REPORTING FROM TORONTO – The second stop on Linda Deckard’s 2019 Awards Tour is now history, and I find myself learning a lot more about this business from a new vantage point.
On June 13, 2019, my 72nd birthday, I received the highest honor the Event & Arena Marketing Conference confers – the Gigi Award (Golly I Get It!); enjoyed a fabulous, Sydney Greenblatt-booked dinner with 23 of my fellow EAMC Gigi and Hall of Fame award winners from these many years, and then watched the whole of Toronto turn out to dance in the street in celebration.
TOP PHOTO: Tammy Koolbeck, Iowa State Center, Ames, and presenter of EAMC awards; Linda Deckard, Deckard & Associates and Based on Truth, Huntington Beach, Calif., Gigi Award winner; and Glen Mikkelsen, CN Centre, Prince George, B.C., Hall of Fame inductee, at the Event & Arena Marketing Conference in Toronto June 13, 2019.
LEFT: Both Deckard and Mikkelsen celebrated their birthdays as well as their awards June 13, complete with hats courtesy of Glen and a cake from EAMC.
Well maybe that last bit was because the Raptors also won on June 13, clinching the NBA championship in a thrilling game, also here in Toronto. Maybe the entire town wasn’t honking for Linda Deckard. I can accept that. But it was certainly a rush, like curling up in the speaker at a rock concert and letting the soundwaves take over your heartbeat.
Too much?
Indulge me. Early this year, back when I started my blog, I had occasion to write about another award, the inaugural INTIX Impact Award. It was January in Dallas and I was totally surprised to receive that award. It was created just for me. I’m not a ticketing pro. I’m media. I had no idea they could or would give me an INTIX award.
That was the beginning of my Awards Tour. RV Baugus at IAVM called it the Triple Crown. The Impact Award from INTIX; the Gigi Award from EAMC, and, in July, the Joe Anzivino Award from IAVM. This race is a sure thing, as sure as things can be, and it was a long time coming – 40 years of covering the industry.
I told the event and arena marketers I was so very, very honored because I never expected this – I’m not a marketer, I’m media. They said yes you are a marketer – you market us.
And I finally understand. This is not about media. There’s a Pulitzer Prize for that.
It’s about the best part of journalism, building relationships and learning a business.
In college, at Doug Booher’s Indiana University in Bloomington, I majored in journalism because I loved writing, reading, history and politics. On the downside, I was very shy and socially inept. Still am.
Being a reporter for a newspaper or magazine would force me to talk to people. That was my thought process and I stuck to it. And some of my best friends and most of my personal and professional growth is a direct result of that choice.
When I was addressing the live entertainment class at New Mexico State University, a course fostered by Barbara (Mother) Hubbard, about my journey, my career, the first question from the students was: “You said you were shy. How did you overcome that?”
I have always had an extreme fear of public speaking. I used to play sick when it was my turn to make a speech in class in high school. So how did I overcome?
I almost said drugs.
But honestly, it’s about becoming part of the industry. I’m inspired and propped up by ticketers, marketers and managers in this fabulous live entertainment industry.
At the women in live entertainment panel at EAMC, the panelists had some great career advice, and it coincides with my own.
° Create your own personal “board of directors” — your Mom, your cousin, your professional peers, your boss, someone on your team. Find 5-10 people you can rely on in a pinch.
° Knock on doors.
° Be better. Be authentic. Work hard — no task is too big.
° Remember it is your responsibility to manage your boss as much as it is his or hers to manage you. It’s a two-way relationship.
All good advice. My advisory board includes Mike McGee, who is receiving the McElravy Award, IAVM’s highest honor, the same day I receive the Anzivino Award; Donna Dowless, who is introducing me at IAVM and is a VenuesToday Woman of Influence; Tammy Koolbeck, who introduced me at EAMC, also a VT Woman of Influence; Barbara (Mother) Hubbard, about whom I am writing a book and, you guessed it, also a VT Woman of Influence, and so many more.
I’m still writing, still working hard, but I suppose if I wanted to, I could rest on my laurels now. Except then I’d disappoint Mother Hubbard, and that’s not going to happen. Her book, and future books, and these Based on Truth blogs, it’s a passion. I love it.
Thank you one and all for all you’ve given me. I am blessed to be able to give back. You are my personal board of directors. — Based on a true story as told by Linda Deckard
Most hearty congraulations, Linda. Well deserved!
Congratulations Linda
You overcame that shyness thing to be the original Scoop in this business
And when you see McGee in Chicago, ask him to explain his other patented Merch deal, the double reverse guarantee with a full dismount. He could have been the original Bill Nye, science guy!
In our industry, few people are as deserving of recognition as is Linda Deckard. She has found the best of it and it’s people to write about thousands of times. She has seldom suggested a dark side and when she did, it was always overshadowed with her optimism and confidence that the industry would always thrive because of its people and the unique love they have for the industry and each other. Thank you sincerely Linda.