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By Cindy Harper
Sleepy-eyed
from the 28 hours of preceding travel and the hop forward in time across the
international dateline, I am greeted. “How ya goin’?” I have stepped a day
forward into beautiful Queensland, which I would soon find to be a most
welcoming and friendly state of Eastern Australia.
I was joining a team of four strangers from West Texas
for a Real World adventure of our own as we embarked on a month-long Rotary
International Group Study Exchange. Enter the poised veterinarian, the witty
agronomist, the astute health care manager, and the clever retired police
chief as our fearless leader — and I ... well, I help to manage the
facilities and events of an arena and stadium.
Before long, we would each come to respect the taste
Australians have for Vegemite and would grow rather keen of our new
dictionary of Australian terms, while learning to abbreviate everything in
near second nature (mozzies, footy, swimmers, runners). We’d come to know
beetroot as a BBQ staple that replaces the American’s pickles on burgers,
and we would come to crave the traditional desserts of pavlova and laming-
ton. We’d learn that a hotel isn’t really a hotel, but rather a pub; once we
first picked the Southern Cross out in the sky, we would proudly and
dutifully seek out the constellation after almost every sunset.
Not only would these cultural experiences and more
enrich us, but through the events that lay ahead, we would be strengthening
professional and leadership skills while visiting leaders, organizations and
facilities to share ideas and to observe our respective vocations as
practiced in our host towns and cities.
On the Road
We began our journey in Brisbane, population 1 .8 million. In “Brissy,” I
was afforded incredible vocational visits to Suncorp Stadium, The Gabba and
the Brisbane Convention Center. My hosts and guides offered me
behind-the-scenes insight into their facilities’ amenities, programs, event
protocol and fan behavior. There I began polishing my knowledge of the
sports and entertainment heritage of Australia. I
 learned
about Rugby Union and Rugby League (though admittedly I still need to study
up on the definable differences); I learned about cricket and Aussie rules
football.
Through rolling hills of lush green landscape, we moved
westward on to the “Garden City” of Toowoomba. There I was able to meet with
organizers and observe the “bump in,” or load-in, of Easter Fest, a
three-day outdoor music festival just a short week away. Grounds were
marked, tents were raising, campgrounds were being secured, artist merch was
rolling in to be tagged and shelved, and ticket sales were climbing to a
number that would bring tens of thousands of visitors to this town of
100,000. I also visited the University of Southern Queensland and the
historical Empire Theatre, and sat in on various event-planning meetings,
including that for the upcoming host district conference at which our team
would soon be presenting.
A few days later, our team traveled southwest to St.
George, a smaller rural community of approximately 3,000. We were officially
“in the bush.” The landscape transformed to flatter plains and drier climate
not much unlike that in West Texas, but with fine soil as red as one can
imagine, and with kangaroos lining the skyline’s silhouette at dusk. There I
visited the town’s showgrounds and participated in a number of
event-planning meetings, including a meeting for an exciting kick-off event
announcing an aboriginal entrepreneur’s career development program for the
indigenous people of the area.
Four days and 200 kilometers later, we were in Roma for
one of the biggest events of the area, Easter in the Country. Roma has
roughly 7,000 residents, but Easter weekend the population near doubles as
the scene transforms to a livewire of activity famous in this region of
Queensland and complete with a street parade, a mud derby, drag races and my
own personal favorite, the goat races. I discussed event logistics with
organizers, and our team even had the opportunity to get our hands dirty
preparing and selling concession items at the rodeo for the local club
fundraiser. (Two dagwood dogs and a sausage sanger, coming right up!)
Our time came to a close as we returned to Brisbane.
There I visited the incredible grounds and facilities of Southbank, the site
of the 1988 World Expo and, incidentally, home to Australia’s only inland
beach. I also met with members of the Queensland Police and visited about
various event preparation matters, from planning for the 2008 Rugby League
World Cup to the coming weekend’s Earth Hour, the voluntary blackout for
energy conservation. I was also offered a glimpse at behind-the-scenes
operations at my very first League match, where my teammates and I all
became fast Broncos fans.
Lessons from the Road
Through all of these experiences and much more, I gained amazing insight to
the similarities and the differences in the challenges and opportunities
that our peers in the industry face, from the rustic show- grounds of rural
St. George to a stadium of more than 50,000 seats in Brisbane. I have gained
fresh perspectives and approaches to important issues we face today that
impact us now and into tomorrow.
An overshadowing theme throughout my trip was the
incredible mind of conservation, both in daily life and corporate practice.
Australia compares in size to that of the United States, yet its population
is more comparable to that of Texas. Despite this, Australia recognizes that
its resources are finite. Facilities are collecting rainwater for grounds
and plumbing, and rubbish sorting and recycling efforts are astonishing,
with some facilities I visited recycling more than 60 percent of
event-generated waste.
What’s more, I found that the spirit of IAAM transcends
all types of venues across cultures and borders, even hemispheres. My peers
welcomed me with open arms in a true spirit of camaraderie in the sharing
and exchange of ideas, programs and procedures. My network of resources and
friends in the industry and its related fields has grown exponentially.
My Australian adventure was an experience full of
professional and life lessons, and incredible new friendships that I will
carry with me always. I could go on to tell you about the amazing
experiences our team shared, too, from walking a vineyard with the kangaroos
to spotting dolphins during a sail in Moreton Bay.
But ask me more in Anaheim. I’ll bring the Vegemite.
You bring the bread.
fm
Cindy Harper
is associate director of the United Spirit Arena at Texas Tech University in
Lubbock, Texas. She may be contacted at cindy.harper@ttu.edu.
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