Matthew Batson from the Stephen C. O’Connell Center at the University of Florida in Gainesville recently joined IAAM as a student member and attended VenueConnect in Houston, where he was given the opportunity to join the Arenas Committee as the first student to ever do so.
After incurring expenses to make the trip to Houston, Batson found funds tight to enable him to attend the Arena Management Conference in Tulsa from September 11-14.
Wanting to prove himself to the committee through his attendance in Tulsa, Batson petitioned Region 5 Director Carol Moore, CFE, for any available financial assistance to travel to the conference.
Happily, Moore and Region 5 were able to come to the rescue with a check for $400 to help defray some expenses for Batson. Moore simply said, “We’re happy to invest in our future!”
There are, of course, numerous other ways in which regions can display their investment in the future leaders of the industry. For starters, though, this is a great example to follow.
Congratulations to Region 5 for this acknowledgment and congratulations to Batson for his desire to further himself in the industry and the association.