The late David Ross, past president of IAAM and former manager of the Show Me Center, Cape Girardeau, Mo., shows off his theme for IAAM, circa 2005. (VT Photo)
Last week, the venue industry lost two who gave back and paid it forward all their lives - David B. Ross and Roy Saunders.
Ross, 63, was president of IAVM in 2005-06, when it was still known as the International Association of Auditorium Managers (IAAM) and while he was managing Show Me Center, Cape Girardeau, Mo. He joined IAVM in 1985.
Among his legacies to the association was establishing the Mega Shelters Best Practices Guidelines after Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma that turned many venues into shelters. He also worked to put the "I" in IAVM, reaching out to Australia and Europe.
Roy Saunders, 85, led that association in 1986-87 and built and managed the public assembly facilities in Tulsa, Okla., for three decades.
The late Jerry Barshop and Roy Saunders with Bob Mayer, also a past president of IAVM. (VT Photo)
Both Ross and Saunders earned the Charles A. McElravy Award for distinguished service to the industry and Saunders also won its predecessor, the IAAM Mr. Auditorium Manager award.
Both were great storytellers and both had incredible stories to tell.
Steve Peters, CEO of VenuWorks, hired Ross as interim manager of several private management clients after he had retired from Show Me Center, including United Wireless Arena and Conference Center in Dodge City, Kan., and Sanford Center and Conference Center in Bemidji, Minn. “He was a fair person, an honest person, and he knew the business,” Peters said. “He made sense. He could walk into any situation and get to the heart of things.”
Peters also worked with Ross at IAVM and remembers his delight in working with the Australians to bring the Venue Management Association into the fold.
And he loved the quality of Ross’s voice — a gravelly baritone. “He should have been a cowboy. He never touched tobacco as far as I know, but he was the Marlboro man,” Peters said.
Peters recalled Saunders’ personality and sense of humor. No one ever forgot his donning of a full Indian headdress when accepting the gavel as president of IAAM, a nod to his own Native American heritage, being part Cherokee, and tohis plan to be chief. Peters also recalled his sense of humor, like when he was addressing the board and declared, “that’s a work of fiction, like one of Bob Mayer’s expense reports,” referring to his longtime henchman in Tulsa and also a past president of IAAM.
“That’s what makes IAAM wonderful. We are one family. Roy welcomed you,” Peters said.
Ross and Saunders mentored many in this industry. Wil Gorman, who now runs Show Me Center, started out there selling merchandise when he was a student at Southeast Missouri State University. Gorman has been in close touch with the extended network of professionals in this industry mentored by Ross, just as he was, which include but are not limited to Will Lofdahl, who is now as SaskTel Center, Saskatoon; Terry Dederich, now at Ford Center, Evansville, Ind.; Jim Barbatti, assistant director at Show Me Center; Brad Gentry, now with Live Nation in the Seattle area; and Mark Lee, now with Pro Sound Audio Visual.
“The industry has Mother Hubbard,” Gorman said, referring to Barbara Hubbard who mentors students and pros alike and is a legend in the industry. “I think of David as Mr. Hubbard.”
Gorman recalled the February 1992 when the late Bruce Lehrke’s Longhorn Rodeo was playing Show Me Center and a bull jumped the ring and charged through the seating section for several minutes before the clowns cornered him. Ross was the manager at the time. Miraculously, the bull never scratched a soul. Gorman was talking to an audience member whose son, who had Downs Syndrome, was in the front row very near the bull’s entry point and the dad said all was well. In fact, his son was delighted and thought it was part of the show.
Once the rodeo ended and the let down began, Gorman asked Ross how he felt. “Lucky,” he responded. “Very lucky.”
Ross experienced what every venue manager deals with when hosting large crowds at exciting events, and he handled it all with grace.
Ross started his venue industry journey with the North American Soccer League at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C., spent some time in baseball, then moved to the University of Tennessee Chattanooga before his stint at SEMO, which began in 1987.
The original cover art caricature for Venues Today in July 2005 featured officers Jimmy Earl, David Ross and Larry Perkins.
Larry Perkins, PNC Arena, Raleigh, N.C., who was going through the IAVM chairs with Ross, remembered how much he enjoyed adventure and, even more, telling stories about his adventures. He never tired of telling about the opportunity to go to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, a privilege only granted to people with connections. He remembered having to squeeze, really squeeze, into a tiny elevator to make the ascent into the clouds.
Show Me Center spent a day posting pictures and thoughts in honor of David Ross and will likely be the family’s choice for a memorial service later this month. Ross’ LinkedIn profile begins with this statement: “I enjoy being around people and producing events for the enjoyment of others. I am looking for the right opportunity to apply my management skills again.”
He is survived by his wife, Susan; his daughter, Erin; his son, Bryan and Bryan’s wife Jennifer; and their son and David’s grandson, Owen.
Both Ross and Saunders involved their families in IAVM. Joyce Saunders, Roy’s widow, attended many an IAVM convention, as did his children.
Saunders gave Tulsa visibility long before there was a BOK Center. He managed all of the public facilities in Tulsa, Okla., so many years that when he retired, they were still referred to as “Roy’s buildings.”
His obituary touts his passing as the loss of a piece of Tulsa history. He served as director of public events for the City of Tulsa for more than 30 years.
He oversaw construction and opening of the Tulsa Convention and Assembly Center, since renamed Cox Center, and managed the Tulsa Performing Arts Center from 1962-1993.
In an interview with IAVM’s blog, Mayer credited Saunders for instilling in him a passion for the industry.
Roy Saunders and Jim Donnelly were among the first to enter a drawing at the Venues Today booth at IAVM in 2005. His shirts should have won the prize. (VT Photo)
Saunders joined IAAM in 1957. While serving there, he helped conceive the idea for what is now Venue Management School in Oglebay, W. Va.
Roy and Joyce celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary on March 5. The couple visited more than 50 countries on six continents and all 50 of the United States.
Saunders is survived by his wife, Joyce; son Greg and wife Debbie of Tulsa; daughter Dawn Black and husband Dusty of Austin, Texas; and grandchildren Gabrielle, Ford, Bella, and Luke.
In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the American Cancer Society, or honoring a Veteran by picking up his or her lunch tab.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 22, at Ninde’s Brookside Chapel in Tulsa, Okla.
Interviewed for this story: Wil Gorman, (573) 651-2297; Steve Peters, (515) 232-5151 X 13; Larry Perkins, (919) 861-5466