Garner was 48-years-old when he suffered a fatal heart attack on
December 16. He was an IAVM member and also heavily involved in
activities with the Venue Management Association (VMA). Garner had
addressed a VMA audience in early December about the effect of a recent
earthquake in Christchurch on public assembly venues and was preparing
an article for the February/March issue of Facility Manager magazine on
the same topic.
Garner began his career in radio sports
broadcasting before going on to manage a number of sponsorship
portfolios of some corporate giants including Telecom and the New
Zealand Post. By 1997 Garner was affiliated with the New Zealand Rugby
Union and managed the union’s sponsorship and licensing program.
After
attaining an MBA from Victoria University in 2004, Garner built his own
company and offered sports marketing and sponsorship expertise to a
number of sports organizations.
Upon joining Vbase in 2006,
Garner oversaw a group that obtains business in the areas of sports,
concerts, conventions and exhibitions.