VMA recognises professional excellence at 2018 industry awards

Respected venue industry professionals Darren Burden and Jim Fidler have been recognised for their industry contributions over the past year by the Venue Management Association (Asia and Pacific) [VMA] at its 2018 member awards.

Presented during the 2018 Asia Pacific Venue Industry Gala Dinner and Awards Night held in Auckland on Tuesday evening, Burden was named Venue Professional of the Year while Fidler received the Allied Professional of the Year Award.

Nicola Drummy, Event Project Manager for Melbourne and Olympic Parks was also named Young Achiever of the Year Award.

Darren Burden is the Chief Executive of Vbase, manager of Christchurch’s leading venues including Horncastle Arena, AMI Stadium, Hagley Oval, Air Force Museum Wigram and the Christchurch Town hall which is currently undergoing $140 million redevelopment.  With such a diversity of venues the company delivers over 700 events annually.

In addition to his role at Vbase, in 2017 Burden was engaged by Venues New South Wales to provide consulting services on the development of the new Western Sydney Stadium.

Before moving to Vbase Darren spent seven years in Dunedin, firstly working as the Chief Executive of the trust established to masterplan and build Forsyth Barr Stadium in time for Rugby World Cup 2011.  Latterly he was the Chief Executive of Dunedin Venues, operator of the stadium as well as the Dunedin Centre and Town Hall.

Welcoming his Award, Burden stated “I am extremely honoured to be recognised by industry colleagues from across the Asia Pacific region with this award.

“This award is not just about me. It speaks volumes about the fantastic team at Vbase and I think it’s wonderful for us to get recognition at an international level.”

Jim Fidler is recognised as an industry leader in security event management. His knowledge, vast experience, hands on management approach and continuous improvement philosophy has been widely employed in crowd management, festivals, events, mass gatherings, event safety, risk management as well as touring, personal security and project management. 

He is a Director of the businesses Secure Events and Assets as well as Crowd Manager.

VMA Venue Industry Awards 2018

Venue Professional of the Year
Winner: Darren Burden
Nominated: Meaghan Walker, Melbourne and Olympic Parks & Rebecca Barry, VenuesLive, ANZ Stadium

Allied Professional of the Year
Winner: Jim Fidler
Nominated: Caroline Guillermain-Browne, EventAid & Steve Mackenzie, Event Booking

Young Achiever of the Year
Winner: Nicola Drummy
Nominated: Charlotte Casey, AEG Ogden - Suncorp Stadium & Maxine McIntyre, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

The VMA has announced that the 2019 Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress will be held in Melbounre in May next year.

Click here for details in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

Image: Darren Burden and Jim Fidler.

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