SMG has received 8 nominations in the 2012 Venues Today Hall of Headlines, the annual awards given to headline – making people and events within the venue industry. The SMG venues are represented in three categories: news, booking and concessions. Winners will be showcased and caricatured in The Venues Today Year-End Issue December 2012.
“We congratulate all the SMG nominees and are proud of their achievements across many disciplines of venue management including new business, event booking, event marketing and food service,” said Wes Westley, President and CEO of SMG.
The four SMG nominees in the news category represent a diverse range of headlining accomplishments from renovation to review:
Sandra Dunn, GM at DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., For leading the 14,500-seat arena, where she has worked since 1997, through its current $17.5 million expansion and renovation; Lawrence Lepore, GM for Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, R.I. For exchanging tickets to a canceled show in 1979 by The Who in Providence for tickets to the band's 2013 stop in the city, their first in 33 years. Lepore's move received TV news coverage from coast to coast, reaching more than 2 million viewers, and was covered in more than 2,000 publications.
Bob Papke, SMG Vice President of Live Entertainment – Theatres for the work he has done bringing several new prestigious theatres into the SMG Theatre Network – now 56 theatres strong and the largest conglomeration of privately-managed theatres in the world. New theatres added this year: The National Theatre, Washington; The Knight Center, Miami; Arie Crown Theatre, Chicago; Wagner Noel Theatre, Midland, Texas; The OnCenter Theatre complex, Syracuse, N.Y.; Sands Event Theatre Center, Bethlehem, Pa.; and Coronado Performing Arts Center, Rockford, Ill.
Kendall Wall GM, Florence (S.C.) Civic Center for breaking a facility revenue record. In 2012, the award-winning Florence Civic Center enjoyed a 17-percent increase in gross revenue, 35-percent increase in gross ticket sales and a 33-percent increase in attendance. The $2.8-million in earned revenue is a facility record for the 19-year-old building.
The three nominees in the marketing category are:
Sarah Haertl, Former Director of Sales/Marketing at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan. for a 4 part trade advertising campaign with each ad highlighting a specific customer service initiative offered to promoters, tours and artists from the building.?
Christine Pileckas, Marketing Manager/ Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan.for the '12 Days of Entertainment' promotion, based on the ever-popular '12 Days of Christmas' theme. The promotion ran from December 12 through December 23, concluding with a grand prize of a golden ticket, good for two tickets to every event at the arena in 2012. It received 4,621 entries and increased Intrust Bank Arena's Facebook fans by 4,831 in 19 days, and captured 2,118 new email addresses for the arena's email list.
Steve Tadlock, GM, & Mitzi Evans, Director of Marketing Save Mart Center at Fresno (Calif.) State for pulling off a surprise press conference for Van Halen at Save Mart Center at Fresno State in conjunction with Live Nation representatives. The press conference announced that Van Halen would be returning to Fresno marking the third time Van Halen performed at Save Mart Center the most shows at the venue by a Rock And Roll Hall of Fame artist.. The date was later canceled. Fresno State dignitaries and Save Mart Center executives unveiled a street sign for newly declared Van Halen Way, located on the university campus directly in front of Save Mart Center, to remain through the show date. Van Halen donated an EVH Wolfgang Special guitar that was to be signed by members of the band and auctioned off to benefit Fresno State University's music department.? ?
The final nomination was in the concessions category:
Vincent Lai, Chef for SMG's Savor… at McCormick Place in Chicago?For cooking for 19,000 for the NATO Summit held at McCormick Place in May. There were more than 7,500 individual delegates with an additional 5,000 foreign ministers in attendance and support staff. More than 2,000 members of the media were reporting back to their countries.
