The Pinnacle - Q3 2019

Presents

The Pinnacle Q3 2019

Wi-Fi 6: What it Means for the Convention Industry San Diego Infrastructure Upgrades Amy Blackman Visits Long Beach Lending a Hand to the Salvation Army

Smart City Networks Signs Five-Year Contract With the SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District

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The Pinnacle Q3 2019

Contents Presidents Corner 3 Success Through Our Principles Cover Story 4 Smart City Networks Signs Five-Year Contract with Sacramento GM Insight

GM Insight A list of a few of the features and advantages to using Wi-Fi 6 technologies. Page 5

5 Wi-Fi 6: What It Means for the Convention Industry 6 A Boost for Caring & Giving Back 6 It’s the People

Center Update Big Ray’s Fish Camp on the Riverwalk offers convention-goers and visitors delicious dishes from its beloved, original location in South Tampa. Page 8

Center Updates 7 Infrastructure Upgrades 8 Big Ray’s Fish Camp Grand Opening 8 BattleHawks Move in to the Dome 9 Carl Fisher Clubhouse Undergoing Renovations 9 Cart Restoration Project 9 Amy Blackman Visits Long Beach 10 Servicing DreamHack Center Update The San Diego team recently completed a restoration project on their electric carts. Page 9

10 Success at SIGGRAPH 2019 We Care and Give Back 11 Draft Day at Cristo Rey St. Viator

Center Update The experiences and exhibition at SIGGRAPH provide an opportunity for hands-on exploration of what’s next in the technology industry. Page 10

11 Volunteering at the Migrant Center 11 25th Annual YMCA Golf Tournament 12 Raising Funds at the Heart Walk 12 Lending a Hand to the Salvation Army 12 Operation Backpack Team Member Updates 13 Creative Cultivation: A Profile of Devin Wolery 13 Anniversary Milestones We Care and Give Back The Heart Walk raises funds for lifesaving science that can teach us all how to live longer and be healthy for good. Page 12

14 Angelica Earns EoM at the GRB Convention Center 14 Team Member Position Advancement

We Care and Give Back Smart City attended the first-ever Draft Day for Cristo Rey St. Viator College Preparatory’s Corporate Work Study Program. Page 11

15 Employee of the Month (June, July, August) 16 Employee Anniversaries Follow us online!

www.smartcitynetworks.com

The Pinnacle Q3 2019

President’s Corner

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Success Through Our Principles

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S an avid reader of our Pinnacle, it is obvious that Smart City has a robust set of Business Principles guiding our team members’ daily efforts to serve our venue and event clients. These principles, coupled with our daily basics, manifest in tangible successes in a variety of ways.

Those successes include boosts from customers, new business wins, like Sacramento, and successful upgrade projects, such as the fiber project in San Diego.

Our teams across the country continuously demonstrate our principle of “We Care and We Give Back.” Smart City is a national organization but our roots are in each and every community we serve.

We find opportunities throughout the year to make a difference and in some way make their community just a little bit better by donating their time and talents. In this endeavor our Las Vegas

Boosts

Minneapolis Convention Center “Thank you for all your hard work on our event! The success of our program is largely due to your efforts. It was a pleasure working with you and hope to see you again in the future.”

Regis Annual Convention Tampa Convention Center “Smart City exceeded my expectations in detail and their prompt reply to my calls. Mitchell Hughes (General Manager) is always great to work with!

Also, the young man that assisted him this year was also great. Would love to work with them in the future.”

AP Reading Show Management

team participated in the first draft day at Cristo Rey, giving us the opportunity to mentor and create diverse experiences for students. We’re proud to help kick off this unique program, in its’ first year. (ref. p11) In November, we take this business principle to the next level with our “Month of Service.” This employee driven program is in its third year. Each of our local teams identifies a worthy cause in their respective community,

Virginia Beach Convention Center “Ryan McCart (General Manager) was extremely helpful with quotes and pricing, and he responded very quickly to get us what we needed--even replying to emails within just a couple of hours on the weekend!

Jeremy Fackenthal, American Baptist Churches USA Biennial Mission Summit Indiana Convention Center “The Smart City team at the ICC was great! They had everything ready for us when we arrived and were ready and willing to help with all our lastminute changes/requests. They were beyond helpful and quick to make all necessary adjustments as they happened. Couldn’t ask for a better team and their willingness to help was beyond my expectations. Thank you, Indianapolis!!”

Everton Burke, National Urban League

to donate their time in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday.

I couldn’t be more proud of these efforts.

To the Top!

Greater Columbus Convention Center “Thank you ALL for the hours, days, weeks, months, and year(s) you put into our event. You guys are the true definition of a hardworking/ cohesive team. Despite the long days, and a million request from us, you continued to smile and execute an amazing event for us. Your passion, dedication and commitment to our event meant the world to us and you really showed us that Columbus is one of a kind. You set the bar very high for our future locations… it will be hard to match what you did in service for the Annual Meeting. We feel like you were family to us and I already miss seeing you all on a daily basis. Thank you!”

Krista LeZotte, Associate Director, Meeting Operations & Special Events, ASAE

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The Pinnacle Q3 2019

Cover Story

Smart City Networks Signs Five-Year Contract with the SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District

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MART CITY NETWORKS is proud to announce their newest partnership with the City of Sacramento for services at the newly named SAFE Credit Union Convention Center and SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center. As part of the contract, Smart City will provide an entirely new network to the facilities which are currently undergoing a $340 million expansion.

“We are excited to partner with Smart City during the expansion process to deploy a new network with the upgraded facilities. Smart City brings with them the experience required to prepare the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center, SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center and Memorial Auditorium for the technology needs of the future,” said Matthew Voreyer, General Manager of the SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District.

Smart City’s V.P. of Technology David Langford has designed a system based around the future of Wi-Fi 6, with standard speeds at least four times greater than the current standard of Wi-Fi 5.

This network will utilize Cisco technology, implementing redundancy at the core, and full Power over Ethernet (PoE) to operate the Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Access Points. The new network will support 10Gig speeds and up to 64,000 concurrent devices.

“The SAFE Credit Union Convention Center and SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center has embraced the future of telecommunications and is working to bring their clients with them. They understand the market, and the consumers’ desire to be a part of the technology,” said Langford.

Boosts Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas “Kasandra Williams (Customer Sales & Services Manager), I wanted to follow up and say THANK YOU for an amazing event. You were wonderful to work with pre show and Ryan Myles (Technician) was a rock star getting everything installed quickly and accurately. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to support the conference’s network needs. Thank you, Kasandra, again amazing job and certainly look forward to the next time we work together!”

Salesforce

The Pinnacle Q3 2019

GM Insight

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Wi-Fi 6: What It Means for the Convention Industry Chris Wharry − General Manager, Smart City Houston GRB

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N 2018, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced the debut of a new version of Wi-Fi called IEEE 802.11ax, or better known as Wi-Fi 6. Key among the improvements over the current standard of IEEE 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) includes better energy management for battery-powered devices, the ability to send information to multiple devices at once with a single transmission, better support in high-density environments, and increased data transfer speeds. These improvements mean that consumers congregating in large venues such as conventions and tradeshows; or those that have an abundance of smart devices competing for bandwidth might be among those with the most to gain.

Continue reading for a list of a few of the features and advantages to using Wi-Fi 6 technologies.

Battery Life With Wi-Fi 6, battery life is extended through a feature called Target Wake Time (TWT). TWT permits a wireless access point to tell your device when exactly to wake up and go to sleep. This feature allows devices to spend more time in sleep mode than with previous wireless technologies, requiring less energy use, thus saving battery life.

Congested Environments Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) is a multi-user feature that splits data transmission signals into much smaller signals. OFDMA is most useful in an environment where multiple connections transmit limited data. Think of a keynote address in a convention center with thousands of connected users; only the users are homes waiting for packages. OFDMA acts like a delivery truck delivering

multiple packages with multiple stops along its route. Before Wi-Fi 6, that truck could only carry one package.

Through OFDMA, there is improved latency for small packet transmission.

Wi-Fi 6 comes equipped with an additional advantage in congested environments called Basic Service Set (BSS) Coloring. BSS Coloring technology helps mitigate overlapping transmission channels by intelligently tagging shared frequencies with a “color.”

“Color coding” or marking shared frequencies with a number allows access points to decide if simultaneous spectrum use is permissible. A channel is only unavailable when the same “color” is detected, enabling a network to perform more efficiently while transmitting data.

Transfer Speed Theoretically, Wi-Fi 6 can reach speeds of up to 9.6 Gbps. Individual devices may not run much faster than the current Wi-Fi 5, but the total available bandwidth will increase. These speeds are achieved by using multi-user technologies OFDMA and Multi-User Multiple Input Output (MU-MIMO). MU-MIMO allows an access point to communicate with multiple devices simultaneously.

This communication provides for increased data transfer speeds without increased congestion. These two technologies combined improve capacity and performance significantly by allowing for a more thorough use of the spectrum and more simultaneous connections.

What will you have to do?

Not a lot. Wi-Fi 6 utilizes both the 5GHz

and 2.4GHz spectrums, making it backward compatible with all previous WiFi gear. Using a router that supports the new standard won’t interfere with your current smart devices. However, you won’t be able to utilize the fastest speeds until you switch everything over to being Wi-Fi 6 enabled.

Wi-Fi 6 is making a significant impact on the wireless industry, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Offering up to a four-fold increase in capacity over Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6 will become the standard by 2021. Even though manufacturers have entered a few access points and mobile phones into the market utilizing Wi-Fi 6, ratification is not yet complete. Initially slated for Q3/ Q4 of 2019, ratification could likely be closer to mid-2020 before being finally approved. Manufacturers are producing hardware before this in hopes of a simple software patch once complete.

Even so, it will still take some time for devices to saturate the field and fully take advantage of the features Wi-Fi 6 brings.

What does this mean for the convention industry?

In the convention industry, the demand for faster data transfer speeds has skyrocketed due to the addition of video streaming, mobile conferences, virtual reality, augmented reality, and webcasting, to name a few. Convention centers will need to continually grow their network infrastructure capacity to support the increased demands that exhibitors and attendees bring into a facility. The advent of Wi-Fi 6 makes it all possible.

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The Pinnacle Q3 2019

Boosts San Diego Convention Center “Donna Kacmarcik (Customer Sales & Service Manager), Shawn Lowery (General Manager), Jason Bussie (Data Operations Professional), James Zarharchuck (Wireless Network Administrator), Mark Baratti (Operations Manager), Mike Ferreri (Operations Supervisor), Adrian Miller (Technician II), Witold Myslinski (Technician), Alisal Alisal (Technician), Ray Nicolas (Technician), James Lagomitzis (Technician II), Ryan Holdren (Technician), and the rest of the team that I have missed here, were absolutely stellar in their performance. The collaborative network team worked extremely well together to produce a fantastic event. Thank you, TEAM for a great event planning cycle and a successful event! We look forward to the next event in San Diego. Your team was absolutely critical for the event and we appreciate the responsiveness and willingness to do whatever it took to ensure that Cisco Live went off without a hitch. Thank you!”

JW McIntire, Show Manager, Cisco Live 2019 Washington State Convention Center “Alex Graham (Technician) and Mike Bowser (Technician), thank you for your quick response to move the phone line and Polycom from one side to the other in Yakima One. Also, thank you to Tim Wass (Event Coordinator) for your assistance with my last-minute layout changes in TCC Yakima One!” Lorrie Starkweather, Assistant to the President, WSCC Anaheim Convention Center “Smart City exceeded my expectations. They knew I had a limited budget and offered options to meet my budget. Tammy Espinosa (Customer Sales & Service Manager) and Michelle Dolph-Gualtieri (Event Coordinator) were wonderful to work with. I can only hope to have the same service next year in Las Vegas.”

US Travel Association Show Management

GM Insight

A Boost for Caring & Giving Back Patrick Nelson − Operations Manager, Smart City San Antonio

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NYONE reading the Pinnacle can tell you that Smart City has a long history of caring and sharing. It isn’t just number ten in our daily business principles; it’s a way of life. Smart City has taken giving back to heart so much that it has become more than a tradition. Giving back has become a staple event for our annual GM meetings, and even a company-wide initiative called The Month of Service.

• an affiliate of Texas Children’s

Over the years, Smart City teams and individuals have contributed time, labor, money, and, most importantly, heart. From working the cook lines at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo supporting education since 2003 to volunteering at the Los Angeles Downtown Women’s Center in 2019, we’ve done it all. In addition to our annual Holiday donations, some of our most memorable group outings in the most recent years include:

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• Las Vegas – Race for a Cure bene• •

fitting the Suzan G. Komen Foundation Los Angeles – Special Olympics Houston – Rise & Shine 5K Run/ Walk benefitting the Rise School,

Hospital

• GM conference – San Antonio – • •

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Salvation Army Christmas Present Distribution Reno-Sparks – iCan Bike Camp helping the Down Syndrome Network of Northern Nevada Denver – Chairman’s Cup and Partnership Open Golf Tournament benefitting Visit Denver Foundation’s scholarship programs Cincinnati – Annual Queen City Blood Drive benefitting the Hoxworth Blood Center Seattle – Ronald McDonald House Charities benefitting families with sick children

There are far too many events like these to list in one article showing how much giving back means to the Smart City family. Not to mention the individual efforts that are going on every day.

To me, giving back has come to be at the heart of who we are as a company. We can, and we are doing more. So here’s a boost to you, Smart City. Thank you for caring and giving back!

It’s the People Mark Thompson − Digital Marketing Manager, Smart City Orlando

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MART CITY’S Business Principle #3 is “It’s the People… and great people flourish in an environment that liberates and amplifies their energy.”

One way Smart City Orlando promotes a stronger team environment is through our quarterly team building events.

From escape rooms to kickball games, we celebrate our collective successes in ways that refresh and realign our team.

We seek to motivate the team with activities that work to accomplish improved collaboration. We’ve found our

most effective opportunities for these events are when they come after our busiest times, which offer a much-appreciated break from the day-to-day.

Any successful team building activity is sure to provide a more comfortable, revived, and motivated team and workplace. We see the benefits yielded in and through excellent customer service experiences.

The Pinnacle Q3 2019

Center Updates

This year a project was approved to upgrade halls A, B, & C with the installation of interconnected floor boxes, matching the design in halls D through H. It was a challenging task to interlace the busy, high occupancy convention center schedule with installers that needed access to the show floors, as well as spaces above and below the show floors. Work continued through the busiest months of the center’s event schedule, while seamlessly providing uninterrupted service to high profile shows like ESRI, Comic-Con, and Cisco LIVE. An early September deadline was met so that the new floor boxes would be ready for the TwitchCon 2019.

Picture: Witold Myslinksi (Technician II) testing new floor box data and phone jacks

San Diego Infrastructure Upgrades

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IKE many convention centers in the country, the San Diego Convention Center has evolved through the years.

When it was built in the late 80’s the original footprint consisted of three halls, A B & C. The halls had evenly spaced “column trees” that contained switches allowing network connections to be extended from the ceiling to locations on the show floor. When a show exhibitor needed network connectivity, technicians would begin on the catwalks that tie column trees together

Picture LEFT to RIGHT: James Lagomitzis (Technician II) and Jason Bussie (Data Operations Professional) testing new floor box data and phone jacks

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and extend network cables across the ceiling with the use of a boom lift. Once above the correct space of the exhibit hall, the cables were suspended and dropped down to the show floor for final installation. A good amount of labor and equipment was needed for every network drop in these halls.

In 2001 the center went through a significant upgrade, doubling its show floor space by building halls D, E, F, G, & H. The architects of the new side of the convention center did not follow the column tree design of the existing halls. Instead of evenly spaced column trees, these halls were open floor space from wall to wall without any floor to ceiling obstructions. To accommodate electrical and network needs, the new area was installed with interconnected floor boxes spaced every 30 feet.

Each floor box provides several data and phone jacks that are connected to IDF’s around the perimeter of the new halls. The checkerboard pattern of the floor boxes means a connection to the network is never more than 15-20 feet away, anywhere on the show floor. The need for a boom lift, the need for multiple technicians, the risk involved with working high above the show floor, all these factors are all removed. With the new design, one technician can easily install a drop to a floor box in much less time.

The finished project includes six new underground IDFs that host wiring to 233 floor boxes, each with four Cat 6 data ports and two analog phone ports.

Thirteen of the floor boxes also have four pair of single-mode fiber, delivering the highest speed network connections throughout the building. San Diego Convention Center has an ever-increasing demand from show managers and exhibitors for high-speed fiber connectivity. In the last couple of years, orders for interconnecting booths with high-speed fiber networks have become much more common. Customers are asking for end to end speeds of 400 – 800 Gbs, soon to go beyond to terabit speeds.

With this new upgrade, Smart City at San Diego Convention Center is ready to deliver the highest quality network services well into the future.

Picture LEFT to RIGHT: Alisal Alisal (Technician), Ryan Holdren (Technician), and James Lagomitzis (Technician II) applying finishing touches on new IDFs

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The Pinnacle Q3 2019

Center Updates Bob Buckhorn; Mayor, Jane Castor; and Big Ray’s Fish Camp owner, Nick Cruz officially opened the area for business with a christening to the new building by sabering a bottle of champagne and a toast.

Tampa Big Ray’s Fish Camp Grand Opening

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N Tampa, there has been much to “sail”-ebrate as constructions at the Tampa Convention Center offer exciting new experiences for convention-goers; locals and visitors alike. As part of the convention center’s capital improvement plan, The Sail Plaza received several upgrades to its existing 360-degree waterfront bar, The Sail, and the construction of a new building for Big Ray’s Fish Camp on the Riverwalk. Located along the scenic Tampa Riverwalk, the restaurants feature delectable bites & tropical cocktails, surrounded by breathtaking views.

The Sail received extensive upgrades like expanded seating, new shade structures, renovated restrooms, and an all-new, innovative cocktail menu.

Operating alongside The Sail, Big Ray’s Fish Camp on the Riverwalk offers convention-goers and visitors delicious dishes from its beloved, original location in South Tampa.

Guests can choose from a new menu of mouthwatering options like conch fritters, grouper Reuben, oyster po’boy, blackened shrimp burgers, and more. If seafood isn’t the meal of your choice, the hot chicken sandwich, pulled pork sandwich, or the Big Ray’s ½lb Camp Burger are also local favorites. The whole family can enjoy this waterfront foodie haven, with minnow-sized meals like the fried shrimp basket or corn dog.

This past August, hundreds of thrilled guests from around the Tampa Bay area attended the much anticipated grand opening of The Sail Plaza’s Big Ray’s Fish Camp on the Riverwalk. The event featured drink specials, live music, yard games and more. Former Mayor,

The Smart City Tampa team has played a significant role in the success of The Sail Plaza’s new additions. The Sail’s point-of-sale equipment and systems all received major upgrades. Smart City manages these new systems which have a direct fiber line back to the convention center. The team is also currently installing the latest in wireless technologies to provide complimentary wireless internet service for all restaurant guests and advanced services during private events.

St. Louis Battlehawks Move in to the Dome We are excited about getting football back in St. Louis! Starting in February 2020 The St. Louis BattleHawks will be one of 8 teams kicking off the start of the new XFL football league. Everyone at the Dome at America’s Center is excited about welcoming football back to St. Louis since the Ram’s departure. The XFL team in St. Louis will be the first modern professional football team born in and exclusively for the city and will bring much-needed activity to the Dome. The Smart City St. Louis team supplies internet services to the Dome and is looking forward to this new adventure with a new football league.

The Pinnacle Q3 2019

Center Updates

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San Diego Cart Restoration Project The Smart City San Diego team recently completed a restoration project on their electric carts. All three of the team’s carts were repainted, reupholstered, and rebranded. The carts are used by their technicians to quickly navigate to a client in need of assistance. Keep an eye out for these fancy blue carts on your next trip to the San Diego Convention Center!

Miami Beach Carl Fisher Clubhouse Undergoing Renovations

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HE Carl Fisher Clubhouse is about to undergo a $2.5 million restoration to accompany the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center.

With almost 5,000 square feet, the Carl Fisher Clubhouse will be a part of the convention center campus. The campus has open green space, a bicycle and pedestrian pathway along the edge of the canal to Convention Center Drive, with sculptures and sitting areas. It was designed to be independent with its own

Long Beach Amy Blackman Visits Long Beach Earlier this year, the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) invited consultant and strategist, Amy Blackman, for a visit to the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center.

Blackman had recently presented the findings of a year-long study in a report titled “The Future of Meetings & Events” at the 2019 PCMA Convention in Pittsburgh. The results of the report highlighted five trends that conference attendees wanted for the future of conferences. Joseph Jenci, Senior Vice President of the Long Beach CVB, immedi-

kitchen and can comfortably host 140150 guests.

The Carl Fisher Clubhouse is the oldest public structure in Miami Beach.

The building was designed by architect August “Gus” Geiger and constructed in 1916 as the Miami Beach Municipal Golf Course Clubhouse. With Carl Fisher, Geiger worked on various projects; including Fisher’s residence in 1925.

The City of Miami Beach purchased the golf course in 1939. The clubhouse was designated as a historic site/landmark in 1983.

The Smart City Miami Beach team looks forward to providing internet services to guests of the clubhouse upon completion of the restoration project. ately recognized that Long Beach was already ahead of the curve on the five highlighted trends which are:

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Emotional Intelligence Orchestrated Serendipity Multimodal Design Bigger Than Oneself Clear Sense of Place

Blackman agreed to visit Long Beach and was “blown away,” she stated that “Long Beach is simply ahead of the curve on all five of the trends” as reported by the Long Beach Business Journal. She specifically highlighted Long Beach’s ability to create Orchestrated Serendipity which is underlined by the numerous conversation pods throughout the entire Convention & Entertainment Center. The conversation

pods are meant for attendees to sit and converse, which is a crucial interaction for successful events.

She also felt that Long Beach’s ability to adapt to the idea of Multimodal Design made it stand out among other centers. The Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center can customize its different rooms and facilities, giving planners the ability to create their events to reflect different personalities and tastes, especially in the new Pacific Ballroom.

Check out video report of Blackman’s trip to Long Beach at: https:// w w w.yo ut u b e .c o m / watch?v=9rWplOSx7_U

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The Pinnacle Q3 2019

Center Updates the event a huge success.

Dallas Servicing DreamHack

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GAMING has become so popular that championships are nationally televised events and prizes can reach into the millions of dollars. One of the leaders in this type of event is DreamHack, which is a Swedish production company specializing in eSports tournaments and other gaming conventions. It was recognized at one time by the Guinness Book of Records as being the largest LAN (Local Area Network)

Los Angeles Success at SIGGRAPH 2019

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OR more than 40 years, SIGGRAPH has been the place to gather knowledge and spark collaboration between diverse disciplines—a vast, robust industry becomes stronger and healthier when leaders converge. SIGGRAPH

party and computer festival with the world’s fastest internet connection and most generated traffic. Started back in the early ’90s by a small group of schoolmates, they have built the company into an impressive international phenomenon that now holds gaming events all over the world.

There are many eGaming events traveling the county, and The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas was privileged to host DreamHack this summer. With the unique technology requirements of this event, the facility was glad to have Smart City Networks as its technology and network partner.

The expertise and high level of customer service provided helped in making

features hundreds of learning opportunities, including research presentations, courses, panels, sessions and talks on topics ranging from practical applications of technology to theoretical suppositions on the future. The experiences and exhibition at SIGGRAPH provide an opportunity for hands-on exploration of what’s next in the industry. Thousands of professionals attend SIGGRAPH every year to share their knowledge, exchange ideas, and innovate in a collaborative atmosphere.

There are many facets to this event from the Counter Strike World Championship to a BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer) LAN War. This year’s BYOC had over 2,000 individual entries which needed to be networked together and provided with Gigs of bandwidth.

With some unique requirements, Smart City had to offer some specialize engineering to allow the show to utilize their own IP scheme.

Several companies were represented in the Expo area, like Microsoft, Geico, ESPORT Management, Monster Energy Beverages, and Indie Games, to name a few. Each booth had individual technology requirements to showcase the wide range of products.

The overall bandwidth averaged over 1.35 Gbps throughout the entire event, with maximums over 5.6 Gbps up and down. The event started Friday, May 31st, and ran through Sunday, June 2nd.

The Smart City team was very excited about this event and worked tirelessly to assure that they surpassed all the facility’s and event’s goals.

The Smart City LA team would like to thank everyone that helped with the show including Jorge Esqueda (Technician, Anahiem), Jim Erickson (General Manager, DC) and Mike Hertweck (Senior Wireless Network Administrator, NOC).

The Pinnacle Q3 2019

We Care & Give Back

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Las Vegas Draft Day at Cristo Rey St. Viator

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N September 5, Smart City’s Jacki Miller (CFO), Cara Kroenke (Recruiting Manager), and Brian Jones (HR Generalist) attended the first-ever Draft Day for Cristo Rey St. Viator College Preparatory’s Corporate Work Study Program. In the form of a national sports league draft, the event gave the students their first opportunity to meet with members of their work site assignment.

Eduardo, Gabriella, Dominick, and Moncerrat will all be working in various departments at the Smart City corporate office throughout the academic year. This experience will teach crucial business skills and give these stu-

San Antonio Volunteering at the Migrant Center

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VER the summer, Keith McNeely (Sr. Director Technology Services), Liliya Piskunova (CSSR), Frank Lopez (Technician II) and Guillermo Huerta (Customer Sales & Service Manager) went to the migrant center to volunteer their time.

Some of them assisted by translating

Pictured LEFT to RIGHT: Jacki Miller (CFO), Moncerrat, Gabriella, Brian Jones (HR Generalist), Dominick, Cara Kroenke (Recruiting Manager), and Eduardo dents a better understanding of different professions while paying for their quality education at Cristo Rey St. Viator. Smart City is excited about havand helping the migrants get to their final destination. They helped book their transportation, feed them, and interact with the children to give the parents a much-needed break. They are relocating from their home country because of violence and political turmoil and have chosen to come to the United States of America in search of the American Dream. The team has since followed-up with a couple of the mothers and fathers that they assisted and were informed they had arrived safely to their target destination.

ing Eduardo, Gabriella, Dominick, andMoncerrat with the company this year and assisting them on their journey to a bright future.

Picture: Keith McNeely (Sr. Director Technology Services) watching videos on his phone with childern at the migrant center

Anaheim 25th Annual YMCA Golf Tournament

Picture: Kevin Patch (General Manager) with Anaheim Family YMCA

On August 5, Smart City participated in the 25th annual Anaheim Family YMCA golf tournament to help provide valuable programs for the youth in our community. Kevin Patch (General Manager) has been the co-chair for this event for 15 years, and Smart City has supported it for over 20 years. A prime example of “We Care and Give Back!”

Picture LEFT to RIGHT: Jeff Byrne (Anaheim Convention Center), Kevin Patch (General Manager), Henry De La Rosa (General Manager, LA) Tyler Houser (YMCA)

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The Pinnacle Q3 2019

We Care & Give Back

Picture LEFT to RIGHT: Patrick Nelson (Operations Manager) and Frank Lopez (Technician II)

San Antonio Picture FAR RIGHT: Andrea Wright, Feleshia Cochran, and Janae Tinsley (General Manager)

Fort Worth

The Heart Walk raises funds for lifesaving science that can teach us all how to live longer and be healthy for good. The PED-Clot Busters raised over $1,000 at this event.

Raising Funds at the Heart Walk

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ANAE TINSLEY (General Manager) had the pleasure of walking in the 3 mile Heart Walk 2019, at Will Rogers Memorial Center, with the Public Events Department-Clot Busters Team on Saturday, September 14, 2019. Joining her was retired General Manager Feleshia Cochran, Andrea Wright, Catrina Holley, and their team captain, Joyce Howard. Everyone had a great time, and they look forward to next

Lending a Hand to the Salvation Army

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rom time to time we all need a helping hand, and this summer Keith McNeely (Sr. Director Technology Services), Patrick Nelson (Operations Manager), Frank Lopez (Technician II) and Guillermo Huerta (Customer Sales & Service Manager) were able to reach out and help. They went to the Salvation Army food distribution center to unbox and load groceries into deserving families’ cars. They provided joy while fighting the hot and humid 98-degree weather.

Cincinnati Operation Backpack

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MART CITY Cincinnati team donated school supplies to fill ten backpacks and donate to students at schools in the Cincinnati area.

Boost “Thank you to everyone that contributed to the back-to-school supply drive!

We filled 10 backpacks and have extra supplies to provide support to local low income and at-risk youth so they have

the supplies they need to be successful in school this year. As always, the committee appreciates your generosity and support. We couldn’t do this without YOU!” Julie Boyce PHR, Human Resource Manager, Duke Energy Convention Center

Picture LEFT to RIGHT: Keith McNeely (Sr. Director Technology Services)

The Pinnacle Q3 2019

Team Member Updates Honolulu Creative Cultivation: A Profile of Devin Wolery T has been a hallmark of the Smart City Hawaii team to foster growth and sense of community. One individual who has captained this effort in 2019 has been our Technician, Devin Wolery. Much like his predecessor (Daniel Sakimura, now Operations Manager for the Smart City team in Colorado), Devin has an intrinsic ability to look towards the horizon by always considering the future.

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Devin always had an affinity for technology growing up. At the age of 24, he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii and took ownership of PC Gamerz. For the past 11 years, Devin took a company that was on the verge of financial ruin and has grown it into the premier gaming community within Hawaii. Aside from growing his business and building a community in his store, Devin has also

held many community outreach functions such as partnering with Hawaii Blood Bank and the Make-A-Wish foundation.

For the past year and a half, along with building his business, Devin has lent his entrepreneurial and technology expertise to Smart City. His acumen for project management and growing relationships has benefitted us greatly. After coming aboard, Devin endeavored to complete a daunting project that was begun by his predecessor: expanding our data accessibility in the Exhibit Halls.

Once this project was complete, he took the helm towards the implementation of our first UPS system. While liaising with the Smart City NOC and local electrical contractors, Devin executed much of the installation himself. The timeline for our UPS would not have been possible without his efforts.

Recently, while attending a meeting with the Hawaii Convention Center (HCC) events staff, Devin overheard that the team was finding the transi-

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tion into their new floorplan drafting software cumbersome. Devin had a working knowledge of the software and volunteered his time right away and offered training sessions to get the team proficient with the new platform.

He realized that this effort would not only benefit the events staff but every other department that relied on the timely circulation of these floorplans for events. Devin has facilitated three training sessions, not only for the events staff but the food and beverage staff as well. Already, we’ve seen a dramatic improvement in the staff’s proficiency with this software and have received glowing gratitude from the General Manager of HCC, Teri Orton.

Suffice it to say; we are truly grateful for all of Devin’s contributions to our successes out here on our small island.

He lives our ten business principles from “Integrity without Compromise” to “We Care and Give Back” every day.

We certainly hope to keep him around for as long as we are privileged to have him.

Anniversary Milestones

Smart City Los Angeles’ Event Coordinator, Paula Ruiz, pictured with Henry De La Rosa (General Manager) and Keely McGaffin (Customer Sales & Service Manager), celebrated her ten-year anniversary with the company on June 22.

We want to thank her for all of her hard work with Smart City for the past 10 years!

Smart City Colorado’s Stephanie Garcia, pictured with Tommie Beltz (Customer Sales & Service Manager) celebrated her five-year Anniversary with the company on August 18. She started with Smart City at the Colorado Convention Center as a CSSR 1 and today she is an Event Coordinator. Congratulations and thank you for all your hard work!

Smart City Los Charlotte’s Technician II, Christopher DeLane, celebrated his tenyear anniversary with the company on August 24. We want to thank him for all of he does for Smart City over the past 10 years!

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The Pinnacle Q3 2019

Team Member Updates

Anniversary Milestones

Smart City Corporate’s Circuits Analyst, Tina Shields, pictured with Jacki Miller (CFO), celebrated her fifteen-year anniversary with the company on September 13. We want to thank her for all of her hard work with Smart City for the past 15 years!

Smart City Phoenix’s Technician II, Greg Smith, pictured with Laureen Boykin (Sr. Director Products and Services), celebrated his twenty-year anniversary with the company on September 13. We want to thank him for all of his hard work and dedication to Smart City over the past 20 years!

Houston — NRG

Team Member Position Advancement

O Houston — GRB Angelica Earns EoM at the GRB Convention Center

A

NGELICA GR ANT (Event Coordinator) has played a major role in the success of the events visiting our facility. She always maintains a positive disposition and provides top-notch customer service to all of our clients.

She has provided support to everyone in our departments and is always willing to provide mentorship to our newer team members. Our Smart City team is extremely grateful for all of her hard work!

ver the last few months we have had a few promotions of existing employees plus the return of one previous employee, this is contributing to the formation a great team. I want to take a moment and recognize these team members and say “Thank You” to them for the hard work and dedication they provide here at NRG every day.

Our first promotion here was to Apollo Tee as he transitioned from a part-time Technician to full time, and became the “go-to” guy for all of our installations here. He has been really focused on increasing his network knowledge on voice and data, as well as his communication with building staff, and coaching of his team members. When there are customers that need service, he is always ready to jump in with a positive attitude and go the extra mile to make them happy.

Next in our lineup is Kyoko Hicks, formerly a CSSR Manager at the GRB, before she explored opportunities with another company. She is now back as

Boosts Walter E. Washington Convention Center “Mark Haley (President) and the Smart City Team, I wanted to thank you all for a very well received presentation yesterday. It was clear that Smart City has been an outstanding partner to Events DC for 16+ years. Day over day, year over year, the investments you are making are having a direct positive impact on our operations. The result of this allows Events DC to drive our mission of being the industry leader in convention sports & entertainment.

Thank you again for your time and commitment to success!”

Jonas Hirshfield, Chief Technology Officer, Events DC the Operations Manager here at NRG and bringing with her a positive and high energy leadership style. Kyoko has really taken the helm with the team. She is training and coaching her team on operations items, as well as cross-training them using her previous experience as a CSSR Manager. Her expertise is helping to bridge the gap you usually find between operations and customer service and only helps to make the team here at NRG more versatile.

Lastly, we have Raquel Boyd, who was also a member of the GRB. She was heavily involved with Rodeo and OTC this year and made an impression not only on the local team but also the building staff here at NRG. When the need arose to have a new Event Coordinator here at NRG, she was the obvious choice. She is always pleasant and kind and willing to help any way she can, even if it’s outside of what her role entails. She works well with the team, responds great to feedback, and works hard to get the team all the information we need to service all of our events successfully.

I am very grateful for team members that are willing to go above and beyond not only for me but for the customers.

A team like this is a team that will help take Smart City TO THE TOP!

The Pinnacle Q3 2019

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August Glenn Sparkes,IT Operations Professional Duke Energy Convention Center

June Sarah Finnegan, Quality Assurance Professional Las Vegas Corporate

Picture LEFT to RIGHT: Mark Haley (President) Sarah Finnegan (Quality Assuarance Professional) and Laureen Boykin (Sr. Director, Products & Services)

S

AR AH hits on so many of our company principals, but I wanted to highlight specific over- accomplishments that she has delivered on. I truly could not have gotten the training rolling and off the ground without Sarah’s extra help in the final details. She worked really hard and took ownership of it, which took a lot of weight off my shoulders. Sarah has a reputation of always being willing to pitch-in when needed, always with a great attitude.

Bravo to Sarah!

July

Picture LEFT to RIGHT: Glenn Sparkes (IT Operations Professional) and Arnold Chavez (General Manager)

G

LENN SPARKES of embodies teamwork.

Not just within his own center, Jalen Thomas, CSSR nor region but also with his neighboring Walter E. Washington Convention Center central region, Dallas, TX. He assisted Chris Pendleton (General Manager) of Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in designing, installing and configuring their new network system which consisted of VMWare, servers (Domain Controllers, Shared File Server, WSUS, Firewall, Content Filter, DHCP/DNS, AD Web Portal and Helpdesk thru Spiceworks), ASAs, Backup System and Anti-Virus System. He had made time to assist Dallas remotely, in spite of the hectic event schedule and daily IT helpdesk obligations at the Duke Picture LEFT to RIGHT: Donnita Butler Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, (Customer Sales & Service Supervisor) Jalen OH. He strongly believes that his success Thomas (CSSR), and Jim Erickson (General is also measured by the success of the other teams he had helped.

Manager)

I

n the short amount of time here, Jalen has been reliable, determined and proactive. I’ve witnessed Jalen create a training method for his peers as well as offer to create an SOP. He always takes initiative in discovering innovative methods to implementing task that allows his colleagues to gain from it in the process. He’s always willing to stay late during events to assist the team with business demands. Recently, he has been shadowing the Ops team as he interested in being hands on with labor and programming. Jalen has passed his Network+ and A+ certs within the 5 months he has been with us and has accepted a position with our operations team – he is a rock star!

Boosts Atlantic City Convention Center “Ryan McCart (General Manager) was amazing. He was responsive prior to, during, and after the event.”

Tavaria Adegbite, Northstar Academy / Camden Prep Retreat Colorado Convention Center “Stephanie Garcia (Event Coordinator), thank you! Your team was extraordinary in helping us! Huge thank you! ” Vicky Ashkenazi, Cool Automation, CEDIA 2019

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The Pinnacle Q3 2019

Employee Anniversaries

July - 2019 Tammy Clark Jennifer Way Nicholas Urquiza Hector Ruiz Dylan Deering Dane Hardy Alexis Mayfield Michael Hertweck Thomas Lam Adam Chau Jessica Fobbs

12 years 11 years 9 years 7 years 7 years 6 years 6 years 6 years 3 years 3 years 2 years

William LaPrad Daniel Little Bray Pabalan Jose Torres Bernard Tania Ramos Eric Mowrey Sarah Finnegan Elijah McCall Dina Bower Valarie Richardson George Shultz

2 years 2 years 2 years 2 years 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year

26 years 22 years 19 years 17 years 17 years 17 years 17 years 14 years 13 years 12 years 10 years 7 years 7 years 7 years

Brian Clear Marcos Catena Stephanie Garcia Mark Thompson Ashley Tolan Jason Bussie Ryan Stephens-Miles Cody Campbell Kenneth Arzola Alexus Gammage LaBrea Marshall Larissa Franzen Jesus Salas Nadal Sharon Cruz

6 years 5 years 5 years 4 years 4 years 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years 2 years 1 year 1 year

22 years 20 years 15 years 8 years 8 years 8 years

Nycole Smith Salvador Bernal-Flores Cara Kroenke Corey Robinson Patino Alejandro Bonilla Allan

5 years 2 years 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year

August - 2019 Tammy Espinosa Janae Tinsley David Langford Michael Hampton Jr. Frank Loyke Whitey Rodriguez Robert Romero Quas Sine Francisco Magdaleno Hue Banh Christopher Delane Corey Anderson Keith Bean Jesse Gallegos

September - 2019 Julia Slocombe Greg Smith Tina Shields Jennifer Mezquita Timothy Wass Paul Russell

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