IAAM History
|
On December 27, 1924 in Cleveland, Ohio when
Charles A. McElravy, Memphis, TN; Joseph G. Grieb, Milwaukee, WI;
Lincoln G. Dickey, Cleveland, OH; William Bugg, St. Paul, MN; Charles R.
Hall, Chicago, IL; Louis Shouse, Kansas City, MO and Charlie Franks,
Omaha, NE met together for the first time, they officially organized the
Auditorium Managers Association, which grew into the International
Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM). Not unlike today, these forward
thinking facility managers dealt with the issues of their time. Relevant
topics such as new construction, contracts, admissions, revenue
generation, creating content for their facilities and sharing their
collective knowledge and experiences dominated their early discussions.
These early industry pioneers and subsequent leaders of the association laid the foundation for the success of the IAAM we enjoy in the 21st century. Economic conditions they had to overcome included the Great Depression years; World War II; and the turbulent 60’s. Competitive forces they had to adapt to included: the automobile, radio, television, and changing musical styles. Sixty-five to seventy-five years later, outdoor amphitheaters, computerization and promoter consolidation changed the dynamics of public assembly facility management once again. How can we take the experiences of our predecessors and apply them to our industry today? As our association expands to include members worldwide, how do we continue to uphold our founding principles of providing sound professional management, advocacy, education and the sharing of information among our members globally? The first thing to do is create a historical depository to collect and record what we have done as managers and where we have been as an industry. In 1975, The Professional Touring Entertainment Archive was created. It is housed in the Center for American History on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. The Professional Touring Entertainment Archive was named the “official depository for all IAAM historical records”. IAAM agreed to establish the archive for the safekeeping of original material, governance records, photographs, audio recordings, books and articles on the IAAM and professional public assembly facility management.. Establishing benchmarks and milestones for our industry advancement will allow us to measure our progress over time. By harnessing the internet and current technology, we can make the information accessible to our members, media, researchers and historians worldwide. The History Committee for IAAM is always seeking historical content, written papers and photographs of our association, facilities we manage and the people who run them. Contact the IAAM World Headquarters – History Committee at 635 Fritz Drive, Suite 100, Coppell, Texas 75019 ; phone – 972-906-7441 or email keri.obleton@iaam.org if you have materials you would like to contribute. |