(Aug. 1, 2018) – Today the Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC) surprised staff members with news the MCC is the recipient of the 2018 Venue Excellence Award from the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM). This award, from an international panel of peers, recognizes the MCC as one of the five best-managed venues within the IAVM membership – a category that includes convention centers, arenas, stadiums, complexes, casinos and more.

“It is incredibly gratifying to win this award, particularly because we were competing with venues of all types throughout the world, not just convention centers,” said MCC Executive Director Jeff Johnson.

Johnson added, “This validates the dedication and effort our entire team puts into providing a world-class hospitality venue for our clients and the community. Our employees are among the best in the world and, because of them, we are achieving our mission of serving this community by creating employment opportunities for workers, as well as generating tax revenue for the city.”

In winning this year’s Venue Excellence award, the MCC was judged in several areas:

• Operational Excellence
• Team Building and Professional Development
• Safety and Security
• Service to the Community

The MCC award submission made note of several areas of success including:

• Sustainability – Currently achieving a 60% recycling rate and a reduction of water usage of nearly 30%
• Excellent Fiscal Management – MCC is on pace to exceed its goal of $20 million for 2018
• Employee Development – Since 2009 more than 20 employees have earned undergraduate and graduate degrees through the MCC’s tuition reimbursement program

This marks the second time the MCC has been recognized as a Venue Excellence award recipient; it was also honored in 2014 in a stand-alone category for convention centers. Johnson, MCC Director of Business Administration Chris Hunjas, and Senior Event Coordinators Ivory Smith and Justin Carlson accepted this year’s award in Toronto on July 25.

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ABOUT THE MINNEAPOLIS CONVENTION CENTER
The Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC) is owned by the City of Minneapolis and marketed through Meet Minneapolis. The 1.6 million square foot facility features 475,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 3,400 fixed-seat auditorium, 87 meeting rooms and two ballrooms. The MCC is both LEED and GMIC certified, and works to serve its constituencies and stakeholders as the face of Minneapolis to visitors. Through its efforts, the MCC helps sustain nearly 7,500 jobs in the community.

ABOUT MEET MINNEAPOLIS

Meet Minneapolis is a private, not-for-profit, member-based association. It actively promotes and sells the Minneapolis area as a destination for conventions and meetings, works to maximize the visitor experience and markets the city as a desirable tourist destination to maximize the economic benefit to the greater Minneapolis area.

Anticipated attendance numbers are provided by partner organizations and are subject to adjustment based on meeting planner projections and post event results. Forecasted room night numbers reflect historical averages of room nights for the meeting or event.

Meet Minneapolis is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of Destinations International.

CONNECT WITH US

Online: www.minneapolis.org and for deals and exclusive experiences: http://go.minneapolis.org
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MEDIA CONTACT

Kim Insley, Meet Minneapolis Public Relations and Communication Manager, 612-767-8118
KimI@minneapolis.org
Or email MeetMinneapolisPR@Minneapolis.org