As we now know, IAAM Europe’s inaugural meeting has been met with a very positive reaction and the number of attendees far exceeded expectations. A full report of the proceedings will go online on the IAAM Website and will also appear in a future issue of Facility Manager magazine. What surprised us the most was the interest from the U.S., although I guess it should not have done so. While Vienna is a lovely city to visit, I am not sure if that was the primary reason for the solid attendance. The numbers were strong not only from IAAM Active members, but also from suppliers, show producers, the media, and others. It was very gratifying to see.

As was the aim, we also got a good response from non-members in Europe which, it is hoped, will result in an increased membership, thus a stronger representation of Europe within the IAAM. This new strength will mean that very soon there may be a European President of the IAAM.

One of the reasons people have become so interested in IAAM Europe is the educational value that will be offered. A lot of thought and work has gone into the setting up of the European School of Venue Management (which will probably have a new name by the time you read this!). The designated venue for the school is Basel, Switzerland, and the timing for it is early September, arriving on a Sunday and leaving on the following Friday morning.

Basel is a fine city and is pretty much a central location within Europe, served by a plethora of budget airlines and remarkable railway links. The accommodation and school are all within the campus of the same facility, St Jakobshalle. As well as teaching, residential and recreational facilities are available.

As a demonstration of the excitement felt by the organizers during initial discussions, very near fights were breaking out amongst the then Steering Committee members over who would get to teach which subject! There was fortunately a peaceful resolution. The subjects follow guidelines set by the PAFMS@Oglebay but will essentially cater for the European market. Obviously, Oglebay has set us an excellent example to follow and can highlight pitfalls to avoid.

We intend for the final Certificate to become an industry recognised norm, in Europe and the rest of the world.

The perceived registration cost of the School will be 1500euros for members and 1800euros for non members. This will include all teaching and residential costs. All details of this registration and schedule for the School and other IAAM Europe activities can be found on the IAAM Website at www.iaam.org.

          Carl A H Martin
          Director, European Services
          IAAM Europe
 

CIC Panelists Live Through The Eye Of The Hurricane

For some 150 attendees, there was a genuine feeling of being in the eye of the hurricane as Dexter King, CFE, moderated a session bearing that title at the Concert Industry Consortium in Las Vegas.

Fittingly, panelists include the Superdome’s Doug Thornton and the Cajundome’s Greg Davis, facility managers in New Orleans and Lafayette, Louisiana, respectively, whose buildings were in the local, national and international headlines following the destruction last year of Hurricane Katrina.

King moderated the session and asked Thornton and Davis to address topics ranging from their safety and shelter preparation in advance of the hurricane, the tide of emotions and their roles as the hurricane swept through and the many lessons that were learned in the aftermath of the natural disaster.

“We were challenged,” Thornton said simply. “We can handle an event for four hours, not for four days. I believe it is not the proper facility for a situation like what happened. We’ve said it is a football stadium, not a hospital or hotel.”

Davis agreed that during the actual storm it is not prudent to consider a facility a shelter, especially during the magnitude of such a hurricane as Katrina. As the Cajundome was operated as a shelter following the storm, though, Davis said that the venue worked well in a posthurricane scenario.

Thornton added that three critical components the Superdome looked at as the hurricane approached was to get people in, care and feed them and then to get them out. “It took us seven hours to get 14,000 people in,” said Thornton, who stayed at the facility for five and one-half days before leaving on Thursday following the storm. “The facility still saved thousands of lives. We were told to expect 10,000 dead and they would bring them to the Dome.”

Davis, who is chair of the Shelter Management Task Force, said that facility managers should play a more prominent role in the future in any shelter management discussion. “All the entities that we saw did not have the knowledge base we have,” said Davis. “That skillset showed itself during the disaster. We should have the ultimate authority, but there are still groups that we have to convince of that.

As it relates to business recovery, Thornton said, “That’s an interesting question, because we have never had anything like this. Unlike an earthquake, you may not be able to go back and repopulate in same area you lived.”

Thornton gave a chilling account of when he thought his life was in jeopardy. “It was at 6:30 on Monday morning,” he said. “It sounded like a subway coming through the building. There was a loud noise and it was the roof peeling off. I went onto the concourse and saw the roof and said, ‘Oh, my God!’

“What made me nervous was the fear of falling debris. The wind was pushing down through the vents and created an uplift on the metal decks. I was fearful that ceiling tiles would break loose and cut someone in half, because we had 6,000 people on the plaza level. For the next hour-and-a half we moved people out of those seats.”