Field Boosts and Stories

FIELD BOOSTS & STORIES

There is something odd about the phrase, “back to normal”.

Isolated 2500 miles off the west coast of the continental United States, one would think that Hawaii would be one of the last places affected by the global pandemic... the reality; however, this was quite the contrary.

By April of 2020, the unemployment rate in Hawaii had reached nearly 25%. 1.4 million people live in the state of Hawaii, 2/3 of which reside on the island of Oahu. Which has a land mass half the size of Rhode Island. The Hawaii Convention Center became a full facility extension to critical state agencies, such as the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Health and Department of Housing, 400 additional workstations were deployed to buffer the efforts of these agencies.

This became “normal”.

Nearly two years later, 71% of the state has been fully vaccinated, proof of vaccination is required for dine in restaurants, gyms, movie theatres and many other venues throughout the state. As of March 25th, the mask and vaccination mandate would be lifted, a day many of us wondered would ever come.

Breath is beginning to return to the event industry. We welcomed the International Dairy Queen Expo in January, our first large scale event since the beginning of the pandemic. This marked a hopeful change after a long journey. Two years of distancing, mandates, masks, variants, missing loved ones, loss of jobs, loss of livelihoods, loss of loved ones.

Rooms were set, registration was prepped, fresh carpet was lain... the pipe and drape was positioned. There, quietly yet vigilantly through it all; the lifeblood that forded us across uncharted waters for the past two years... the internet, was working. Things were beginning to look... back to normal.

David Bachler General Manger Hawaii Convention Center

Tim Taylor is fantastic! He is extremely quick to respond and is one of the nicest people I have the pleasure of working with. Thanks for everything Tim!

Midwest Poultry Federation to Minneapolis Convention Center

Every area exceeded my expectation. From the prompt quote process, the attention to my needs, to the install and patience of moving lines around. Daily check in to make sure things are okay.

Herbalife to Anaheim Convention Center

Dallas City Council approved plans for a new convention center. The new Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will be constructed next to the existing building and will cost $2 billion. Construction is slated to begin in early 2024 and a estimated completion of 2026. The convention center began as the 350,000-square-foot Dallas Memorial Auditorium in the 1950s and has undergone expansions and renovations five times since.

Reynaldo Crespo General Manager Dallas Convention Center

Work continues on the new addition to the Hilton Downtown Columbus. The 463-room addition to the existing hotel was “topped out” in early February and is approximately two-thirds complete. In addition to being the first 1000+ room hotel in Ohio, the completed hotel will boast 75,000 sq ft of meeting space and three ballrooms, with the largest being 15,000 sq ft. It will be directly connected to the Greater Columbus Convention Center, with the hotel’s lobby attached to the connector portion of the convention center. The “connector,” as it is called, is the portion of the convention center built above existing rail lines and connects the south portion of the center to the north building, which is the main portion of the center. The new hotel will also feature a rooftop bar on the 28th floor, extending views to the Ohio State University campus.

Bill Duke General Manager Greater Columbus Convention Center

I want to give a “Big Boost” to the team that supported Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show 2022. The Miami International Boat Show and the Miami Yacht Show have joined forces to create the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show, the largest boat and yacht event in the world. Life is better on a boat. Discover everything from kayaks to super yachts to the latest aquatic innovations. The on-land portion of the event will take place at the newly re-imagined Miami Beach Convention Center and Pride Park. The in-water components of the show will take place at Sea Isle Marina, One Herald Plaza, Museum Park Marina, and IGY Yacht Haven Grande at Island Gardens. Historically, the Miami International Boat Show and Miami Yacht Show have attracted hundreds of thousands of attendees to South Florida and generated an estimated combined annual economic impact of $1.34 billion.

Event Support - Madison Grimes (Event Coordinator from Tampa Convention Center), Brian Clear (General Manager from Minneapolis Convention Center), Andrew Brown (General Manager from Miami Beach Convention Center), Gerald D’Angelo (Technician from Miami Beach Convention Center) & Mo Nouwass (Technician I from Colorado Convention Center)

Andrew Brown General Manager Miami Beach Convention Center

SUPER BOWL EXPERIENCE IN LOS ANGELES The NFL’s interactive football theme park returned to Los Angeles for Super Bowl LVI. Fans participated in multiple experiences such as autograph sessions with their favorite players, testing their skills in NFL drills and taking photos with the Vince Lombardi Trophy and Super Bowl rings. In addition to SBX, 500 drones took to the skies each night for a spectacular light show over the convention center. The event was a great success and the Smart City team in LA couldn’t have done it without the help we received from Seattle and Long Beach, and CONGRATULATIONS to the home team, the Los Angeles Rams!!!

Mathew Chavez Operations Manager Los Angeles Convention Center

After being closed for two years due to a complete renovation and COVID, we hit the ground running with our first events at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, SAFE Credit Union Convention Center, and SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center.

The Broadway spectacle Hamilton re-opened the PAC, SacAnime brought more than 1,000 attendees to the grand re-opening of the convention center, and Louis the Child and Mike Epps’ tours got events going again at the Auditorium. California IT in Education (CITE) was one of the next large conferences. The event brought together 2,300 IT professionals, including 200 booth vendors and 290+ certified CTO’s. These events were wonderful opportunities to showcase the improvements we made to the telecommunications infrastructure and equipment and provide vital services to our show managers, exhibitors, and attendees. Following CITE, the Almond Board Conference, an annual conference held at the convention center returned and we were able to meet and simplify the technical demands of their show and start a partnership that will grow stronger as they continue to host the conference here.

The start of 2022 has been a great extension of the success we saw at the end of 2021. Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, the largest wine & grape industry conference and trade show in North America, returned in January. State of the Downtown Breakfast addressed critical issues for the city, and Wicked is in the middle of their gravity defying tour at the Performing Arts Center, among many other events. We are proud to be able to support the many different types of events being hosted at the SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District, and we look forward to continuing to serve the Sacramento community for many years to come.

Jalen D. Thomas General Manager SAFE Credit Union Convention Center

On February 24, 2022, Arnold Chavez, General Manager for the Duke Energy Convention Center, joined leaders of the community and Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber members at the 2022 Chamber Annual Dinner, premier business event of the year, highlighted by the induction of the newest class of Great Living Cincinnatians.

The Great Living Cincinnatian Award is presented annually by the Cincinnati Chamber, chosen by the Chamber’s Senior Council for service to the community, business, and civic attainment on a local, state, national or international level. Also, for leadership, awareness of the needs of others, and distinctive accomplishments that have brought favorable attention to their community, institution or organization, and the city of Cincinnati. This year, Donna Jones Baker, Jean-Robert de Cavel, Charles O. Dillard MD, and Roger L. Howe were welcomed to this prestigious group of members.

Smart City was thrilled to finally welcome back the National Association of Home Builders’ NAHB International Builders’ Show and National Kitchen & Bath Association’s KBIS for Design & Construction Week! Which brought in nearly 70,000 attendees and nearly 1,200 exhibitors occupying approximately 725,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibits. Offering attendees insight into the latest products and practices, over 110 education sessions led by experts on various industry topics. This is certainly the premier event for the design and construction industry professionals.

Mark Thompson Manager, Sales and Marketing Orange County Convention Center Here at the Kansas City Convention Center, we have truly have had a fantastic basketball season! March 2nd through March 6th we had the MIAA, followed up by Woman’s Big 12 Championships March 8th through March 14th. Then we finishied up the month with NAIA Men’s Basketball Championship from March 15th through March 23rd. Our team has received many kudos for supporting each of these events with all of their power and internet needs. It has been a smashing success! From left to right. Andrew McCoy, Smart City Tech 1, Antoinette Ibarra Smart City Event Coordinator, Patrick Sarcinella Smart City KC GM, and Matthew Cunningham Assistant General Manager of KCCC.

Patrick Sarcinella General Manager Smart City – Kansas City

THE RNC I was told that the Republican National Convention was coming, and I should be ready for it. The RNC staff was to do the circuits and networking. We were only to support them.

Then COVID showed up! When COVID disrupted our world, the RNC was canceled and then partially reinstated. Then we found out that some of the RNC would be in Charlotte. We didn’t know anything, but we knew it was coming—first, a few phone lines for the Secret Service, then fiber for the live stream. We didn’t have fiber in the area. I mentioned this to other GMs. The next day, Andrew Brown, Chris Pendleton, and Chris Wharry organized, got approval, and executed a plan. Andrew shipped fiber, Chris W. Shipped supplies, and Chris P. flew in with his fiber splicer.

Chris P. arrived, taught us to splice fiber, and ran ethernet and fiber everywhere the Secret Service, WHCA, and the RNC needed connections. Due to the security and COVID, Chris left. Nobody could have prepared me for what happened next. Then I got a call from Chris DeLane. He said (screamed) FLOOD, FLOOD! MDF. I could hear rushing water in the background. I called the contracting company.

I got there. Chris was standing under a waterfall with a ceiling tile, preventing our core equipment from drowning. Contractors got there and put anything they could between the water and our equipment. I saw the Secret Service’s server and switches on the floor; I quickly propped them up on Styrofoam and called anybody who had equipment in the room. Then, like magic, more contractors showed up with pumps and wet vacs. The leak was stopped, and the cleanup began.

Our NOC team jumped in and directed Chris on how to dry and restart our equipment. The government equipment got damp but worked. The event went smoothly after that.

The help and support I got was fantastic. The teamwork was amazing. The most significant help came from Chris DeLane, he made the customer happy, and he had my back.

Karl Seeba General Manager Charlotte Convention Cent