Category: Convention Center

On September 26th, Team Members attended the Meet the Neighbors Event in the VBCC Ballroom 3.  Everyone mixed and mingled while sampling Distinctive Gourmet’s new chef, Desiree Neal’s delectable work! See photos below!

     

On Sept. 17, the VBCC held the first outdoor wedding on the Ball Room Patio! Despite the wind and occasional rain, the Setup team led by LaDonya Reynolds (seen below) kept everything looking beautiful!

Team VBCC was happy to provide shelter for Saturday night headliners of the American Music Festival, and even happier that they were able to take place on the beach Sunday! Karen Foster (L) and Kay Crockett (R), both VBCC Ushers, were among the dozens of staff and contractors who pitched in to get Rock ’n Roll exhibitors and Brede Exhibition Services out of Hall B in order to open the doors for Rebelution and Michael Franti & Spearhead.

Over 4,000 guests enjoyed the event that otherwise would have been cancelled. Short notice didn’t stop team VBCC who at the last minute mustered a staff of event managers, ushers, housekeepers, maintenance staff, food service staff and contractors. Avery Burgess, VBCC’s Director of events appropriately called this an epic room flip. A special thanks goes to Avery for coordinating this event at the last minute and living it for more than 14 hours on Saturday.

The Virginia Beach Convention Center is proud to announce that Sabrina Rinaldo is the latest in the Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Certified Meeting Professionals (CMP). The prestigious CMP certification acknowledges a rigorous course of study of professional standards of the Events Industry Council, formerly Convention Industry Council.  Sabrina, an employee of the Center’s exclusive catering firm Distinctive Gourmet is Director of Catering Sales. She has been with the Center since 2011 and was formerly with the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Sabrina has an MBA from Florida International University, is active in the local chapter of the International Live Events Association and recently served on the board of directors of the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association.

VBCC General Manager Recognized at National Conference Courtney Dyer recently traveled to Nashville to attend the International Association of the Venue Managers (IAVM) Conference where Courtney was recognized for 40+ years of service and won a great table  A Virginia Beach native, Courtney began his career with the City of Virginia Beach in 1972 at the Virginia Beach Civic Center (aka The Dome) where he learned the fundamentals of venue management. In 1980, Courtney became part of the opening team for the Pavilion Convention Center, where he held various positions including event coordinator, assistant manager, to general manager. In 2001, Courtney was intricately involved in the planning, design and construction of the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Courtney is a Certified Facilities Executive who has also served on the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad for 30 years as an EMT. He is now on the Advisory Board and Foundation Board of Directors.

Check out Event Coordinator, Samantha Bernheim, acing her VBCC Forklift training by Instructor, Event Coordinator Keith Bernstein!

 

CLICK HERE to check out this great shout-out for the VBCC and the VBCC’s Director of Events, Avery Burgess, in the 2017 Facilities & Destinations SuperBook!

What’s going on? asked a guy in a suit as he walked into the Convention Center Wednesday night to attend the 19^th Street corridor public meeting. He was taking note of all the girls in dance outfits with coaches, parents and siblings. June 26 – July 2 the Convention Center hosted Hall of Fame Dance Challenge, a national competition for dancers who have danced competitively all year similar to travel soccer competitions. 1400 dancers plus teachers, parents, grandparents and yes, bored siblings brought an estimated total of 4,000 visitors to Virginia Beach for competition and of course some family vacationing. A parking lot biopsy revealed autos from a collection of states other than Virginia. The girls posing by the banner came all the way from Wisconsin.

The Boynton Beach Florida based Hall of Fame Dance is also hosting National Competitions in Traverse City and Orlando this summer.

The past few weeks have seen a lot of finales at the VBCC.  The VBCC hosted the City of Virginia Beach School’s graduation ceremonies with approx. 5,000 students from all high schools as well as South University’s commencement ceremony. Then the following week saw the Virginia Beach Schools Retirement Banquet honoring retirees from the school system.  But with these endings comes other beginnings!  Access College held a scholarship luncheon awarding almost $1 million in scholarship money to 184 students from local schools across the Hampton Roads area.  Each of the students was awarded $5,000 toward their college education. Congratulations to all the graduates, retirees and scholarship recipients!

Congratulations to Brenda Felton, Convention Center Supervisor in the Operations Unit – She is a recent graduate of IAVM’s Two-Year Venue Management School! Way to go, Brenda!