Career Profile and Interview

Venue Management

Abstract: This is a career profile over information regarding the daily operations, qualifications, and other features of venue management supplemented by two interviews with highly respected professionals in the field.

Submitted by:

David Zahn

MGT 310 Introduction to the Entertainment Industry Fall 2016

Today’s Date

10/31/16

Includes interviews with

Jim Kelly Director of Guest Experience

The Grand Ole Opry 2804 Opryland Drive Nashville, TN 37214

Office: (615) 231-1621 JKelly@opry.com

http://www.opry.com/

Jackie Bednara Special Projects Manager

The Ramada Plaza Hotel & Oasis Convention Center 2546 N. Glenstone Ave. Springfield, MO 65803 Hotel: (417) 866-5253

jbednara@springfieldoasis.com http://www.ramadaoasis.com/

POSITION Venue Manager JOB DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Venue managers deal with the daily operations of a certain venue such as concert halls, sports arenas, or hotels just to name a few ( What is venue management?, n.d.). “A management professional is in charge of these tasks, which include scheduling, booking, client relations, financial management, marketing, promotions, event coordination, administrative work, venue security, maintenance services and human resources.” In a nutshell, venue managers are responsible for all things necessary before, during, and after an event is held at their venue. Financially, venue managers must provide budget reports, which includes planning sales revenue and costs for any period of time. On a smaller scale, they must manage box offices and coordinate with vendors. In addition, venue managers also have similar job tasks as do event planners. Jackie Bednara states in her interview, “If you host an event there you're dealing with liquor control. You're dealing with the city who has these regulations for their number of vendors and paying taxes from the vendors and collecting their vendor licenses.” Like most businesses outside of the Entertainment Industry, venue managers must take control of marketing techniques, staff supervision, meeting safety requirements, and the firing and hiring or employees( What is venue management?, n.d.). What sets venue managers apart from average business managers are the aspects of promoting events, booking artists, coordinating with artists’ managers, and the handling client’s specific terms for production and services. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Within the Venue Industry, there are many different opportunities for employment as a venue manager. This website states, “Large metropolitan areas such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago have the most opportunities to break into the music management business, but these jobs can also be the hardest to get. Management posi tions in small towns may be fewer, but the competition for positions will not be as fierce ( Music Venue Owner, 2015).” Jackie Bednara outlined some notable opportunities such as sports arenas, music venues, theaters, hotels, expedition halls, venue related areas in big parks, and music festivals (personal communication, October 31, 2016). Each venue might break down venue management positions into different segments. For example in his interview, Jim Kelly states that he works as the Director of Guest Experiences at the Grand Ole Opry (personal communication, October 27, 2016). His duties are to, “oversee all of the management and staff of security, guest services,

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tours, call center, and box office department. That ranges anything from day to day operation of our tours to preparation of our Opry shows and other special events that we may provide to the public here at the Opry house.” Jackie Bednara works as the Special Projects Manager at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Oasis Convention Center and she says, “I work with every single department basically directly for my general manager on anything that she needs me to do (personal communication, October 31, 2016). A lot of it's her miscellaneous items. Other might be just special projects, special things that she needs me to do. I also do strategic facilitation for our company. For the past couple years we've been doing strategic planning and setting ourselves up for the future. We're rebranding now so that's another project that I've got going on.” No venue management position is the same because of the differences between the venues based on what each venue has to offer. However, through these examples, similarities can be extricated. Both Jim and Jackie oversee the “daily operations” of the company, as well as, strategic planning for special events. Many venue management positions will have an overlap in duties. With that being said, these jobs are not just handed out to just anyone and we will explore opportunities to gain access to these jobs later. EARNINGS

Earnings per year as a venue manager can vary based on job specificity, geographical area, and type of venue. According to Jackie Bednara, the entertainment industry has the reputation of not paying well, however, she goes onto to say that the venue management side has a lot of potential depending on the position you have (personal communication, October 31, 2016). She also states that if you live in somewhere, for example New York, where the pay is greater, you will often find that the cost of living is also much higher than somewhere like Springfield, Missouri. Salaries as venue manager have been calculated at an average of $45,167 a year ( Venue Manager Salaries, n.d.). In addition to this, the lowest 10% of venue managers make $19,028, and the highest 10% of venue managers make $107,215 a year. Those managers who have certifications in facility management make 13% more than those who are not certified ( Music Venue Owner, 2015). ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

As stated earlier, these venue management jobs aren’t just handed out to anyone who applies. So how can I get a job as a venue manager? Jim Kelly from the Grand Ole Opry highlighted a couple ways to stand out and advance yourself into any career position within the Entertainment Industry. First, Jim Kelly said to be ready to make sacrifices (personal communication, October 27, 2016). When working in the Entertainment Industry, the hours can be much different than a regular 9-5 job working Monday through Friday. He states that it is a lot of late nights and many weekends. When friends and family get off work for holidays and go out

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to enjoy themselves, those working in the Entertainment Industry will be busy providing entertainment sources for those individuals and groups. Jim Kelly hinted that it’s not enough to just get the job done, but you have to really enjoying doing your work. Enjoying the work that you do can great impact the attitude you bring to work everyday, which can then lead to promotions (personal communication, October 27, 2016).

In order to advance into a venue management position, you must be able to not only sacrifice a normal work schedule but take every job you can get no matter far beneath you the job feels. These venue management jobs require previous experience doing small, tedious tasks that better serve the venue. Jackie says these tasks can be as simple as serving food at banquets or even scrubbing toilets (personal communication, October 31, 2016). To paraphrase her, Jackie states it’s the experience and the appreciation you gain from these moments that help you to better understand how to manage better. In addition to this, Jim Kelly states that the best way to advance into a venue management position is not to bounce from location to location, but rather spend as much time as you can at one company (personal communication, October 27, 2016). Remaining at one company can better develop your strengths as well as enhance your weakness. Moving from company to company could be hurtful to your career by missing out on new learning opportunities.

Jim Kelly describes two reasons why he has found a venue management career path attractive. First, following a venue management position has given him the opportunity to step out of his comfort zone both geographically, as he is from Boston, and professionally (personal communication, October 27, 2016). Jim says, by following a career path in venue management, he has been able to expand his range on the amount of departments of which he is in charge. Second, Jim talked about how in general people are interested in the Entertainment Industry because it’s entertainment. People find it attractive that the work environment is public and social. Jim goes on to say that the consumers of the Entertainment Industry buy the services and experiences provided as a stress reliever and a as break from reality. However, those who work within the industry are rewarded by being able to provide those services as well as experience those services firsthand (personal communication, October 27, 2016). RECOMMENDED EDUCATION AND TRAINING

In the general business world while most companies value experience, to get into a management position may require some type of formal education ( What Are the Requirements,

n.d.). In high school, it is recommended that you take music business, mathematics, computer science, writing, and speech classes ( Music Venue Owner, 2015). It is also recommended that you get involved and volunteer as much as you can in high school and college. With that being said, most individuals working within the Entertainment Industry would agree that experience is

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the most important feature to have when applying for a job in management. Jim Kelly talks more on the subject saying, “A degree in sports management or facility management and venue management...I also don't think it's necessary. It really depends on your ability, your desire, your work ethic, and being able to learn from your mistakes and learn from those around you (personal communication, October 27, 2016).” Jim also notes that when looking at a resume, he only looks for terrible GPA’s so he can rule out potential employees. ESSENTIAL SKILLS

The essential skills required in the Entertainment Industry can be different those found in other industries. The skills that are important to potential employers are hard skills, those that fill a specific need for a company (Clapp, 2014). Skills like charisma and a hard-working attitude are not enough to be hired for a job. If you can show in past experiences how you’ve applied yourself in a situation, employers will be impressed with your hard skills. Some hard skills may be well you have communicated between departments to achieve goals within companies ( Music

Venue Owner, 2015). Also, having strategic financial skills can help separate someone from a list of potential employees.

Both Jackie and Jim came to the conclusion that flexibility is the most important skill to have. Jackie says in order to be successful you have to be able to “roll with the punches” meaning you have to be ready to work some forty hour weeks and some eighty hour weeks (personal communication, October 31, 2016). You also must be able to handle any difficult situation that is throw at you. An interesting take-away from both interviews is that in the Entertainment Industry every single day is different. Many managers do not know what challenges they will face for the day and that’s why they love it. In these scenarios, a manager must also be able to think on his or her feet. APPROPRIATE PERSONALITIES

Becoming a successful venue manager takes certain personalities. “Personality traits exist along a continuum, and the vast majority of us aren’t introverts or extroverts — we fall somewhere in the middle (Bradberry, 2015).” This quote directly correlates with Jim Kelly’s description of his own personality in the workplace. Jim notes himself as an introvert in his personal life and an extravert in his professional life (personal communication, October 27, 2016). This is described as being an ambivert, a person who has a balance of extraversion and introversion (Bradberry, 2015). The World Economic Forum website (2015) discusses Adam Grant’s research stating, “ambiverts’ greater social flexibility enabled them to outsell all other groups, moving 51 percent more product per hour than the average salesperson.”

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Having a balance in your personality leads to greater job satisfaction. Jackie goes into more depth saying, “You've got to have a balance (personal communication, October 31, 2016).” Ms. Bednara talks about finding a balance between being kind and professional and being tough when dealing with clients. Clients often try to act in their best interests and occasionally the venue can’t provide the additional services requested. Increasing job satisfaction becomes easier when the venue manager is able to handle clients effectively and efficiently.

Jackie also notes that every personality has its strengths and weakness. “If you're all about independent, individuality and you are yourself, well good luck when you go down because you need people (personal communication, October 31, 2016).” She also says that some personalities can compliment each other, so be aware of the personalities of your co-workers and be able to work together to achieve a goal that could not be achieved alone. EXPERIENCES AND QUALIFICATIONS

Landing a job as a venue manager is not an easy task. Even if you graduate from a university with a bachelor’s degree, you must gain experience before getting a venue management position. Jackie Bednara recommends starting from the bottom is the best way to gain the experience needed for a management position (personal communication, October 31, 2016). Before moving into a venue management position it is recommended that you work an average of five years within the industry before handling a management position ( Music Venue

Owner, 2015). Some ways to gain these years of experiences are by first getting internships in college. Finding programs to develop your skills within the industry will help increase your chance of getting hired by the time you graduate. After graduation, consider joining organizations such as International Association of Venue Managers or International Association of Assembly Managers. Additionally, try to get certifications whether or not they are industry-related. This article says, “At the moment, certification in facility management is not mandatory, but it is becoming a distinguishing credential among the managers of the largest, most profitable venues ( Music Venue Owner, 2015).” Overall, experience is most important distinguisher in the venue management industry. CHANGES IN THE PAST DECADE OR MORE

In the past ten years, the Entertainment Industry as a whole has changed. Jackie Bednara says the biggest change she has seen is people want to be entertained everyday (personal communication, October 31, 2016). With the advent of technology and social media, people need to have some form of entertainment in their daily lives. Clients and customers of the Entertainment Industry use these opportunities to escape reality. This has greatly expanded the demand for venues. Nowadays everything has to be bigger and better than previous events. The

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Venue Industry now must think of new, creative ways to throw events and optimize their venues due to a huge demand for their services. Jackie also states, “We're having to be extremely creative and try to think outside the box. A lot of things that you have seen in the past are great and you can adapt ideas from there. Being able to come up with something on your own that is completely unique and set apart from everything else, that's going to put you one leap ahead of everybody. It's hard, but it's fun and it's challenging.”

While some positive changes are occurring in the Entertainment Industry, many negative changes have happened within the past year. On November 13, 2015 in Bataclan, Paris, three gunmen claiming allegiance to ISIS shot and killed 89 people at a California band Eagles of Death Metal concert in an iconic music venue (Walt, 2016). Immediately after the attack, many companies within the Venue Industry have decided to take extra precaution and increase their security (Sisario, 2015). The New York Times quoted Live Nation saying, “The safety and security of our shows, fans and venues continues to be our highest priority. Due to the recent events in Paris and in an abundance of caution we have implemented heightened security procedures globally.” While many companies are taking extra precautions against suicidal terrorist attacks, some industry experts are saying that it’s too early to assess if these attacks will continue or even the effects an increase in security will have on the safety of concert goers. In recent years the Entertainment Industry has felt first hand the “War-on-Terror” and those within the industry need to do whatever it takes to protect their clients and customers from these dangers (Sisario, 2015). INSIDER TIPS FOR LANDING A JOB LIKE THIS

Jackie Bednara highlights three main tips to get a job within the Venue Industry: get experience, be yourself, and do whatever it takes (personal communication, October 31, 2016). In order to move up into a management position, you first must gain experience. Jim Kelly talks about experience and says that the best way to gain experience is by not moving around too much from job to job (personal communication, October 27, 2016). He says that by staying in one position you have the opportunity to grow your strengths and positively enhance your weaknesses. Jackie’s second point is to be yourself. Be somebody that is going to work hard (personal communication, October 31, 2016). Her third point is do whatever it takes. By no means should somebody compromise their values, but know that their is no task that is beneath you. If your manager asks you to scrub a toilet, work diligently in that task. Hard work does not go unnoticed she adds. This shows that you are willing to go into any area and perform tasks which will add to your character. By getting as much experience as you can, being the best of yourself, and doing whatever it takes, opportunities to work in a venue management position will open up.

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TYPICAL CAREER PATH

A typical career path within venue management is one that desires more responsibilities in the daily operation of each company. One notable takeaway from both interviews is that every career path is different. Jim Kelly describes his current career path as, “to be able to be part of a team be part of a family that can provide the best in class guest services, guest experience for our guests, our staff and be able to utilize my current experience, my past experience, but also continue to learn and grow and be developed into bigger positions and more responsibility, in general (personal communication, October 27, 2016).” Before he became a Director of Guest Experiences at the Grand Ole Opry, he notes that he has worked for the New England Patriots and has also gained experience in California. On the other hand, Jackie Bednara’s career has been different. Jackie’s initial interest in college was to work in a marketing firm but then found the Entertainment Major at Missouri State University and decided to “tailor” herself towards that career path (personal communication, October 31, 2016). From there, Jackie decided to get involved on campus and try to volunteer as much as she could to gain experience. She then was given the opportunity to work an internship at the Fairgrounds and by the time she graduated she was offered a position in the sales department at the Ramada Plaza Hotel. From there she has moved up into management so she can work with the venues the Hotel provides (personal communication, October 31, 2016). A conclusion that can be drawn from these two interviews is that moving into a venue management position is a bottom-up process meaning that, in order to know how to manage, you must have firsthand experience on daily operations that go on at a venue. By having these experiences, you can apply what you learned to your management position. PROS AND CONS

In the Entertainment Industry, specifically the Venue Industry, there are pros and cons to working in management positions. Jim Kelly highlights in his interview some of the pros and cons to working in the Venue Industry. Jim says some pros are the ability to work many different large scale events such as the Stanley Cup and the Superbowl (personal communication, October 27, 2016). He has even worked smaller events that were “just as memorable and just as significant” to his career.

However, Jim also notes that, “you give up a lot,” working within the Venue Industry (personal communication, October 27, 2016). Jim says, “I have missed multitude of birthdays and special events and things in my personal life. I've missed out on trips to other countries because I made the decision to stay back and work...Sometimes you work long hours and you miss out on special events and birthdays and other special occasions...” With this being said, Jim

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notes, In this line of work in this field you've got to love what you do. It can be very rewarding, it can be very challenging, it can be very frustrating, it can be very stressful, but you definitely have got to be flexible, but it can also, like I said, be extremely rewarding and a lot of what we do is we work on the nights and the weekends and the days that a lot of people are using for their holidays or special events and we're the ones that are able to provide that. When you're able to do it effectively and enjoy what you do the benefit is you get to experience it as well in a different way. It become a very rewarding experience for yourself (personal communication, October 27, 2016).” Job satisfaction is key to succeeding in this industry. If you believe that the pros outweigh the cons, which the evidence displayed has proven, then not only will you succeed in the Venue Industry but you will enjoy going to work every single day.

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KEY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS International Association of Venue Managers Address: 635 Fritz Drive, Suite 100

Coppell, TX 75019-4442 USA Phone: +1 800.935.4226 or +1 972.906.7441 Web Address: http://www.iavm.org/about-us Venue Managers Association Address: Suite 3, Level 2, The Atrium 15 Lake Street

Varsity Lakes Qld 4227, Australia Phone: +61 (0)7 5501 6000 Web Address: http://vma.org.au/ Venues Today Address: 4952 Warner Avenue, Suite 201

Huntington Beach, CA 92649 Phone: 714-378-5400 Web Address: http://www.venuestoday.com/magazine

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APPENDIX A- SAMPLE JOB ANNOUNCEMENT AND DESCRIPTION: Posted on 11/02/2016 Operations Manager Sears Centre Arena, Hoffman Estates, Il.

Operations Manager

WHO WE ARE: The Sears Centre Arena is a 10,000-seat venue located in the suburbs of Chicago. The Arena is the home venue for the Windy City Bulls (D League Basketball) and indoor soccer. The venue also host family shows, concerts and ice hockey.

Basic Function The Operations Manager is responsible for implementing, monitoring and managing the day-to-day operations of the facility, including department schedules, overnight conversions, event plans, labor costs and inspections. This position ensures operational plans for multiple events and special projects are implemented and completed within the established guidelines and supervises operations staff and third party contractors. Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Supervises employees within the department for successful performance of their duties, including work scheduling, training, overnight conversions and performance.

• Facilities the planning of special projects and multiple events. • Determines the scheduling of operations staff to ensure satisfactory support of

organization’s events. • Establishes, approves and communicates the department’s work schedule for part-time

staff. • Reviews and approves the payroll for staff. • Orders and approves supplies as necessary. • Reviews and approves all purchase requests for the operations area. • Recruits and hires a qualified part-time work group to perform the necessary

requirements of the organization. • Monitors and supervises various construction projects within the facilities or on the

grounds for progress, timing, budget and communication purposes. • Knowledge of mechanical and electrical systems, ice plant, HVAC, plumbing, etc.

Standards of Performance

• High level of proficiency in effectively managing others for high performance. • Exceptional oral and written communication skills. • Interpersonal relationships, which encourage openness, candor and trust, both internally

and outside of Sears Centre. • Initiative and creative thinking in decision-making and problem resolution situations

and in the performance of job duties. 10

Mental and Physical Requirements

• Ability to maintain a high level of visual attention and mental concentration for significant periods of time.

• Ability to solve complex problems and deal with a variety of variables in situations where some standardization exists.

• Ability to manage, mentor and lead others in the performance of their duties. • Ability to read, analyze and interpret industry information. • Ability to manipulate necessary office equipment, computer software and peripherals. • Ability to perform the following physical activities: climbing, balancing, standing,

walking, talking and hearing. • Ability to work overnight shifts

Education, Experience and Training

• Four-year degree or equivalent. • A minimum of four to seven years of previous experience or equivalent.

Source: http://www.venuestoday.com/news_features/industry_jobs

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APPENDIX B- COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION OF INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES: Name: Jim Kelly Title: Director of Guest Experience Company: The Grand Ole Opry Address: 2804 Opryland Drive, Nashville, TN 37214 Phone: (615) 231-1621 Website: http://www.opry.com/ Email: JKelly@opry.com Name: Jackie Bednara Title: Special Projects Manager Company: The Ramada Plaza Hotel & Oasis Convention Center Address: 2546 N. Glenstone Avenue, Springfield, MO 65803 Phone: (417) 866-5253 Website: http://www.ramadaoasis.com/ Email: jbednara@springfieldoasis.com

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APPENDIX C- COMPLETE WRITTEN INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT Name: Jim Kelly Title: Director of Guest Experience Company: The Grand Ole Opry

David: Hi Jim are you there?

Jim: I am there.

David: Okay all right thank you. Lets just get right down to it. Just so that way I don't take up too much of your time today. Can you give me a brief overview of what it is exactly that you do?

Jim: What exactly I do here at the Opry House?

David: Yes.

Jim: Great sure. My title is director of guest experience and what that entails is I oversee all of the management and staff of security, guest services, tours, call center, and box office department. That ranges anything from day to day operation of our tours to preparation of our Opry shows and other special events that we may provide to the public here at the Opry house.

David: Okay that's cool. What is your overall career goal for you path here?

Jim: My overall career goal is to really be able to, regardless of title regardless of location, my goal is always been to be able to be part of a team be part of a family that can provide the best in class guest services, guest experience for our guests, our staff and be able to utilize my current experience, my past experience, but also continue to learn and grow and be

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developed into bigger positions more responsibility, in general.

Specifically speaking I'm looking to become a larger part of this organization in the future regardless again of what that role is, but as a company with Grand Ole Opry and Ryman entertainment we're looking to grow and one of the reasons why I left my previous position was to be a part of something bigger. To get more involved with not just one department, but as I mentioned earlier I'm involved with many departments and to broaden my strengths and enhance my weaknesses from a venue management standpoint and to be a bigger part of the larger organization here at Ryman hospitalities.

David: Oh that's really cool. Let's talk about some advancement opportunities. How can you advance yourself in this field? What are some ways that you are planning to advance or some ways that you have helped yourself to advance into this field?

Jim: Are you specifically talking about where I am now or in general?

David: Just in general. Overall in the venue management industry how can you advance into that field?

Jim: Well I think there's a few things that anybody in any position can really do and some of the things I've done myself some of the things I've seen others do or try to do. I think in venue management whether it's a sport specific venue whether it's a concert specific venue or it's a multi use venue there's a few things. One is you've got to be willing to work all of the days that most people have off. You've got to be able to put in long hours, be extremely flexible, that's general in any position really generally speaking. There's a lot of sacrifices in this world that anybody who's really truly committed to doing it has to make in order to be successful.

There's always a level of luck with this industry. It's very similar to other career paths that are very much sought after, but not always a lot of opportunity. Acting is one. A lot of people want to become actors and

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make a living acting, but the amount of actors versus the amount of actual working roles is quite a significant gap. There's always an element of luck.

David: You talked about how you work a lot of days that most people are off. I'm pretty sure though if you really enjoy your job those days of people are off you probably enjoy working those days, I mean for the most part right?

Jim: Yes for the most part of course, you have to. In this line of work in this field you've got to love what you do. It can be very rewarding, it can be very challenging, it can be very frustrating, it can be very stressful, but you definitely have got to be flexible, but it can also, like I said, be extremely rewarding and a lot of what we do is we work on the nights and the weekends and the days that a lot of people are using for their holidays or special events and we're the ones that are able to provide that. When you're able to do it effectively and enjoy what you do the benefit is you get to experience it as well in a different way. It become a very rewarding experience for yourself.

You know a couple of other things that are worthwhile to mention regarding ways to advance, you know I mentioned flexibility, one part of being flexible is often if you're willing to relocate if you're willing to move if you're willing to get out of your comfort zone geographically there's always opportunities for those that are willing to get out of their comfort zone and physically move to other parts of the state, country, or even globally.

I'm originally from Boston and I was fortunate enough to work with a company that did a lot of work with the New England Patriots, but if you're somebody from Boston and you want to work for a professional sports team you don't have too many options. There's really 4-5. I now live in Nashville. If I was from Nashville and not ever willing to leave Nashville working for a professional sports team there's really only 2 maybe 3. The actual opportunities start to limit themselves and when you look at the amount of people like yourself and like myself who are living in a certain area there's a lot of competition for those handful of positions so often it's worthwhile to many if they have the ability to or the desire or the

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commitment to move out of state or at least the city where other opportunities may be. That's definitely part of it.

I think the other last thing that when it comes to advancement and growth is I see a lot of younger colleagues fresh out of college or those that are at the beginning of their careers in venue management that bounce around a little too much. There's always opportunities, there's always areas for advancement, and there's always other position available. Sometimes if you do that too much, too early you miss out on opportunities of learning and growth and stability where if you bounce around a little too much that might over time affect you in the long run.

David: That's some really good advice. Actually I'm going to keep that in the back of my mind. Another question I have is what attracts people to this position and kind of go off some of your own experiences as far as what attracted you to this position?

Jim: Well I think for myself personally what attracted me to the position here at the Opry house was the ability to get outside my comfort zone. Personally speaking my wife and I were looking to relocate to this area of the country anyways and get away from California. It provided an opportunity professionally to do more than what I have been previously in my career. I was able to expand upon the amount of departments that report to me. I was able to be more involved from a holistic aspect from all departments and be a part of the planning process, be a part of senior leadership where I could use as I said my experience and my creativity to become involved in a large organization, multiple aspects of that organization and be a part of future growth from the ground up.

David: I bet all those responsibilities and even the fact that you loved your job it kind of keeps you there at the Grand Ole Opry, right?

Jim: Correct it does. As I said earlier you've got to be committed to doing this type of work. I think anybody that does it they've got to have a significant amount of commitment, flexibility, but also desire to be in this world and I

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think a lot of people are drawn to it because of the nature of what we do. We look at venue management and the world that we live in, sports and entertainment, as exactly that. It's entertainment. It's what a lot of people in the general public do on their off time. They do as a stress reliever or as a source of entertainment or whatever the case may be. To be a part of that in any capacity is extremely rewarding, but also entertaining as well and we're working while we're doing it and we're getting paid while we do it.

Regardless of your role or your position or the responsibilities you have. A lot of people look at sports and entertainment ... A lot of people early on in their careers or even when they're still in school talk about oh I want to work in sports, I want to be a sports agent. I think a lot of people, myself included, after seeing Jerry McGuire said oh I want to be a sports agent.

David: Oh yeah.

Jim: You know which is fine, but then you really start to look at what it means to be a sports agent, what it takes to be a sports agent, and what kind of education, background, and experience you require that weeds out of a lot of people who maybe had that desire. I think it's something where a lot of what we do it's very exciting, it's very public, it's often on TV and it's a very active and social environment that we live in and it's wonderful to be a part of. That's why of course a lot of people are drawn to it.

David: Sounds like you have a lot of passion for what you're doing. How long did it take for you to get where you are now in your position ... I know you said you want to be higher up in the future so how long did it take you to get where you are now and how long do you plan on I guess getting promoted until you get to that bag of gold.

Jim: I've been doing this type of work in some form since roughly 2001. In various roles, various capacities, some part time some full time. I've never had a timetable in mind of where I need to be, where I should be. I've always looked at incremental career goals or growth and not always defining specifically a date and time or a title that I need to be promoted to

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and I'm still at that point in my current state and I think it's worthwhile and I think anybody that works for me I often tell them if you don't have a career path or your next 2-3 progressive steps in your career and where you want to be start thinking about it. If I were to say if I'm not promoted or if I don't move up within 2 years that puts a little too much pressure on myself and it's also possibly unfair for the people in the company I work for.

I rather look at a very honest approach and I think this is key for a lot of people. I understand my strengths, I understand my areas that I need to improve upon and all I can do is develop and enhance my strengths and develop and enhance my areas that I need to improve upon and continue to learn, observe, and grow and just by doing that, focusing on that, not necessarily focusing on the end result, but really focusing on the development and the journey of it that eventually the next steps will happen organically.

Now of course that being said there's always the desire, but also the ability to communicate those desires and I think that's important too because those that are above me and those that can help develop me or those that are below me that are looking for themselves to be developed and to grow it's worthwhile and it's recommended to communicate that to those that can help get myself there or if I can help anybody that works for my team get to their next step and help develop them and educate them and work with them and learn from them to work towards their next goal.

David: That's really great. Next question I have for you. What is the recommended education and training for a job like this?

Jim: That's an interesting question. I don't have a rule book on that, I don't have the right answer or the perfect answer, but I think when you really look at what I do or anybody in venue management there's of course ... Education is great. I don't think it's necessary to have any one specific type of education. A degree in sports management or facility management and venue management I know there are a lot of programs out there. That doesn't hurt. I also don't think it's necessary. It really depends on your ability, your desire, your work ethic, and being able to learn from your

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mistakes and learn from those around you.

I for one looked into going to grad school in sports management. I applied to schools, I was accepted, I just didn't want to pay for it. I was already working in this career for many years and I was really looking for that extra step to put me into a position that I thought I was better suited for or I desired more and I realized I didn't need to pay for it. I already have quite a significant amount of experience, I just need to be patient, continue to work hard.

I'm also somebody ... I went to school for TV and film. My degree is in communications and TV broadcasting. I don't necessarily think it's needed to have a certain degree. Like I said certain degrees do lend themselves a lot more towards this career path, but I also, I'm in a position where I don't know many people at least when I was in college that go to school saying I want to be a director of guest experience, I want to be a director of guest services, or I want to work at a sports venue overseeing security. Now a days people are, but back when I was in school that wasn't something that people thought of, but now that this ... The world that we live in the need for these types of positions is more apparent and more in demand there is a lot more of like minded individuals like yourself who are going to schools more specifically for positions such as this. I think it's really just you look at ... Like I said earlier if you have the work ethic, if you have the desire if you have the determination you can succeed.

David: Yeah it's very interesting that you say that because through our program here we get a lot of alumni to come in and do panel discussions and a lot of time people have questions, oh what do you look for first on the resume, do you look for experiences or do you look for your GPA and most professionals that we talk to say it's all about experience you honestly might not put your GPA on there, it's not even a big deal, they say if you get a college degree that's great, but they always say experience is most valued. I guess my next question is for you is experience, what kind of experience and qualification do you need for the job then? I mean it kind of goes along the same lines. You probably wouldn't be where you are now without having previous experience that you have so is there any specific

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experience or qualifications that you need?

Jim: It depends on the position that you're looking for or the specific type of roles you achieve to work in. Experience is really the name of the game and I personally if somebody puts a GPA on their resume for any position, management type of position that I'm hiring for I don't necessarily care about that at all. I would care if it was a really bad GPA, but I wouldn't care if it was a 3.4 or a 3.9. A lot of your alumni is right it's about the experience. It's different if you're trying to become a doctor or lawyer working high profile finance they might look at a GPA more closely, but not in this world it really just comes down to experience.

I think a lot of applicants for positions and a lot of people like yourself who are looking to break into this career sometimes they have the idea that they have to go a certain path. They have to start off working in sales and then work in sponsorship and work up that way. That's a great career path it works, but there's also a lot of folks who might work in operations a little bit more. I've always worked in operations and not so much sales and I've been just as successful as others who started in more sales type positions in the venue management world. There's really no true way of stating you have to have certain years or certain types of experience. I would go back to a comment I said earlier, I think experience is great and the one thing that I see a lot of is those that are out of college ...

David: Hello. I'm sorry Jim, can you hear me? Hello? Sorry Jim did you mute your phone by chance? Hello?

Jim: Here's my resume and they knew what I was interested in and looking for in terms of a career. When the time came that the position that I first received at Staple Center opened up instead of just sending an email and applying online I did none of that. I called the person that I knew, called them up and said listen I saw you just posted a position, I think I'm perfect for it as you can see on my resume, I would like to discuss. Their next response was how's Thursday.

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If I hadn't have done the leg work over the previous year plus of staying in communication with them, I could have called and they might have said who is this person, I don't know who you are. I don't know what you're about I don't know what your resume says. That was extremely effective. I was able to use my resources and network and stay in communication with an organization that I was interested in and when the right position opened up I wasn't calling them for any random position that opened up it was the right position. I was well qualified for it and it was a good fit. That's when I called them. I think that that's something anybody can use to their advantage. It's really quite often in this industry it's about networking, it's about who you know and those people are only going to vouch for you if you show great flexibility, great work ethic, and a passion for this industry.

David: Very cool. Sorry I accidentally, during that part, I accidentally had you on hold for a second so I apologize for that.

Jim: No worries.

David: What are some pros and cons to your job?

Jim: The pros are a lot of what I said earlier. I get to do a lot of cool things and be a part of many different events that a lot of people pay for pay good money for. I've been a part of multiple basketball championships, multiple Stanley Cup championships. I've been fortunate enough to work a few Superbowls. I've been able to do a lot of large scale events, very successful events that are broadcast on a global stage. On the smaller end I've done a lot of smaller events that not many people attend, but they're just as memorable and they're just as significant in my career.

The cons are you give up a lot. I have missed multitude of birthdays and special events and things in my personal life. I've missed out on trips to other countries because I made the decision to stay back and work. That has helped my career, but it was something I was willing to do, willing to sacrifice. It's a give and take there. That's definitely something that is a con. Sometimes you work long hours and you miss out on special events and

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birthdays and other special occasions that are also part of your memory bank.

David: It's got to be hard too when most of your friends or family members they all have jobs from Monday to Friday where you're probably working from Thursday to Sunday or whatever the weekend restraints are. I guess that's got to be hard especially if somebody's getting married and you're like I have to work. You might try to get off and you might not be able to so I can understand that. Now I have two personal questions. These are purely just for my benefit as I grow into the entertainment industry. In your opinion what are the best music cities to find a venue management position?

Jim: The best music cities?

David: Yes.

Jim: What type of music, what genre?

David: Well any genre. Something where a city is very established in music. Like Nashville's a very live entertainment type of city if you go to LA and New York I'm sure you'll find a lot of positions there. Are there any other cities that are notable for their venues?

Jim: Sure, when you look at any city really has venues it really just depends on the size and the scope. If you're a country music fan there's no better place than Nashville. If you're a fan of the blues there's no better place than Memphis. If you don't like either of those these are not good places to come. Really anywhere has venues and you look at Seattle for instance, they were very prominent in the early 90's with Grunge music and alternative music it's a wonderful city, it rains a lot, but there's beautiful people up there, it's a very international type city. There's a multitude of venues of varying sizes. I grew up just south of Boston. Boston obviously has their 4 major sports teams plus a lot of colleges. There's a ton of

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colleges. There's something like 300 colleges in the greater Boston area. A lot of those colleges has venues so those are options as well.

There's also smaller scale venues. Even here in Nashville there's a lot of nightclubs and bars and Honky-tonks. Those aren't traditional sports and entertainment venues that we may be discussing, but they're still venues and they're still opportunities to learn and develop your skill set to move forward. It really just I think it's less about if you're so musically inclined in terms of your career path personally speaking you would want to look at the three major cities for music are going to be first and foremost New York, LA, and then Nashville. Austin Texas has a decent music scene, Atlanta has a decent music scene. Chicago has a good music scene and venues. It's really just a matter of then what kind of discipline you're looking for in terms of your career path and where you want to get your start.

David: Kind of an add on question to that do you know of any marketing research is done where a certain genre is more prominent in this area? Because I know if I wanted to break into a specific genre let's lay it's not country and it's not blues where would I go to find information on where I would best be suited for that position and that genre.

Jim: Well you could look at organizations like Billboard, PulseStar, those are some industry specific, music specific organizations that track music [inaudible 00:38:55]. You can also look at radio air play. For somebody that grew up in Boston and spent a lot of time in Los Angeles my musical tastes are all over the map. I rarely pay money to go see concerts because I work so many so it needs to be somebody that I'm a huge fan of to go and there's a lot of acts and artists that I'm fans of that don't necessarily come through Nashville because it's just not their market so they skip Nashville. Some of them would skip Memphis just because this specific area of the southern region is more geared toward different type of genres of music. Nothing wrong with that. I think if you're looking for yourself I would take a look at Billboard PulseStar radio type airplay's. If you're trying to get into a very specific type of genre of music that's where I would start.

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David: Okay and I have one final question for you. My last personal question. I was in Algieba this past October and I got to talking with an agent from Paradise Artists and he was talking to me about the state of the entertainment industry. He said economically speaking that the entertainment industry has been kind of in a downturn just because of the economy as a whole. He told me that 14 festivals just last year closed down because people weren't taking their money out of their pocket and buying tickets to go to stuff. I guess I have a few questions. One what is your opinion on the current state of the live entertainment industry and then how is that affected the Grand Ole Opry in the past couple of years?

Jim: I'll be perfectly honest, it really hasn't affected the Opry at all. In fact we as a company we've seen some growth over the last few years. We also have throughout the year the Opry show itself on a regular basis 2-3 times a week at minimum. We've been kind of adverse to the downgrade in the music industry and the economic spiral as you mentioned.

I think ... As a company we've been risk adverse to that, but I think there is something to say about what that person was mentioning, the agent was mentioning, because the music industry as a whole is changing. It's changing slowly, but it's definitely changing. The way that people manage their events, manage their venues, how they structure their deals with agents and performers and venues that is changing. Yes there were some festivals that closed their doors and said we're not going anymore, but there's also newer festivals that pop up.

There's a new festival that was in its second year this year here in Nashville just south of Nashville called the pilgrimage festival. It's not a large scale festival, but it's still a festival. That is seeing some significant increase in attendance from its first year to its second year and it looks to continue that growth. I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon.

You look in California at the Coachella festival which my former parent company managed that went from one weekend to then two weekends. That festival sells out 6 months in advance. It's been so successful they just recently also did a 2 weekend festival in October called Desert Trip which

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was partnering up with Bob Dylan, the Who, Roger Waters, Paul McCartney, and Rolling Stones and they did two weekends of two of those artists on Friday, two of them Saturday and two of them Sunday and then the following weekend and that sold out.

There's opportunities for festivals. There's opportunities I think any type of venue, but the music industry I think as a whole is changing in many ways. I know I talked to a manager here in Nashville and he stated in the current marketplace there's currently 300 active songwriters in Nashville and Nashville is known as songwriters town. He said roughly 5-6 years ago that number was 1500 that actively made their living just writing songs. The type of artist is changing.

The medium that they're able to produce their music on different platforms is changing. You've got iTunes, you've got Title, you've got Spotify and even those are changing. The way that Spotify pays out their artists is changing. I think a lot of people are realizing with YouTube, Vevo and some of those other digital platforms and social media that the way that the deals and financials are structured that is changing. Because the artists themselves are realizing I'm not making money off of my album sales because people are just streaming it for free off Spotify and I'm getting very little and I need to tour more.

If you talk to anybody who ever produces a tour, most artists don't make much money touring. If you're a new band who gets an album down and starts to tour you're not really making a whole lot of money that's why you see a lot of bands specifically they rent a bus and they rent a trailer and they travel with their guitars and then they use the venues house equipment. It's one of the easy ways for bands to really save some money and actually try to recoup some of their money. Yeah, there's definitely some change happening in the music industry. I also think music in general is more accessible now.

David: Right oh it definitely is. I just have one follow up question. Something that you talked about earlier as part of the Grand Ole Opry has felt averse to it. Do you think the branding of the Grand Ole Opry has helped you to

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become adverse to different economic changes? I mean everyone things about country music and instantly it's like the Grand Ole Opry because the Grand Ole Opry is iconic and historic. Do you think that that branding has helped you stay away from different economic downturns?

Jim: I think so to a certain extent. We've done well and like I said I've been here less than 6 months, but I know as a company we've done well over the last few years. That doesn't mean that we've been breaking records left and right, but we've done well. We've been a little risk adverse to the down turn of the economy to a certain extent, but yeah I think that's part of it is the brand because you've got a brand and a show that's been around for 91 years. Looking at it from a personal perspective our guests and our fan base and the people that really look at the Opry it's not just a show it's more of a personal connection. A lot of our guests they talk about listening to us on the radio with their grandparents and their parents when they were little kids and then they passed that down to the next generation to the next generation to the next generation. That's inherent in our business and a blessing.

I also look at the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas Cowboys are not generally speaking the best football team in the last few years, but in that time span, even the last decade, in that time span they have continued to be a top producing revenue generating team. They built a billion dollar football stadium and their global reach is exponential. Even though they've not be a very good team in the years they've made the playoffs they've lost. I think they've made it to the playoffs only 2 out of the last 10 years something like that, but it's because they have such a strong brand and they've had that brand and that image for years and decades. You're not seeing teams like Tampa Bay and San Diego who are struggling with their venues and their stadiums and their ability to increase their viewership. San Diego they have a hard time filling their stadium sometimes. When a football team can't fill their stadium their games on TV got blacked out.

David: Right I can kind of relate to that because I'm from St. Louis so obviously the Rams they moved to LA. It's because of the fact that they weren't a very winning team since honestly 1998 or 99 because of that reason a lot of

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people didn't go to their games and a lot of people didn't show up and eventually it hurt them so bad that they had to move.

Jim: The Rams were a team that had a lot of ebbs and flows in their popularity probably ending back in 2001 with Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk with the greatest show on turf. They went to the Superbowl back to back years, they lost to the Patriots in 01 and then they started to decline. I know St. Louis they were looking to build a stadium for them, but if that were actually to come to fruition who knows, but even if they did and they stayed would it be profitable, would it be well attended those are challenging things.

David: It would have been a hole in the pocket that's for sure.

Jim: It very well could have been. In the sports world a lot of venues and a lot of people talk about winning cures everything. It's true, winning cures a lot of things. When you have a winning team your seats are full, your food and beverage is purchased, ticket prices can go up, your t-shirt sales and retail sales go up, and your guest complaints go down.

David: Right, yup well, I really appreciate all the answering all my questions today. That is actually all I have for you today, but again thank you for that and I honestly got so much out of this. I got so many good tips and kind of gives me more of a drive to start working soon so I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me today.

Jim: Sure yeah I'm glad to help. If you have any follow up questions please let me know just shot me an email...

***Note from the interviewer: There is missing section of audio content in the interview with Jim Kelly due to technical errors.

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Name: Jackie Bednara Title: Special Projects Manager Company: The Ramada Plaza Hotel & Oasis Convention Center

David: We'll start now. First off Jackie, I just want you to tell me a brief overview of exactly what is that you do here?

Jackie: What I do here? I am the special projects manager, but for the first 7 1/2 years I worked in sales and I was a catering manager. That position was fully within the sales department but specific to events that are not tied as directly to guest rooms. It was weddings and trade shows and expos and that kind of thing, but we might have a few guest rooms with that event but not necessarily a big group that uses all of our guest rooms and then maybe have some meeting space. That was my main position.

Special projects, I transitioned out of the sales office and so my position now is kind of all encompassing. It's more on the operations side now instead of the sales side. I work with every single department basically directly for my general manager on anything that she needs me to do. A lot of it's her miscellaneous items. Other might be just special projects, special things that she needs me to do.

Right now we're doing some associate satisfaction surveys, for example, so I'm using Survey Monkey and surveying all the associates. That's a project that's going into it. I also do strategic facilitation for our company. For the past couple years we've been doing strategic planning and setting ourselves up for the future. We're rebranding now so that's another project that I've got going on. That's in a nutshell what I do, but my days look a little different from day to day.

David: You have a lot of responsibilities. I'm sure that for the most part you've had to work your way up to those responsibilities. Can you talk more about your career path, say from the time you probably graduated until now?

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Jackie: Yes. I guess it started probably my freshman year I came into Missouri State as a marketing major and I wanted to get into the marketing side, but once I found out about entertainment management that's the route that I took. Once I found out I wanted to get into events I started tailoring my career from there. My freshman year I worked for the student union, believe it or not. I did that and house crew for my first year, so setup and teardown of events, did the [inaudible 00:02:23] equipment, the extent that I knew. The next two years, my sophomore and junior year as a building manager. It was overseeing the building and everything that was going on in it, as well as the events, that kind of thing. That was my college years. I guess my last year I stepped out of building manager but I did a lot of volunteering.

At that time I actually wanted to get into a non-profit so I poured in that last year of trying to network, make connections, just find the place that I would want to work and get my name out there. I did a lot of that my senior year. Between my junior and my senior year I had to do the internship. I guess [inaudible 00:03:00] are still required to do that.

David: Right, yeah.

Jackie: I actually did mine with the fairgrounds, also a lot of events there, made a lot of connections. Part of my job there was putting on an aspect of the fair that had never been done before. By the time I graduated I had some decent experience under my belt. When I graduated I was offered a position here. I was actually offered a position in a marketing firm, because you know that's where I wanted to go. I really, really wanted to take it, but the reason why I chose this one is because they were just finishing up, not the big expansion, but they were finishing up a remodel of some of the meeting rooms. It was just my director of sales and me and sales office and that would be it. I knew that this was going to be a perfect opportunity to make decisions, have my voice heard, if you will. Whereas the marketing firm it was just it was more specific to marketing.

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This I knew was going to be all kinds of things. We had a restaurant, we had meeting space, we had guest rooms. It was so much more of a much bigger package, if you will. I decided to go with this one, and it's played in that favor. For the past 10 years it's just continued to grow. We finished another expansion in 2012. Now we're about to do another rebranding. That's the kind of career path that I took that I crossed over where I still like events but now I'm all about the venues. That's where I am now.

David: That's good for me. You talked about how you have a lot more responsibilities then you would have at a marketing firm. What kind of experience and qualification are needed for a job say in venue management?

Jackie: In venue management? Let's see. Here this one's kind of unique because we've got the hotel aspect of things. If you were to work for a hotel but more on the catering side of it or the banquet department side of it, you're doing more, or even the sales side, but you're doing more of the venue management side. If you're in the sales department you've got to be detail oriented. No matter what you've got to have not necessarily a huge sales background, but you've got to have that mindset. Everybody's a sales person. Always remember that. No matter where you are, what department you're working for, everybody is a sales person. Whether you're a housekeeper in the hallway or a janitor, you are still selling the hotel by your smile and greeting people when you see them.

If you're wanting to do the sales department qualifications if you have the sales background it would be ideal. If you don't and you're detail oriented or if you have any experience with that that would be good. If you're not able to do that I would start in the banquet's department. Whether gaining experience through AV, setup, tear down, you've got any sort of experience with stage hands or something like that that definitely is something that'll help get your foot in the door.

The experience required just depends. It depends on where you are. Venue management is so huge that that's just an all encompassing phrase that you could do so many different areas or aspects of that. Do you know what kind

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of venue management you're wanting to get into?

David: For me personally, I know that one day I want to work under concert venues, working in some sort of management position so I kind of get the feel of it. One day I want to go out on my own and build my own venue myself.

Jackie: Very good.

David: That's my goal. I guess what are some, going off of that, what are some essential skills that are needed for this job or even a venue manager job?

Jackie: Skills? Flexibility is one.

David: Flexibility?

Jackie: I think any venue management position, make sure you're going to have some positions that are your Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 5:00, that kind of thing. For the most part the entertainment industry is a 24-7 operation. You're going to have nights, you're going to have weekends, you're going to have all kinds of different hours, 80 hours weeks, and some 40 hour weeks. It's great, but everything in between. Especially when you're building your career you have to have that flexibility to be able to cover, to be able to do different shifts, that kind of thing. You've got to be able to roll with the punches. I don't know what key phrase you want to put on that, but rolling with the punches, whatever you want to say there, is so essential because with venues, venues host events. Venues host sporting events, they host a variety of different things and you never know what's going to go wrong. I know that crosses over to a lot of industries, but truly you never know what's going to happen.

You've got to be able to go with the flow when people are yelling and screaming at you and that kind of thing because even if you are exceptional at your job and you have done your job perfectly and you never make a

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mistake, you make mistakes but even if you did not make a mistake in this circumstance something's still going to happen. They look to you to solve it even though you're thinking in the back of your mind, you let the ball drop. This is you. In their world this is the most important thing right now and they're looking for help. They might be mad or happy or whatever, but you've got to be the one to fix it or come up with a solution and being able to maintain that calm, collective, professional appearance while you're trying to solve this big problem for them.

David: I have a quote, and this is actually something I got from both my last interview. It's from Walt Disney. He said that it may not be your fault but it is your problem. How does that apply to you in your business?

Jackie: Oh my gosh. Just right what I just said. It may not be your fault but it's your problem. You are going to be surrounded with problems all day long all the time. You can take the mindset if you want to is that's not my fault. I'm not the one who dealt with it and that's not my problem. I'm not the one who has to fix it or I'm not the person who's responsible. The famous last words, it's not my job, which will get you fired in a heartbeat kind of thing. Never, ever speak those words. Every problem, whether it's your fault, somebody else's fault, or the next person's fault, you not only are responsible for that to fix it and get engaged in fixing it, but you also have an opportunity there. People don't realize that. They look at that, that's not my fault. That's not my problem.

You have a chance to be a big hero here, and not just a hero for that person who's maybe struggling or an associate, but to build your experience, build your reputation, build your career, be able to have that knowledge base to handle those kinds of situations. That's a good quote. I'm going to have write that one down. In fact I'm dead serious. When we leave I'm going to go write that down, blast that to all my managers today.

David: I guess my next question to you then, and this is kind of going off the same thing, what are some appropriate personalities to have in a venue manager [inaudible 00:10:03] or are in your position?

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Jackie: Personalities? That one's tough. You've got to have a balance. I've had to learn the hard way. I've kind of worked my way into that. I've had, for the longest time, a demeanor that kind of the quieter, sweeter, and that's good. That's not a bad thing, but man, associates and people, whether it's clients or associates who work for you, will push. Whether they're pushing, they want off on their schedule and they can never work or this is their excuse, this is the reason why they can't come in, whatever, so from that side.

From the client's side, they are fighting for their best interest. They're going to want the lowest price. They want to get the works, everything that you have to offer for absolutely no charge. Obviously they're trying to get discount after discount. You have your goals. You have revenue goals that you have to hit. You have certain things that you're needing to do for your business so you're going to be pushing back on the client.

You have they want to come in and they want to do this. That's not actually allowed in your venue and they're pushing on you for that. Can't you make this exception? Why can't we do this? It's that balance between being kind, being professional, and being tough. I've had to walk that line for so long. I'm not really known how to balance it but it takes just experience. It takes learning that. Maybe you have that naturally, and that's a great gift if you do. If you don't it's something that you have to learn.

You're going to be pushed all the time, so the personality has to be one that is you can be friendly, you can be kind. One thing I love about this property is we have fun. When we're working here behind the scenes, what you don't see, we're singing in the background, we're dancing in the background. We have that opportunity and for associate moral that's great. We're in the kitchen in the background, they're prepping some food and they've got a song going on and we break down in a little dance. You have these kinds of fun moments, but at the same time when business calls you gotta put on that cap and you've got to change your personality sometimes and change your role.

The big thing that I've learned about personalities is each personality, no matter what, no matter who you are, each person has strengths and they

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have weaknesses. You have to be able to identify your strengths and embrace your weaknesses. Try to work on those weaknesses, of course, but understanding that that may not be a part of your personality and that's okay because you're supposed to be corporately. If you're all about independent, individuality and you are yourself, well good luck when you go down because you need people.

When you're working as a corporate unit you try to figure out how you mesh well with other people. My boss and I, for example, she is a visionary. She will dream up the most amazing things, and she's really good at it. She's not necessarily a detail girl. I'm a detail girl. Don't talk about visions with me because as soon as you talk visions I'm going to be like, "Alright, what's this going to cost, what do we need?" I start thinking in that mindset, so we're a nice balance for each other. I'm not saying her lack of detail oriented is a weakness necessarily, but that's a strength of mine, so us together, that really helps to bring us up and work well in that way.

David: It's kind of interesting that you say that because for me one day when I go off on my own I know that I may be more visionary person then a detail oriented person. Getting a team of good individuals to work with you would probably be the most important thing.

Jackie: Recognizing that strength, embracing those weaknesses, and then finding people to assist you in that is going to be key for you.

David: I have some other quick questions here. These can be a couple word answers. What are some employment opportunities for venue management positions?

Jackie: You have all kinds, sports arenas. I'm thinking [inaudible 00:13:55] just because it's local, but music venues of that kind, theaters. Theaters would definitely be one. We've got a couple of those here. Hotels are often an overlooked venue because as hotel people think guest rooms. I need a hospitality degree, those kinds of things. We've got 30,000 square feet of

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meeting space that we need somebody to manage. Venue definitely applies there. Any of the expedition halls. Let's see, the Springfield Expo Center, that kind of thing, or the fairgrounds. They've got the eplexes. I'm just thinking locally obviously because that's my market, but you go to some of the bigger cities and you have these bigger, badder, grander. I'm even thinking that some venue related aspects can apply to some big parks or those kinds of things where they're putting on different events there, but they don't necessarily have a roof, so thinking outside of the box. That might actually cross over into the venue market, although it might not be considered a venue.

David: Would you consider music festivals?

Jackie: That's what I'm thinking. If you talk to the experts and say would they rank it in that category? I don't know, but I would consider there are some aspects that crossover there. If you host an event there you're dealing with liquor control. You're dealing with the city who has these regulations for their number of vendors and paying taxes from the vendors and collecting their vendor licenses. There's all the things that we would do here crossover to a place that does not have a roof.

David: This is not, you don't have to answer this as a personal question, but just in general as far as earnings are concerned per year in a venue management position how much do people earn within a year?

Jackie: That's a hard question. First of all Springfield, Missouri's market is different. My idea of the appropriate fair compensation in this market, if you take this to even St. Louis, let alone Chicago and New York or somewhere on the coast, it's going to be kind of night and day [crosstalk 00:15:56] the cost of living factor here that's going to be a lot different.

David: True.

Jackie: I don't know if I can give you a specific dollar amount.

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David: That's fine.

Jackie: In the entertainment industry we have the reputation of not being paid as well. I think I would say that the venue management side has a lot of potential depending on your position. If you're a grunt worker, which I always recommend that's where you start, you learn that, but if that's where you're working and you're not going to necessarily be bringing in the money that you're wanting to. You become a CEO of a company and you're looking for a lot more opportunity there to be able to make more money, I don't know, I would answer that question really, really well, I would have to do some market research and find out.

David: Not a problem. Thank you though. I did get some good information from that. I have two more questions. One of them is what are some of the changes you've seen in the entertainment industry in the past decade?

Jackie: It is one of the changes I have seen is it is now in everything. There's article after article that I wish I could've printed and brought down with me so you can read what these people say. They say it far more eloquently then I'm about to say. People want to be entertained all the time, every day. Quite honestly it's a personal unnerving of mine that's great, job security, but at the same time I'm like, "People, you don't need to be entertained all the time," but that's the industry. You talk about people with they're on their cell phone all the time because they have this need, or so called need, to feel entertained.

David: To escape reality?

Jackie: Yes. As far as the market is concerned it's a great opportunity. When we have events that are coming into our venue, even 10 years ago, I remember events that I would do where it was very easy to provide a nice atmosphere, a nice dinner, maybe a little bit of dining music, and a speaker or something along those lines. Now, it's got to be bigger, it's got to be better,

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it's got to be just a notch ahead. You have so many different events that are taking place where everything seems so similar, and because of that they've got to find this little thing that's going to separate them and set them apart from, not necessarily the competition, but give them that, I don't know, just that unique draw.

Everything that you see is going to be just looking for that opportunity. Everything is pushing that line, it's pushing the limit. We're getting more and more calls to be able to do crazy stuff from the ceiling. Even ourselves, we put on a couple events a year. We have a New Year's Eve party every single year. We do that same things to ourselves. We've got to make it better.

We also have where we have the venue, which is four walls. You can't make that bigger. You can expand, sure, but for that moment you can't make that bigger. You've got to capitalize on what opportunities you have there. We've got to make it bigger, we've got to make it better. We've got to market it so we can increase the ticket price because we're trying to grow the revenue but we can't grow our numbers. You still have to have, you only have four walls and you have to have enough space for your entertainment, your food, and this and that. We're even doing that to ourselves where we have to try to raise the bar, and raise the bar, and raise the bar.

David: A lot about what I've been thinking about as far as my career is concerned is how can I make my concert venue better, more unique, than anyone else because at the end of the day that's the point, to be the most unique business out there. That way people come to yours. I guess it's got to be all about innovation and creation.

Jackie: It is, absolutely. One of the things as we're rebranding we are really trying to, and we're going to rebranded by March 1st, and so we're trying to figure out we've learned by the different generations, we're looking now more toward the millennials. We obviously appeal to a lot of different generations, but that's our next set. Looking at the millennials they want experiences. We can do that, but what experience are they looking for?

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What kind of experience can we offer them here that's going to engage them? We're having to be extremely creative and try to think outside the box. A lot of things that you have seen in the past are great and you can adapt ideas from there. Being able to come up with something on your own that is completely unique and set apart from everything else, that's going to put you one leap ahead of everybody. It's hard, but it's fun and it's challenging.

David: My last question, and I guess it hits on what you just said, what are some tips on how to land a job in the venue management industry?

Jackie: Tip number one, experience, experience, experience. If you've volunteered and spent some time at a friend's venue, get some sort of experience underneath your belt. The next thing is is you've got to be willing ... I guess you're question is landing a job. So much about landing a job to me is being yourself. I don't say that to everybody, but you seem like a guy who is personable, easy to get along with.

David: I try to.

Jackie: Somebody who's going to work hard and see it through and make sure that your project's on time, even those last instance did not work as well. A lot of those traits are going to go into it. After you get that initial job then it's going to be doing whatever it takes, not compromising your values, but doing whatever it takes. You're scrubbing the toilets, you're scrubbing the floors. You do not have anything that's below you or beneath you. You're willing to do any of it and all of that. Even while you're doing that and you are not excited about it and everybody else has gone home for the night, somebody has still noticed. That really opens up the doors for other opportunities that you are willing to do whatever. You're willing to jump into any area, any place, and do whatever you need to do.

When you do climb that ladder and you do get to the other side, whatever it may be, a CEO or as just a manager of that department you have that appreciation, you have that knowledge, you have that experience

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underneath your belt so you can manage better, and you can manage well. When you're managing better and you're managing well it just opens more doors for opportunities elsewhere within the same organization, whatever it may be.

That's my own personal thing. I'm a ground up kind of girl. I like to see that because I know the difference between the people who come in, and I'm not saying everybody's like this, from a certain standpoint, and there's an expectation of a salary and an entitlement going on. Again, this is a big swooping statement, so this does not apply to everybody. I've seen people who have worked from the ground up and there's just an appeal there to me that a lot of the longevity that I see here and a lot of the people that I've seen move into management positions and move beyond us to other greater, wonderful things out there, has been from that mindset and from that experience.

David: Those are all the questions that I have left. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today.

Jackie: Absolutely. I hope that works for you.

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