the actual safety of any event, and assumes no responsibility as to the safety of any event or its attendees.

MARKETPLACE SEARCH MORE VENDORS AT EVENTRESOURCEMARKETPLACE.COM BANNERS/FLAGS

dfest ® – The ONE source for creative design, custom decorations, street banners, mascots, video marketing & installation for events. All services tailored to fit your unique needs. Contact: Vanessa Van de Putte; Address: 1930 N. Pan Am Expressway, San Antonio, TX 78208 USA; Phone: (800) 356-4085; Email: sales@dixieflag.com; Website: www.dixieflag.com.

INFLATABLES

CASH MANAGEMENT FIRST DATA / CLOVER – Cloud-based point of sale and full business solutions for cash or cashless events. Clover is uniquely designed to be customized to fit your business needs.

Clover accepts all payment types - EMV/Chip, Card Swiped, Keyed and Apple Pay/Google Pay. Clover’s product line is available with WIFI, ethernet, or 4G/LTE data connectivity and can be leased, purchased or rented month-to-month. First Data has exclusive pricing for hardware and card processing for the festivals and events industry. Contact: Tina Hollis; Address: 8812 Crosswood Ct., Riverview, FL 33578 USA; Phone: 239-287-8221; Email: tina. hollis@firstdata.com; Website: www.firstdata.com COSTUMES HISTORICAL EMPORIUM – Historical Emporium specializes in authentic, durable, high quality historical clothing and accessories. Victorian, Edwardian, Old West and Steampunk for men and women. Since 2003.

Contact: Noel Matyas; Address: 188 Stauffer Blvd, San Jose, CA 95125-1047 USA; Phone: (800) 997-4311; Email: amusement@ historicalemporium.com; Website: www.historicalemporium.com DÉCOR/DISPLAYS/BACKDROPS ATOMIC – Set construction, backdrops, rental solutions, lighting and design. Packs small, plays BIG! Address: 1-Wynfield Dr., Lititz, PA 17543 USA; Phone: 717-626-8301; Email: info@atomicdesign.tv; Website: www.atomicdesign.tv EVENT SOFTWARE/APPS EVENTENY – Eventeny was built to help festival & event organizers manage their vendors, artists, exhibitors, volunteers, and sponsors, all in one 88

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

platform. You can create team workflows, applications, maps, schedules, surveys and so much more. From small community festivals to managing multi-day sci-fi conventions, to virtual events... we’ve got it all! Contact: Nausheen Punjani; Address: 147 Technology Pkwy. Ste. 100, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092-2936 USA; Phone: 678-815-8115; Email: nausheen.punjani@eventeny. com; Website: www.eventeny.com

Winter 2020

DYNAMIC DISPLAYS / FABULOUS INFLATABLES – Designs, manufacturers, for rent or purchase – costumes, props, floats, helium balloons, event entry ways and décor. Offers complete and flexible service packages for small towns and large international events. 50+ years of parade/ event experience. Contact: Steve Thomson; Address: 6470 Wyoming St. Ste #2024, Dearborn MI 48126 USA; Phone: 800-411-6200 Email: steve@fabulousinflatables.com; Website: www.fabulousinflatables.com.

INSURANCE HAAS & WILKERSON INSURANCE – Over 50 years experience in the entertainment industry, providing insurance programs designed to meet the specific needs of your event. Clients throughout the US include festivals, parades, carnivals and more. Contact: Carol Porter, CPCU, Broker; Address: 4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205 USA; Phone: 800-821-7703; Email: carol.porter@hwins.com; Website: www.hwins.com.

KALIFF INSURANCE – We insure the serious side of fun! Founded in 1917, Kaliff is celebrating 100 years of providing specialty insurance for festivals, fairs, parades, rodeos, carnivals and more. Contact: Bruce Smiley-Kaliff; Address: 2009 NW Military Hwy., San Antonio, TX 78213-2131 USA; Phone: 210-829-7634; Email: bas@kaliff.com; Website: www.kaliff.com.

K & K INSURANCE – For 60 years, K & K insurance has been recognized as the leading provider of SPORTS-LEISURE & ENTERTAINMENT insurance products. Contact: Mark Herberger; Address: 1712 Magnavox Way, Fort Wayne, IN 46804 USA; Phone: 1-866-554-4636; Email: mark.herberger@ kandkinsurance.com; Website: www.kandkinsurance.com.

SAFETY/SECURITY

TRAVEL PLANNING (by Groups)

WEVOW – WeVow equips organizations and events of all sizes to build safety and trust into their cultures and give 100% clarity against sexual misconduct. WeVow has created a special program that will allow event organizations to protect their employees and volunteers year-round, and to gear up for shorter, selected time frames to protect and make a statement to all of those attending or working your event(s).

Contact: Matt Pipkin; Address: P.O. Box 2308, Boise, ID 83702 USA; Phone: 208-830-3885; Email: matt@wevow.com; Website: www.wevow.com

TRIPInfo.com – Since 1996, first online reference for all segments of group travel planners – website and weekly newsletter and subject-specific digital magazines – including festivals. IFEA Member organizations included online.

Contact: Mark Browning; Address: 4850 Gaidrew, Johns Creek, GA 30022 USA; Phone: 770-825-0220; Email: mark@tripinfo.com; Website: www.tripinfo.com.

SITE MAPPING POINTSMAP® – PointsMap® has proven to be an effective and useful software for Festivals and Events. Create custom points at their exact location on your PointsMap with photos, descriptions, website links, multi-media, PDF’s and even “inside maps”. Your visitors can “PLAN” before the festival using their desktop computer, and then “NAVIGATE” the festival using their Smartphone. Visit www.PointsMap.com/SLAF and http://www.PointsMap.com/WichitaRiverFest/ to see how PointsMap is being used. It’s easy to use and extremely affordable.

Contact: Jerry Waddell; Address: 1100 Riverfront Pkwy, Chattanooga, TN 37402-2171 USA; Phone: 423-894-2677; Email: jerryw@videoideas.com; Website: www.pointsmap.com.

WEBSITE DESIGN SAFFIRE – Saffire empowers clients with beautiful, unique and engaging websites that are easy to manage, with integrated SaffireTix ticketing and unlimited help when you need it.

Address: 248 Addie Roy Rd, Ste B-106, Austin TX 78746-4133 USA; Phone: 512-430-1123; Email: info@saffireevents.com; Website: www.saffireevents.com.

TICKETING SAFFIRE – Saffire empowers clients with beautiful, unique and engaging websites that are easy to manage, with integrated SaffireTix ticketing and unlimited help when you need it.

Address: 248 Addie Roy Rd, Ste B-106, Austin TX 78746-4133 USA; Phone: 512-430-1123; Email: info@saffireevents.com; Website: www.saffireevents.com.

Winter 2020

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

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Partnership with the IFEA The IFEA Foundation provides an all-important source of support that allows the IFEA to confidently provide convention scholarships, host top-quality industry presenters, speakers and programming, and help raise the bar for everyone in our global industry. A very special thanks to all those who have contributed along the way, and we look forward to working with you towards the success of our industry for many years to come.

www.ifea.com/p/foundation