Venue Management School 2018 awards and graduates more industry professionals

After an intensive five-day residential program, the Venue Management Association (VMA) hosted the annual Graduation Dinner for the Venue Management School (VMS) and the Leadership Institute (LI) in Kingscliff, NSW. A record 112 students participated in the 2018 programs, with 16 students completing the VMA’s Leadership Institute and another 41 students awarded for the achievement of the two-year Venue Management School.

The Graduation Dinner also included honours for two of the top students in the Venue Management School. Each year, the top-scoring Year 1 student receives the VMS USI (Ungerboeck) Bursary which covers all student fees for attendance at Year 2 of the VMS.

"Ungerboeck is very proud to have been associated with the School for the greater part of its 25 years. We've had a number of team members graduate from the School and have been awarding the Ungerboeck Bursary since the early 2000's," said Marie-Claire Wood of Ungerboeck Software International who attended the ceremony to distribute the award.

Catherine Chambers was the recipient of the 2018 VMS USI (Ungerboeck) Bursary. Catherine is an Account Manager with Auckland Live and the VMA looks forward to hosting her again for Year 2 of the Venue Management School.

Additionally, the AEG Ogden Scholarship Award is awarded annually to a Year 2 student who demonstrates achievement in a range of assessment criteria including outstanding academic achievement and application at the VMS, continuing a commitment to the venue management industry, communication, teamwork and professional leadership skill. The Scholarship covers enrolment and travel to the International Association of Venue Manager’s Graduate Institute program in the USA.

Rod Pilbeam, Chief Executive of AEG Ogden, also attended the function and shared some insights on how the AEG Ogden Scholarship Award came to fruition.

"It's so valuable to have the opportunity to travel and see how things are run in other parts of the world. So 25 years ago, Harvey Lister and I thought we'd encourage that by sending someone from the school on a study trip. When IAVM and VMS in the USA started the Graduate Institute, we agreed with the School here that we'd actually make that the subject of the AEG Ogden Scholarship."

Olivia Birkett was honoured with the 2018 AEG Ogden Scholarship Award. Olivia is the Manager of the State Netball Centre for Netball WA and has been a member of the VMA for several years.

Birkett is excited for the opportunity to visit the USA and remarked that she was looking forward to reconnecting with this year’s International Guest Instructor, Paul Turner CVE CSSP, at the famous AT&T Stadium which is home to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.