|
New manager enjoys variety of hosting events |
|
|
|
|
By Rosemary McCoy
|
|
Tuesday, 21 August 2007 |
|
The Question and Answer feature helps readers learn more about prominent people in the business community. This issue’s Q&A profiles Scott Kavanaugh, the new general manager of the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
The Kavanaugh file
Name: Scott Kavanaugh
Title: General manager of the Sioux Falls Convention Center
Hometown: Born in Bakersfield, Calif.; grew up in Vernal, Utah
Age: 46
Background: Graduated from Uintah High School in Vernal; attended junior college in St. George, Utah, where he played football; served as a Mormon missionary in Pusan, South Korea, for two years; graduated from Brigham Young University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in commercial physical education and recreation management; worked at stadiums and events centers in Utah and Las Vegas before joining Global Spectrum five years ago; has worked at Global Spectrum-managed centers in Overland Park, Kan., and Des Moines
Family: Wife, Maylene; two sons, Kameron, 18; and Korbin, 14
 Scott Kavanaugh moved here recently to manage the Sioux Falls Convention Center for Global Spectrum, which earlier this month won a five-year management contract. (Inertia/for the SFBJ)
A: “I’m a sports junkie. I love to golf. I’ve coached youth sports for 25 years. I do a lot of stuff with my family.”
Q: How did you become interested in your field?
A: “From playing college sports. I wanted to be associated with sports and a team. I had a mentor who told me if a team does poorly, the management is gone, but if you work for a building, you have more security. Every day is different. You go from a quilt show to a circus to a concert to a hockey game.”
Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?
A: “Interacting with people who come in, seeing them smile. I like to greet the clientele, the guests, just jabber with them.”
Q: What’s the biggest event that you’ve managed?
A: “In Las Vegas, we did three days in a row of Grateful Dead concerts. We had 45,000 people in the stadium and about 20,000 outside that didn’t have tickets.”
Q: What’s the most bizarre event that you’ve managed?
A: “We did a Mexican midget rodeo.”
Q: How do you find time to balance your work and your family?
A: “You have to schedule that time, make it a priority. That’s key. When you start a new job, family life suffers while you get the pieces in place, get confidence in your staff. When my son has a performance from 11 to 4, I can leave. I work a flexible schedule all of the time. Then I stay until 9 p.m. or 1 a.m. That’s not unusual to work that late when there’s an event. It’s a fun business to come and go as you need to.”
Q: Do you have a charity or organization that’s especially close to heart?
A: “I work with the LDS church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and with the Young Men and the Scouts. It’s an extension of my calling in church.”
Q: What’s your favorite getaway?
A: “I like to just golf. I can go out and play by myself, and have just as much fun as when I’m playing with somebody.”
Q: What’s your favorite summertime activity?
A: “Golf. If I can’t watch the kids play baseball, I’ll be golfing.”
Q: What kind of music is in your car or what do you listen to on the radio?
A: “I have a variety of music. I listen to all kinds. Country music is my favorite. That’s what I listen to the most. I really like Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney.”
Q: If you could have dinner with two or three people, alive or dead, who would you choose and why?
A: “I really would like to have dinner with one of my heroes from growing up, Reggie Jackson. Also Roberto Clemente and Charles Barkley. I definitely would have to have my dad there with me.”
Q: Is that where you got your love of sports?
A: “Yes. He took me all the time to play in the park and stuff like that. We lived in Bakersfield, Calif., close to minor league Dodgers. Back in the ’60s, we would listen to AM radio to hear the Dodgers games. We’d watch the box scores. It was something we had in common.”
Q: What are the best and worst things about living in Sioux Falls?
A: “I was very excited about coming back to a smaller community. It’s a friendly community. The worst thing, I can’t say I’ve experienced winter yet, but that’s the thing I’m dreading the most. The only reason I don’t like the cold is that you can’t golf in it.” |