CEFMA Announces Diversity Grant and Facility and Event Manager of the Year Award Winners
The Collegiate Event and Facility Management Association (CEFMA) announced the recipients of its GameDay Consulting Event Manager of the Year Award, AstroTurf Facility Manager of the Year, and Beynon Diversity Grant, who will be recognized at the 2014 CEFMA Convention, to be held June 7-9 at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, FL. The winners are:
Event Manager of the Year: Andrea Williams, Assoc. Commissioner/Football & Basketball Operations, Big Ten Conference
Facility Manager of the Year: Mitch Silverman, Asst. AD/Operations & Events, Florida Atlantic University
Diversity Grant: Megan Welsch, Event & Premium Seating Coordinator, Illinois State University
"On behalf of our Board of Directors, we look forward to honoring these individuals at our convention in Orlando," said CEFMA President Dawn Stewart, director of athletics at Otterbein University. "We had many well-qualified applicants, but Andrea, Mitch and Megan embody everything we set forth for these awards to accomplish and are a shining example of the athletics events and facilities profession."
The GameDay Consulting Event Manager of the Year Award recognizes one athletics administrator who excels in the area of event management. During the 2013-14 season, Andrea Williams managed the Big Ten Football Championship game and operations, the Big Ten Men's and Women's Basketball tournament championships and operations, as well as the Big Ten Football Kick Off Luncheon and Media Day. Not only does Williams work with the internal conference staff, but also with the local sports commissions, community, corporate sponsors and the Big Ten member institutions to ensure successful management of all events.
The AstroTurf Facility Manager of the Year Award recognizes one athletics administrator who excels in the area of facility management. Mitch Silverman oversaw the operational development, start up and construction of a 30,000 seat, $72m on-campus stadium. In addition to responsibilities including oversight of revenue generation and cost containment, Silverman directs all of Florida Atlantic's 11 athletic venues, event management and operations for varsity sports and outside events.
The Beynon Diversity Grant helps one deserving candidate attend the annual CEFMA Convention in June. The goal of the grant is to identify up-and-coming minority administrators who desire to excel in athletics facility and event management. The focus is to increase under-represented minority professionals in this field. As Event and Premium Seating Coordinator at Illinois State University, Megan Welsch oversaw the opening of newly renovated Hancock Stadium and Club and Suite level for all football games and special events. Also, Welsch solicits, hires, trains and supervises student staff emphasizing customer service, fan experience, safety and facility set-up. Prior to Illinois State, Welsch served on the facilities and operations staffs at the U.S. Millitary Academy and West Virginia University.
About AstroTurf: American-owned and operated, AstroTurf is the only synthetic turf brand with true vertical asset integration, ensuring that every inch of product meets and exceeds the highest standards of performance, quality and durability. With over 40 years of experience and 160,000,000 square feet of turf in use worldwide, AstroTurf brings an unprecedented amount of technological expertise and real world know-how to the game.
About Beynon Sports: Beynon's premier track and field and athletic surfaces are found in some of the world's most renowned athletic facilities and have carried some of the world's greatest champions to record-breaking times. As a designer, formulator, manufacturer and installer, Beynon Sports is able to offer you superior track surfacing products along with local installation and exceptional customer service.
About GameDay Consulting: GameDay Consulting is a guest service training and evaluation firm focused solely on improving the fan experience in the sport industry. The firm is selective in choosing its partners and clients, often working with no more than two or three teams or venues. This selectivity allows the firm to focus greater attention on the client and work together to develop a customized training and evaluation protocol.
About CEFMA: CEFMA is dedicated to the needs of collegiate level event and facility professionals and the challenges that exist within the scope of their responsibilities. CEFMA will seek to promote the growth, leadership, integrity and success of administrators and professional staff in collegiate athletics. For more information about CEFMA, please visit www.cefma.net. CEFMA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 49th year. For more information on NACDA and the 13 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.