|
"Performance Review"
A regularly
featured interview with a chapter
professional member.
Meet Jill Goodwin, Public Events Manager for
the Austin Convention Center
Provide some insight on your Employer/Company's core
function/service.
We provide exhibit and meeting space for any type of event: state
and local association meetings/conferences; boat, car & home shows;
sporting events such as basketball, volleyball and roller derby; proms,
dances and other social functions, and even dinner for 5,000 people.
Here
are some interesting facts about the convention center:
We have events
scheduled anywhere from nine to 20 years in advance. Our furthest
definite booking ends on 1/12/18 but the furthest prospective booking
ends 3/18/29.
In the Rotunda,
we have artwork on display (formerly trash
including shoes, glasses, etc.)
that was removed from Waller Creek during the construction in 1992.
We have more than 10,000 chairs in inventory.
We can have sporting events and classroom-style events at the same time.
The entire convention center is wireless.
Our freight elevators can handle up to 12,000 pounds, or a fully-loaded
forklift.
Identify Company's total number, sq. ft., types, and locations of
offices, e.g., corporate, industrial, owned, leased, downtown, suburban,
local, regional.
The convention center is
881,400 gross square
feet that covers six downtown city blocks.
Identify Company’s total number of employees.
241. What are your primary job functions?
My group sets up
& tears down for every single event, plus all custodial & recycling. We
are working on our LEED-EB certification as well as implementing the OS1
cleaning program.
How long have you been in the FM field?
Education, certifications?
I’ve been in the
FM field for approximately 17 years. Started out as a project
accountant for a huge project at Motorola and spent 12 years there in
various capacities. After that, I spent a few years in both non-profit
and for-profit healthcare, working on JCAHCO in Plant Operations. Now
I’ve switched gears to work for the City of Austin. I have a BA in
Journalism (don’t get any ideas about the newsletter!). I plan to take
the CFM exam by March 15, 2009.
Who do you report to?
Operations
Manager, David Thomas
Who reports to
you?
I have three
supervisors and one coordinator who report directly to me, and about 70
FTEs and temps who ultimately report to me.
What functions do you outsource?
None
at this time.
Describe your recycling program, if applicable.
We have a robust
recycling program that I would love to show off to anyone who would like
to see it. Our recycling quantities vary on the number of events and
number of visitors to the building, but these are some of our numbers:
Paper – Since Oct. 1, we have recycled 3,263 pounds of paper.
Aluminum & plastic – Since Oct. 1, we have recycled 443 pounds.
Cardboard - We bale and recycle about 15 bales of cardboard per week.
Pallets – on average, we recycle 20-30 wooden pallets per week. Since
Oct. 1, we have recycled 361 pallets, or more than 18,000 pounds of
wooden pallets.
We
are working on a compost-able dumpster for our food waste. Currently,
our in-house food vendor donates numerous pounds of food to one of the
local soup kitchens. They also provide china service or greenware (corn
starch or bamboo) to our clients who want an earth-friendly solution for
their banquets or food-related events.
Water – our clients & visitors are encouraged to fill up their own water
bottles from the water fountains & dispensers. The cups we use appear
to be clear plastic, but they are made from corn starch.
For our exterior cigarette receptacles, we use crushed glass (beer
bottles) from 6th Street.
Our latest furniture, modular furniture and carpet purchases have all
contained post-consumer content or are fully recyclable. Our trash
cans, patio furniture and folding tables are made out of aluminum.
Describe any
energy conservation measure you have implemented in your facilities.
We have
implemented numerous conservation measures in our facility, in
preparation for our LEED-EB performance period. Some of the highlights
include a massive lighting retrofit to install LEDs in our exhibit
halls, more accurate programming of our BAS system, roof replacement and
an Energy Star rating of 100 for our type of facility.
Identify some FM challenges you face within your organization.
(Editor: Jill left this space blank, probably knowing that David
would be reading it!)
Identify
some challenges the FM industry as a whole must face in the near future.
Dealing with
the constant reality of outsourcing FM operations;
Becoming more efficient in our operations and providing better service
to our customers;
Dealing with “brown” buildings and properties.
What are some of your hobbies and interests outside work?
Gardening, live music, Longhorns football!
Thank you, Jill!
"Cold Call"
with Vada Dillawn of Cameron Weeks PR
"Cold Call" is a
regularly featured interview with a chapter
associate member. Vada is our chapter PR chairperson.
Tell us about your company.
I am a publicist
with CameronWeeks Public Relations
(www.cameronweeks.com), a
division of BlabberMouth PR. For more than two years, I have had
the pleasure of representing CWorks Systems (
www.cworkssystems.com),
a leading developer and provider of facility management systems, also
known as CMMS (computerized management maintenance systems).
Describe your company's core
competency.
CameronWeeks
PR is the leading PR agency for
complex
technologies and industries. We develop strategies and
campaigns and implement tactics for emerging, established, and rapidly
expanding organizations throughout the world. As a non
sector-specific agency, CameronWeeks is the premium PR agency for an
array of complex technologies and industries, including biotechnology,
finance, economic development, IT, nanotechnology, and software.
CWorks
Systems develops and supports facility management systems worldwide.
Its facility management systems (CMMS) are competitively priced and its
main CMMS products, CareWorks, CWorks Plus, and CWorks SQL provide an
inexpensive, efficient method for collecting and retrieving facility
management data. Customized operational reports generated by the CWorks
CMMS provide management with the necessary information and tools to make
informed decisions and to improve the operational efficiency at their
facility.
Describe your primary job functions.
My primary
function is advocating for my client.
Describe an average day.
I wish I
could say average. Each day is different. I guess it would be something
like this: writing pitches; talking to editors and reporters and
answering their questions; advising clients on marketing/PR strategy;
editing/writing copy for websites, bylines, and email blasts; monitoring
deadlines; preparing editorial calendars on issues related to my
clients; determining speaking / award opportunities for clients; meeting
with clients.
What type of clients do you work with?
We are
industry diverse and represent both for–profit companies and non-profit
organizations.
What percentage of your work and clients
is local/regional/national?
50%
national, 45% statewide, 5% international.
How long have you been in this field?
Tell us briefly about your career, education, certifications.
I am a
licensed attorney but I have been in PR field for more than 3 years.
Before that, I worked as a solo practitioner and in the public sector
working as General Counsel for the Texas Senate Jurisprudence Committee,
as legislative aide for the Texas House of Representatives, and for the
Texas Auditor’s Office. I also hold an MBA from Texas State and BBA in
Finance from UT.
Tell us about an interesting situation encountered related to your
current work, and the end result.
The most
interesting situation I have encountered was being able to watch the
filming of a commercial for CWorks on location in Kauai, Hawaii. The
island was beautiful but I quickly found out that filming a commercial
is slow, laborious work and not as glamorous as it sounds.
What’s the best lesson you’ve learned from a client?
I have been
fortunate to have some of the best clients around. Two best lessons: #1)
Indeed, the client is always right because they know their industry
better than you do and also have a true stake in the outcome; #2) Listen
to your client. Try and determine their needs and wants and work to
help them accomplish their goals.
How's business right now?
Business
is great as companies realize the value of PR and third party
credibility. Research has shown that successful companies do not reduce
their marketing/PR budget especially during economic slowdowns. Such
reductions are often the kiss of death to a company.
Identify some challenges in your industry.
Ying and
Yang. Public Relations is invaluable because it garners a company
third-party credibility. Journalists do not always report what you want
them to report; they are under an ethical duty to report what they
consider newsworthy. This is also the challenge in PR, i.e., getting
the coverage and placement that you want for your client. Even
though your company has the greatest story in the world to tell,
coverage is not guaranteed. If a client wants guaranteed coverage,
they should spend it on advertising.
Tell us about your personal life, family,
hobbies and interests outside work.
I have a
wonderful husband of 21 years and four beautiful children that keep us
both very b-u-s-y.
I also serve on
three different boards including Classical Radio 89.5 KMFA, Austin
Classical Guitar Society (which performs concerts from the most
distinguished international artists in the world), and on the advisory
board of Austin Asset Management Co., a fee only personal wealth
management firm.
I used to do a lot
of running including 10Ks and a half-marathon, but I am lucky if I get
to jog once in a week.
Can we quote you on that?
A coach
well-known to our family – and I can’t say who -- has a saying:
"Excuses are for Losers."
I tell this to my
kids every time they come up with excuses about grades, science fair
projects, failure to clean room, etc., etc. They just smile.
Thanks, Vada!
#
#
#
| 
