Spoiler Alert: Very Long & Major Developments are in the second to final paragraph
Once again it is 4 am as I sit writing you another petition update. We are approaching one week since this petition was launched and our world has changed dramatically in that short timespan. I never planned to be thrown into this role industry and self advocate as all of us never planned something like Covid-19 would ever threaten our entire livelihoods, along with our complete industry and economic sector, as it has.
So, here we are, sitting on nearly 270,000 signatures representing a group of people that range, in my estimate, between 6 to 12 million professionals and small businesses. We still have people signing, but not at the rate of 50,000 a day that we initially had and, more importantly, we are still invisible to our national media and politicians. We don’t have the level of money, organization and paid lobbyists of smaller industries and sectors that are getting their name discussed at the Federal Aid level and we NEED action, but that can’t happen without awareness.
I am starting to see us become unfocused and get caught up into the silos that have us separated and not speak with the unified voice we need to get heard at the Federal negotiating table. Live Events is vital to our nation in making almost every small, medium and large business and corporation run through tradeshows, association meetings, conferences, etc., to concerts and performances that define our national culture, and family gatherings and events like weddings that make us celebrate all that is wonderful about being a human being.
Our industry is the invisible fabric holding our nation together behind the scenes and we are being ripped to pieces by this pandemic, and by own actions if we continue to let it happen and expect others to speak for us without taking our own action and leadership over our crisis to unify our voice.
Every far-reaching corner of our industry, business, corporation, contractor, worker, union, non-union, needs to come together. We need our representative organizations to collaborate together with data and advocacy efforts in a unified voice. Each and every person has to survive this in order for the industry to stay alive and pick up where we left off on the other side. Our fates our completely intertwined.
· Events Industry Council
· PCMA
· American Society of Association Executives
· International Association of Exhibitions and Events
· American Hotel and Lodging Association
· Meeting Professionals International
· IATSE
· And any other organization not listed that represents our broad coalitions needs
Our partner industries, restaurants and airlines need to remember our behind the scenes industry of live events that drive their industries revenue and need them to parley advocacy efforts for us too, in all our time of need. This is not a zero-sum game. Again, our fates our completely intertwined together in our complex economy that relies on each of our sectors to remain healthy for a coordinated recovery effort to avoid economic collapse.
Is the outlook bleak? Absolutely, in all truth it is extremely bleak there are now events canceling in October, but I look at my four children every morning and decide that I am not going to give up organizing our industry’s voice for their futures and the futures of all our families. I rise and work everyday to rescue this career and passion and I know this is truth for all of us. We are the people the world counts on to make every detail right and I know we are going to make this right! No matter if it happens this week, next week, a month from now, or till the hell of Covid-19 freezes over, we will find a way to overcome our greatest challenge!
So, if your discouraged that we haven’t solved this catastrophe yet, I’m with you, I understand, I know this is a very big and long fight. As they say where I grew up, when you’re facing some serious drama, “I got time” and “we got time” to do this, keep pushing. It will take more than a couple clicks to sign and share a petition, but ultimately that was the first act that set this movement in motion.
Here are some things to be encouraged about and the steps we all need to start taking immediately together.
Organization
As a direct result of everyone coming together to sign this petition a group of influential and driven event professionals came together as an working action committee to support the mission and spirit of the petition. In less than a week of work we have grown and transformed into the Live Events Coalition, which is empowered mutually under a shared vision to push forward this grassroots effort in bringing the entire breadth of the live events industry into a single voice, mission and movement to address, self-advocate and professionally lobby on behalf of the Live Events Industry as we face the crisis that has resulted from the Covid-19 virus.
The following list is the event professionals that have shown extreme commitment and determination to form this coalition and move this petition forward into an actual movement, I cannot say enough about how much they have meant to all of us toward reaching this point:
Adam Gogan, National Sales Manager, Digerati Productions
Trevor Zulinke, National Director of Accounts & Production, Digerati Productions
Omar Colom, AV Educate, AFPC
Julie Law, President of 360 Event Productions
Carol Galle, CEO, Special D Events
Alexandra Rembac, Principal and Creative Director of Sterling Engagements
Stephanie Nix, Owner, On Site Management LLC
Chris Sinclair, President, The Anthem Group
Eileen Valois, Senior Vice President Sports and Fan Entertainment, PRG/VER
Alex Fedrizzi, Touring Systems Engineer
Marci McCarthy, CEO & President, T.E.N.
Jessica Daka, Owner, Chicago Planner Magazine
Sara Champagne, Director – Business Development, My Events the Bomb
Shannon Cook, CFO, TourTech
Lyn Stout, Principal, Bond Events
Media coverage
We have started to garner coverage in the media and we expect this to grow rapidly as we issue official press releases today. Currently the stories have been circulating regarding the petition all of us worked to spread and grow. We expect media coverage to increase dramatically following our official press release to the news wire today.
https://www.smartmeetings.com/news/124905/av-pros-advocate-event-aid-covid-19
https://fortune.com/2020/03/16/coronavirus-events-industry-planners/ (behind pay wall)
***Of important note, journalist are reaching out and are currently writing stories from all you have who already shared via the form submission at www.event-industry-aid.com and now at www.liveeventscoalition.org
When we provided a spread sheet with just 40 to 50 stories to a reporter today he responded that our personal stories are pure gold and then distributed to the entire collection to the editorial staff of their news organization as they started discussing new angles to report on our plight and the impact of Covid-19. We need to provide them diamonds now! and I know that we have thousands upon thousands of vital stories to share and impact the national conversation in media around our industries plight. So, start writing your short stories to submit through the above website to our press collection. If you don’t feel comfortable using your full name, submit using only your initials or an Alias like Jane Stagehand. We will be heard by this nation and it will take you speak so share NOW!
People who have used your efforts for advocacy
I have had a significant number of phone calls from individuals and an organization that used our petition and data attached to advocate directly to their congress members and other political connections. They have all expressed great gratitude to have this level of a grassroots petition to reference and leverage as they created awareness to our industries dire situation.
We are going to be creating instructional videos how become our own self and industry advocates and lobbyists as we garner support from the Federal Government and our fellow citizens. We know this is not something that comes naturally to all of us who are used to working behind the scenes.
Letter/Email Writing Campaign
By this evening we will have a template letter prepared for each of you to send to your elected official via your personal email, along with detailed instructions and links to find your political representatives contact information.
Additionally, within a day or two we will have an automatic letter generation system to even more streamline the process. However, for those who have more time and patience, copy, pasting, updating and personalizing the letter template from your personal email will have a greater impact.
Observations as the Petition and Movement has Developed
I’m seeing many conversations that are starting to happen at Federal, State, and major metro market levels for aid packages to address small business, freelancers and other gig economy workers. Our petition is starting influence those conversations, but we need to pivot our movement to now direct those conversations. This will need to be accomplished through another major push beyond just a few mouse clicks is going to take more action from all of us to make that happen. We are going to have use our words through voice and text, so be ready to step up in any way you can, we are all counting on each other.
The Petition
Needs to have another jolt of growth. I have made slight adjustments to better encompass some broader asks and need for new innovative economic leadership to address the very unique economic crisis our industry faces. We need an aid package that covers our specific wounds and there is no other major economic sector built like ours, so we will need to have a special task force to convened to address our unique issues.
Another major push is needed for new petition signatures!!! 50% of these signatures are probably from people outside our industry just wanting to support our cause, not insiders!
I need absolutely everyone to blast this petition across social media by personally sharing it again your profile/account and any industry related group or listserv one more time today and tomorrow in order to reenergize it and show our continued momentum and support to the newly formed coalition.
***Please make sure to include the disclaimer at the end of all your posts that there is no need or requirement to pay money to Change.org in order to sign or share the petition and all monies collected by Change.org do not go to the petition itself other than to support hosting and some promotion activities by change.org to boost the petition in news feeds and within the Change.org platform itself.
Major Organizational and Corporate Backing
We have signed on our first organizational backer the International Live Events Association.
Additionally, I am at liberty to inform all of you via social media channels that we are finalizing a co-sign and support of from a very large industry leader. As this major backing is finalized we are already working to garner support for many more major industry partners toward this industry grassroots movement and expect several other key additions over the next 48 hours.
Sound Check is Almost Finished
We now have set the stage, tested our systems for one of the biggest and most difficult events of our careers… the moment has arrived to execute and perform at the highest level of perfection for which our industry is known and I have supreme confidence that we are equipped to overcome this challenge set before us. Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” But I say to you, Margaret Mead never met several million event professionals that put a few weeks of planning to saving the US economy and still hadn’t touched a roll of gaff tape… the world better be prepared for an industry coalition with strength and creativity beyond anything witnessed thus far.
Yours Truly in Flight Cases, Cable Bridges, Center Pieces and Gaff Tape,
Isaac Rothwell
And the Live Events Coalition founding action team,
Adam Gogan, National Sales Manager, Digerati Productions
Trevor Zulinke, National Director of Accounts & Production, Digerati Productions
Omar Colom, AV Educate, AFPC
Julie Law, President of 360 Event Productions
Carol Galle, CEO, Special D Events
Alexandra Rembac, Principal and Creative Director of Sterling Engagements
Stephanie Nix, Owner, On Site Management LLC
Chris Sinclair, President, The Anthem Group
Eileen Valois, Senior Vice President Sports and Fan Entertainment, PRG/VER
Alex Fedrizzi, Touring Systems Engineer
Marci McCarthy, CEO & President, T.E.N.
Jessica Daka, Owner, Chicago Planner Magazine
Sara Champagne, Director – Business Development, My Events the Bomb.com
Shannon Cook, CFO, TourTech
Lyn Stout, Principal, Bond Events