Unobstructed

Mike Evenson was joined by Jonathan Boulter, the Associate Director of Patron Services at Virginia Tech's Moss Arts Center, on episode 22 of the Unobstructed podcast. A Virginia Tech alumnus, he began his career at Walt Disney World, but made his way back to the university in 2012.

They discussed how the staff at the Moss Arts Center has continued to serve their core demographic during the COVID-19 shutdown, their HomeStage Series, pricing strategy for virtual events and the complex nature of hybrid events.

Jonathan also talked about his customer service philosophy, leadership approach, the importance of thinking safety first, 'Zoom fatigue' and more!

Mike Evenson was joined by Andrew Thomas on episode 21 of the Unobstructed podcast. Andrew is a South Wales-based ticketing industry consultant and Director of the Ticketing Professionals Conference. In a career spanning more than 20 years, he has worked as a vendor, venue operator and consultant in both the sports and performing arts sectors.

They discussed the future of virtual events, the irreplaceable experience of in-person events, the staying power of policy shifts driven by COVID-19 and the evolving skill set of ticketing professionals.

Andrew also talked about the need for customer ease and satisfaction to be at the top of our priority lists, offered advice for furloughed ticketing professionals and urged venues and organizations to use this unfortunate industry slowdown as an opportunity to experiment.

Mike Evenson was joined by Sean Moriarty on episode 20 of the Unobstructed podcast. Sean is a 30+ year veteran in the area of campus technology and currently serves as the CTO at SUNY Oswego.

They discussed the current climate on the SUNY Oswego campus, the Oswego Forward reopening plan, the need to adhere to low-tech safety protocols and the critical role of technology as part of a campus wide solution.

Sean also detailed how the leadership team SUNY Oswego arrived at the decision to implement AudienceView Campus Flow, which will serve as the core technology to help them re-open campus wide in the safest way possible.

The State University of New York at Oswego is a public college that is part of the SUNY system, the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States.

Our host, Mike Evenson, delivers a solocast for episode 19 of the Unobstructed podcast. The episode is focused on the potentially permanent changes that we may see in the live events industry as a result of COVID-19.

Mike talks about the need to re-examine your consumer experience, the importance of knowing the people that are attending your events, sweeping changes related to concessions, the increased reliance on personal devices in your venue and more!

Mike Evenson was joined by Jesse Cole on episode 18 of the Unobstructed podcast. Jesse is the founder of Fans First Entertainment and the owner of the Savannah Bananas, where their mission is Fans First, Entertainment Always.

They discussed the importance of getting people's attention, making small bets, not fearing failure, obsessively focusing on the event experience and how the Savannah Bananas make every decision through the lens of "Is it fans first?"

Jesse also talked about how he focuses on creating long-term fans rather than making short-term profits, the need to get through 'the suck' and keep moving and how he's been able to successfully operate his team by spending zero dollars on marketing.

Mike Evenson was joined by Kelsey Harmon Finn, CEO of the National Association of College Auxiliary Services, on episode 17 of the Unobstructed podcast. Kelsey, a 20-year veteran in higher education and association management, was on the campuses of UC Berkeley, UNLV and Illinois State University before joining NACAS as CEO in 2015.

Kelsey talked about the role of auxiliary professionals on college campuses, their impact on the in-person student experience and how NACAS supports the global sharing of ideas, information and insight.

They also discussed how colleges and universities are planning for the return of students this fall, budget shortfalls related to newly instituted safety protocols, the intentionality of the services available on college campuses and the need to take a "community first, revenue next" approach to achieve long-term success.

Founded in 1969 as the National Association of College Auxiliary Services, NACAS provides opportunities for higher education auxiliary service professionals to share ideas, enhance programs and revenues, and develop professional relationships. NACAS is the largest auxiliary services support organization serving higher education. Our membership includes colleges and universities throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia.

Mike Evenson was joined by Marc Middleton, founder and CEO of Growing Bolder, on episode 16 of the Unobstructed podcast. Marc is a media entrepreneur, Emmy Award-winning television journalist, author, filmmaker, speaker, activist and consultant who focuses on the changing culture of aging. Marc discussed his organization's mission to re-brand aging, how organizations should communicate with older generations, his distaste for the term Boomer and ageist stereotypes that need to be retired.Growing Bolder is a team of award-winning journalists, broadcasters and creatives all focused on sharing the inspirational stories of ordinary people living extraordinary lives — men and women who are redefining the possibilities of life after 50. Growing Bolder not only provides the inspiration to live a healthier and more active life, it delivers the tools, tips, resources and community support necessary to make it happen.

Our guest for episode 15 is Rob Williams, Chief Product Officer at AudienceView. Rob joined our host, Mike Evenson, to discuss the changing landscape and continued evolution of the live events industry. They talked about the acceleration of AudienceView's strategic innovation plan, the transition from a product view to a platform view and the ability to more efficiently build and release features that benefit all clients. Rob also shared how AudienceView is now in a better position to maximize its investment in resources to rapidly offer solutions designed to help venues reopen based on new procedures that may need to be introduced due to COVID-19 and other future challenges or opportunities in the industry.

Mike Evenson was joined by Michael D. Fox on episode 14 of the Unobstructed podcast. Michael, the Chief Operations Officer at Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy, Utah for the last 18 years, says that his passion is to turn the public into regular patrons and current patrons into raving fans of Hale Centre Theatre.

Michael discussed his organization's journey from venue shutdown to their reopening in late June. He shared all of the items that were considered by his team, the logic used to decide what protocols to put in place and the important things he's learned along the way.

This is a must-listen for any live events professional that is on the path to reopening their venue.

TheaterMania's Publisher Rosemary Maggiore joined Mike Evenson for episode 13 of the Unobstructed podcast. They discussed the key findings from the recent survey of more than 5,000 members of the TheaterMania community.

The Patrons' Perspective: An Overview of the Impact of COVID-19 on the Behavior of Theater-goers, a report generated from the survey results, will be released the week of June 29. The report uncovers new behaviors of theater-goers, including the appetite for virtual events, opinions of incremental procedures to increase public safety, motivations and timelines to return to live events, near-term ticket buying intentions and more.