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FLORIDA FACILITY MANAGERS ASSOCIATION |
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Behind the Scenes is the bi-annual newsletter published by FFMA.
Archived newsletters:
President's Corner | Annual Meeting Update | Scholarship Program
Operations Seminar Update | Lobbyist Update New Members | On The Move | News from Around the State 2007 FFMA Sponsors | FFMA Board of Directors President's CornerWow! The New Year has kicked off with a terrific start here in “Gator Nation” or “Titlesville,” as we have been hailed. As you all must know by now our Gator football team beat Ohio State University convincingly for the coveted NCAA National Championship. The win marks the first time in college sports that one school holds two such designations in the same year as our Gators also won the NCAA National Championship in men’s basketball. Needless to say as Floridians we are extremely proud of both teams and this extraordinary achievement! On a more personal note I am proud to share with you that
I became a “grandpa” on January 4th. My oldest daughter
Rachel gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Hannah Brooke.
Mom, dad Mark and Hannah are all doing well. I of course It has been a very busy first half of FFMA’s fiscal year.
With the leadership of our Secretary/Treasurer Mickey
Farrell, our Executive Director Cherie Worley and Mark your calendars for June 17-19, 2007 to attend our
Annual Meeting where we will be returning to the
beautiful Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach. Vice Cherie has done a remarkable job with membership renewals. As of this writing I believe we have only a few who
have not sent in their dues and we are only about ten shy of attaining our membership goal of 100! By the way,
if you know someone who is a good candidate please encourage him/her to join us (and please let Cherie know Please remember our sponsors when securing products and services. I know they Lionel J. Dubay, FFMA Annual Meeting Update The 2007 FFMA Annual Meeting will be held at the Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach from June 17 to June
19, 2007. So don’t miss this year’s annual FFMA meeting being held More detailed information
will be forthcoming as plans
develop so please check out Scholarship ProgramThe FFMA Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the association's continued support of our scholarship program. Three scholarships are currently being offered: • The FFMA Annual Meeting Scholarship, which is a $500 scholarship plus waived registration fee to attend the FFMA Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida on June 17-19, 2007. • The IAAM/UVMC Annual Conference and Trade Show Scholarship, which is a $500 scholarship to attend the IAAM Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 20-24, 2007. • The College Scholarship, which is a $500 general scholarship. Please visit our website at www.floridafacilities.com/scholarships.htm for detailed information on these scholarships, including eligibility criteria. Interested students should submit applications (available at the website) by April 15, 2007 to: Mark Striffler, Chair, Scholarship Committee For additional information on our scholarship offerings, feel free to contact any member of the Scholarship Committee: Mark Striffler @ mstriffler@admin.fsu.edu Operations Seminar UpdateThe annual FFMA Operations Seminar is in the planning stages and Mike LaPan has graciously offered to host our meeting at The Lakeland Center sometime in mid-September, perhaps the 12th or 13th. If you have any program ideas please pass them along to Lionel Dubay or Mike Legislative Updates from FFMA Lobbyist, Wayne Malaney, Esq.The ’07 Legislative Session began on March 6, 2007 with the Governor’s State of the State
Address. The budget outlook is bleak. In addition to the reductions already This confirms what I have already encountered, i.e., it will be an uphill battle to be able to pass a permanent tax exemption this session. Having said that, a bill will be filed in the Senate by the Chairman of the Commerce Committee, Alex Diaz de la Portilla. Initially, the bill will address the three remaining tax exemptions that have not become permanent. These relate to the tax on services that are part of your rental agreements, the tax on admissions for events sponsored wholly by governmentally owned buildings carrying 110% of the risk of the success of the event, and the rental tax for space used by novelty concessionaires when the rent is based on a percentage of the sales. These exemptions, while currently in place, are due to sunset on June 30, 2009. It is my hope that the Senate bill will move through the Senate, with the expectation that we may have to trim it back to a single issue. In turn, that single issue may be able to be filed as a Council Bill late in session. I anticipate if anything passes it will be only one of the three remaining issues. There is also rumored to be a move afoot to remove the cap on the # of tickets that can be offered for sale to an event. Last year, in the ticket resale (legalized scalping) bill, a provision was passed allowing facilities to cap how many tickets could be sold to an individual, on an event by event basis. This language was added to make the sponsors feel better. As you know, you have always been able to control this internally. The legislation will not change that practice. I look forward, once again, to representing the FFMA before the Florida Legislature and to working with each of you as I call upon you to work with your local legislators. 2007 FFMA New MembersWelcome FFMA New Members! • Rick Nafe, Vice President of Operations, Tropicana Field On The MoveStephen C. O'Connell Center In addition David Lucier has been hired as Senior Event Coordinator. David was also a student employee at the O’Connell Center while studying at UF and has a wide-range of experience in overseeing all aspects of various events. His undergraduate degree is in sport management and he has a dual master’s degree in exercise and sport science and business administration. David returns to the O’Connell Center from Global Spectrum’s Greater Richmond Convention Center where he served as Event Manager. “We are fortunate to have Lynda and David on our full time administrative staff and proud that they both came up through our student program. Both are extremely qualified and I am confident they will continue to excel in the public assembly facility management industry,” said Dubay. News-Journal Center Contact Information: Chad.Smith@news-journalcenter.com ; 386.226.1904 Palm Beach County Convention Center The Palm Beach County Convention Center would like to welcome Mervin Lee as the new Director of Housekeeping and Set. Liz Scoggin has over 10 years experience in Event Management. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, and
raised in the rural area of Azle, Texas where she grew-up on a farm, Liz served her first few years of
her career as an Event Coordinator for such outdoor events as Fort Worth Main Street Arts Festival in
Fort Worth, Texas and the Taste of the West End in Dallas, Texas. For the last 7 years she has
coordinated indoor events for the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Liz received
her Bachelors of Communication degree at the University of Texas in Arlington. She is also a 2006 Harborview Center Amway Arena Welcomes New Staff Members Shane Henry has been hired as Events Manager; a position held by Michael Thompson, who was recently promoted to Deputy Director. Shane comes to the Orlando Centroplex from NBA City at Universal City Walk. Also joining the Events Department is Eric Staufer, Event Coordinator, who has experience at several Florida venues. We have a new accountant on staff, Anika Oliver, who recently graduated from the University of Central Florida and is currently working on getting her CPA license. Morgan Burroughs joins the Marketing Department overseeing group sales and special projects. Morgan holds a BS from the University of Florida and a Master’s from the University of Central Florida. City of Daytona Beach Apply ASAP with second-party verification of educ. & exp to Harmon Marshall, Personnel Officer, Employment Services, P.O. Box 2451, Daytona Beach FL 32115, (386) 671-8214, Fax (386) 671-3269. Applications may be obtained at www.ci.daytona-beach.fl.us. Applications public record open for inspection. AA/EOE/ADA/ News from Around the StateOcean Center County Manager Jim Dinneen and members of OCORP Inc., the construction representative for the Ocean Center expansion project, recently reported to Volusia County Council the positive progress of the $75.9-million construction endeavor. “We are very pleased with how the bidding process has gone so far,” said Dinneen. “The county’s relationship with OCORP has been an effective business partnership, and I’m pleased that things are moving in the right direction.” As of July 1, 2006, Volusia County and OCORP began leading the Ocean Center expansion construction. Dinneen reported that 48 percent of the building contracts are with local companies. Additionally, Volusia County has distributed all bid packages, and has processed “letters of intent” or has contracts written for 73 percent of them. “This is a not only a Volusia County project, this expansion will impact the meeting and convention industry – and communities – nationwide,” said Frank Bruno, County Chair. At the presentation, the Volusia County Council was given the following construction schedule by OCORP for the Ocean Center expansion project: In July 2006, faced with rapidly rising construction costs, the Volusia County Council approved a revised budget that caps the cost of the Ocean Center expansion project at $76 million. The Volusia County Council then agreed the county will bid and build the project with the expanded services of OCORP, the county’s construction representative, and TVS, the Atlanta-based architectural firm. The Ocean Center expansion project is in three phases: Phase I – south parking lot; Phase II – site work and utilities and Phase III – construction of the facility. Renovations to the existing Ocean Center will take place after the complete construction of the new areas. The opening of the new Ocean Center is slated for summer 2008. The current Ocean Center is 225,000 square feet, and the expansion will add 227,491 square feet, for a total of 452,491. Additionally, the new Ocean Center facility will display $400,000 of visual art through the County’s Art in Public Places Program. Updates of the Ocean Center expansion progress is online at www.volusia.org/expansion. The Ocean Center’s event calendar can be found on www.oceancenter.com. The Ocean Center is a service of Volusia County Government. BankUnited Center After strutting down the catwalk in the hottest
fashions from the world’s top designers, The Lakeland Center Orlando Arena Becomes Amway Arena Lion King Ferocious Sales The Lion King’s success is a fitting end to an event that not only required intensive structural changes to the Carr Performing Arts Centre, but also sparked the interest of our city. Such a massive undertaking could not have been made possible without a lot of hard work and a little ‘Hakuna Matata!’ Amway Arena is a Profitable "Pairadise" On February 8, the Amway Arena hosted the sold out show of Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band. Jimmy and his Coral Reefer Band claimed the number spot as the highest grossing show at the Amway Arena, which surpassed the 2006 record previously held by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s Soul2Soul Tour, which grossed $1,107,425. Jimmy and his band “sailed” to the top spot with $1,405,234 in gross ticket sales. Jimmy’s Parrothead’s also played a big part in establishing another new record. Parrothead’s broke the previous food & beverage record held by his last visit by nine percent, with a total of $183,594 in food and beverage sales, resulting in $11.64 per cap. February 10 brought us the “Piano Man” and another sold out crowd to the Amway Arena. Billy Joel still knows how to rock the house and bring his fans to their feet to sing and dance to his legendary classics. Joel nudged out Tim and Faith’s Soul2Soul concert, to come in as the second highest grossing show at Amway Arena. NEW EVENTS CENTER CONTINUES TO TAKE CENTER STAGE The new 18,500-seat facility is estimated to cost $380 million, and is scheduled for completion in 2010. The 18-year-old Amway Arena now houses 17,500 seats at maximum capacity, but with the planned improvements and increased seating, the new arena will be among one of the finest facilities in the world. It is expected that the Amway Arena will be torn down after the new venue is completed. Orange County Convention Center ORLANDO, Fla. (December XX, 2006) – While the Orange County Convention Center is known for providing an economic boost to the Central Florida community, it's also ecome a major source of donations for several of the area's charitable organizations. In 2006, it's estimated more than $1 million in funds and goods were donated to local organizations by visiting conventions and tradeshows and their exhibitors and attendees. More than two dozens visiting shows made donations that included nearly 100,000 pounds of food to local food banks, more than $200,000 in educational supplies and grants and more than $100,000 in monetary donations. "We're very proud of all the conventions and shows that choose to make a donation to one of our local groups," said Kathie Canning, the convention center's Deputy General Manager. "It's great to see our visitors are providing a positive economic impact to our community not only by spending locally, but also giving locally." Some of the tradeshows and conventions that made donations locally include:
Palm Beach County Convention Center Breakers, Schmeakers. A wedding at a palatial hotel is nice, but it's no Indian palace. The five-day December nuptials of Ankur and Meera Patel included more than 10,000 guests, as is traditional for upper-class Indian wedding celebrations. Family members, friends and neighbors from around the globe gathered in Mogri, the native village of the groom's family in Gujarat, India, for grand feasts, fireworks and dancing in the streets. Afterward, the family held a more intimate stateside affair — a reception at the Palm Beach County Convention Center for 900."Every day was so much fun; it was awesome," says the new bride, daughter of Bhupendra and Urmila Patel of Vadodara, India. The Hindu wedding ceremony, which joined two prominent Indian families both by the name of Patel, was held at the Laxmi Vilash Palace, once home to the late King Shri Sayaji Rao Gaekwad of Vadodara. "In India, when you live in a village you're pretty much related to that entire village, all of the village people are considered your brothers and sisters or cousins," says Avani Patel, the groom's sister, who had a major hand in planning and hosting events in India and West Palm Beach. "That's why you can't ever marry someone from your own village." The groom's family — his father, Ashok Patel, and his mother, Malti Patel, of Jupiter — has lived in America for decades. Ankur and his sister Avani were born here. So, to keep the wedding celebration going at home in America, the family threw the small-bycomparison reception at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on Jan. 20. They wouldn't say, but we estimate it cost about half-a-million dollars. "The whole family has become American now, but we still want to keep our culture," says Ashok Patel,
president of A&M Food Stores Inc., a chain of more than 80 convenience stores throughout Florida. "My family is
well-to-do in India, and I did well here also. It is easy to make success in this country if you know how to work
hard." On the guest list? Save the Date Event Consultants of New York, which specializes in Indian, Pakistani and Middle Eastern events, helped the Patels locate Indian vendors in the United States such as Indian caterer Rajbhoug of New York, florist Sangita Mehta of Flower Kingdom in Royal Palm Beach, and an Ohio decorator. "In the Indian community, it's just really hard to find (vendors who are familiar with) all their traditions and rituals and everything that happens," says Sonal Shah, a senior event consultant with Save the Date. Shah hired Rajbhoug to serve up 45 different appetizers at international food stations. Black-tie butlers served drinks during cocktail hour, which really was a cocktail hour and 45 minutes. Surrounded by glowing candles, scattered rose petals and photos from the week of celebrations held in India, guests sipped passion fruit juice, almond-flavored thandai, jaljeera, or a selection from one of the many open, top-shelf bars. In the Grand Ballroom, more than 90 tables of 10 were adorned in white linens with organza overlays of lime green, magenta and tangerine that were tailor-made in India. Uplighting on the walls and silk bows on the white slipcovered chairs were color-coordinated to match. Arrangements of bright-colored roses or lilies served as centerpieces, and an Indian DJ from Toronto flew in to spin a mix of Indian classical, pop and hip-hop music. Dinner — fried whole papad, stuffed dahi wada and mixed chutney — was served family-style, followed by desserts such as hot dry fruit halwa and kesar angur basundi with sitafal. Friends and family members gave toasts and performed dance routines and skits, taking the celebration into the wee hours of the next morning. And to think: It all started with a blind date of sorts. Ankur and Meera Patel's families had been in the tobacco business together in India for generations, so family members arranged for the two to meet in India last January. Ankur kept in touch with Meera, calling several times a day. In March, he returned to India for a niece's wedding — and to spend more time with Meera."A week into that (two-week trip in March), I knew she was the one," says Ankur. "I just had to figure out how to propose." On March 27 he took his would-be bride to a lavish, candlelit dinner at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai. On an after-dinner stroll, he got down on one knee before the Gateway to India, and offered her a red rose in exchange for her hand in marriage. An engagement ceremony was held on March 30. "In India, that was the way," says Ankur. "That's how my father and mother met. They were introduced to each other and they had a week to decide if they wanted to marry each other." Nowadays, it's a little more flexible. You're introduced, Ankur says, and "You take it from there. Then it's up to you. If there's a spark, you decide to keep in touch." In May, the couple met in France for a wedding and then came to America, where Meera stayed for two months before returning to India to prepare for the wedding. Ankur joined her there in late August for a two-week shopping trip. He didn't see her again until the festivities began on Dec. 13. Meera was surprised by the proposal, as were friends and family, because Ankur didn't tell anyone of his intentions. When Ankur's parents heard the news they flew to India immediately. Meera recalls Ankur's sister Avani screaming at the airport, "Hey Mom, hey Mom, I finally found my bhabhi!" Avani had found a sister-in-law, a revered relationship in Indian culture, and Ankur and Meera had found each other. It was time to start celebrating. Raymond James Stadium The NFL Players Association league-wide survey concerning NFL Clubs' playing surfaces is a written survey conducted by the NFLPA Safety and Welfare Committee staff members at team meetings during the 2006 NFL season. Active players voluntarily complete the survey, voting for their field of choice. The survey indicated the players' overwhelming preference for a top quality natural grass playing surface. We are proud of our staff for their continued dedication to the safety and quality for our field. 2007 FFMA SponsorsFFMA is extremely proud to have the support of our outstanding group of sponsors. Your generosity in supporting FFMA and incorporating leadership in the sports and entertainment industry is greatly appreciated! • Ad Systems A very special thank you to the Kravis Center for their support of the Presenter’s FFMA Board of DirectorsLionel J. Dubay, President Rick Hamilton, Vice President Mickey Farrell, Secretary/Treasurer Mary Bensel, Immediate Past President Dave Anderson, Member-at-Large Judy Joseph, Member-at-Large Rose Rundle, Member-at-Large Mike LaPan, Past President Roger Englert, Past President Allen Johnson, Past President Ron Spencer, Past President Cherie Worley, Executive Director, FFMA Wayne Malaney, P.A., Florida Lobbyist, FFMA |
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