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By Darius
Dunn
Some days it’s very clear and
oh-so-easy to say we have the best job possible and how hard it would be to
imagine doing anything else for a living. For me the moments are
well-defined: I’m either standing at the rear of the floor of a sold-out
concert, watching the crowd sway and sing along to their favorite song; or
I’m standing in the corner of the arena, mesmerized at how much the crowd is
engrossed in the heat of the moment and enjoying the home team hitting a
basket to cap off a late, come-from-behind win against our arch rival. (Go
Gators!)
In all my years, I’ve only found three occasions that can bring together
people from various walks of life to celebrate: concerts, athletics and
church. (Note: The non-constructive, heated debates of opposing views knock
political rallies from this list.) In our venues we’re fortunate to have the
flexibility to host any of these three forums. When we see people enjoying
themselves, or when we host patrons participating in the memories that make
up their life experiences, we know it’s well worth the sacrifices we make to
ensure their events are coordinated down to the last detail and that patrons
are safe under our care.
If there are days when things aren’t going just right for you and nothing
you do seems to fit into place, I challenge you to find a story in your
community that would make your climb seem a little less steep.
Life’s Experiences
My first story came when I engaged a patron in conversation and she told me
that a significant portion of her milestones centered on the facility. She
stated the first theatrical performance she saw as a child was in the
building. I distinctly remember the childlike grin on her face when she
mentioned seeing her first ice show and circus in the arena as well. She
pointed to a seating section where she had watched her first concert, and
laughed when she talked about one of her first dates being at another
concert years later. This young lady graduated from high school and
researched products for her first house at a home show in our facility. I
soon realized that she was standing on our main arena floor telling me all
this while attending a bridal show. (No, I didn’t ask her if she was
marrying her first date.)
 This
conversation hit home pointedly as to how much effect we have on peoples’
lives and how big of a role we play for our communities each and every day.
When you brief your staff members prior to an event, sincerely ask them to
find this person — actively seek him out and help make the person’s day. Our
staffs can easily be a part of those memories and experiences that our
patrons hold onto forever.
Can you imagine greeting a young couple at the building’s front door on
their first date? How about giving a high five to a little guy coming to his
first basketball game with his dad? If it has been too long since you
encountered one of these situations, let me remind you: It’s invigorating.
Another Story
My second experience involved a little girl who battled leukemia with a
diagnosis that wasn’t positive. Chemotherapy treatments were made just a bit
easier for her by watching tapes of Elmo on PBS’s Sesame Street. Actually,
her mom said it was really just one specific tape being watched over and
over again.
Considering her grim prognosis, our business office staff organized a meet
and greet for her while she underwent treatment at a local hospital. Her
family and friends truly considered it akin to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The smile on that little girl’s face when Elmo came into the hallway was
absolutely priceless. From that moment, the videotape of that encounter ran
daily, if not hourly, in her hospital room.
It just so happened that when Sesame Street Live returned to the building
two years later, the mother called to buy tickets to celebrate her
daughter’s pending last treatment. That experience with Elmo helped lift up
not only a little girl but also an entire family. It was an encounter so
strong that, dare I say, it had the power to cure.
We tend to forget that, more times than not, it is in our venues that famous
personalities come to life for adoring fans. Our arenas help make those
encounters possible, no matter how brief they may be. Why, you ask yourself?
I say you need look no further than our association’s name: The
International Association of Assembly Managers.
People come to us to assemble, and they gather to enjoy common bonds. They
convene to learn new things about someone different. They amass to relieve
life’s daily stresses. They congregate to plan for a better tomorrow. Or
they simply come together to have a good old-fashioned party. Folks from all
walks of life assemble in arenas across our country and throughout the world
to feel better — and you, my friends, help make it so.
Darius Dunn is the associate
director of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center at the University of Florida in
Gainesville, Fla., home of the defending NCAA basketball champion Florida
Gators. |
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