We
recently attended a family reunion in Southern California. While there, I visited with a shirt-tail
relative, Kayla, who described for me her job working for Los Angeles’ Staples
Center as an "event coordinator."
Her job description includes booking events at that venue. Since there are four professional sports
teams that share the use of the building, she says it's almost impossible for
outside groups to book the building itself.
Instead, most of her bookings are for the plaza area in front of the
Staples Center. The cost of the bookings
start at $15,000.00 per event. She
described for me how when local companies want to host clients or conferences,
they are looking for large venues where as many as 15,000 to 20,000 people can
come. Because of its nice climate, Los
Angeles is a destination for such conferences, and has a great reputation for
hosting parties.
Of
course I had to take the opportunity to tell Kayla about Visalia and our
convention center and how it books events.
I indicated to her that we appeal to a different market niche, usually
smaller groups of up to a few thousand that are looking for a central location
in California, easy access, drivability, and cost savings. Such groups appreciate our traditional small
town values and friendly atmosphere.
I
recently read an article by The Most Rev. Michael C. Barber, SJ in "The
Catholic Voice", an online publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Oakland. Much of his article was devoted
to the Region V Encuentro (Meeting) attended by all the bishops of California,
Nevada and Hawaii, together with 1,200 delegates, held at the Visalia
Convention Center in April. He wrote
that Oakland sent about 100 excited, energized and competent pastoral leaders
to this conference. Let me share with
you some of his comments from that article.
Reverend Barber indicated that he had never previously been to Visalia,
which is about 45 minutes south of Fresno on Highway 99. The only time he had been to Fresno was to drive
through it on his way to and from Los Angeles.
He admitted to initially being annoyed that he had to drive four hours
each way for this Visalia meeting. He
kept thinking "Why couldn't we be meeting in Santa Barbara or Carmel or a
beach hotel in Coronado?" However,
"Visalia is different. It is the
oldest town in the Central Valley, and for many years was the only town between
Los Angeles and the gold rush camps near Sacramento. Visalia is the type of classy, small American
town where everyone you meet – in the stores, cafes, hotels, gas stations, EVEN
WALMART – talks to you like an old friend and wants to help you. The young bartender-dude at the Marriott told
me his life story – and that he plays the guitar on Sunday morning at the local
Methodist Church. So refreshing. Visalia was chosen as the locus for our
statewide Encuentro because it is almost in the middle of the state between San
Francisco and L.A. It was held at the
local convention center. The Masses were
beautiful and the small group discussions energizing." Rev. Barber went on to comment about the
city's agricultural setting.
"People who work the land seem to be not only close to the land,
but to each other – and to God. More
than a few times while driving I passed large orchards where the owners had
posted huge signs "PRAY FOR RAIN".
So I turned off the car radio and said a rosary for rain to help the
farmers." On Saturday afternoon of
the Encuentro, he walked the six blocks to the local Catholic parish, St.
Mary's, to go to Confession. He noted
that the priest was so kind, and that he felt so good attending. "But what I will take home with me is
the impression I had on walking into the church; utter astonishment, awe and
wonder. Here, ‘in the middle of nowhere'
(God forgive me) was one of the most beautiful Catholic Church interiors I had
ever seen. Next time you are driving to
Los Angeles or going to Sequoia National Park, stop off Highway 99 and see this
wonder. Thank you St. Mary's. Thank you Visalia.”
Like
Reverend Barber, people are usually impressed once they actually visit our
thriving city. We don't pretend to be
Los Angeles or San Francisco, and our convention center is nowhere near the
size of the Staples Center or its adjoining convention center. But it's good to be different. New residents and visitors will continue to
be attracted to our area by the uniqueness of what we have to offer. We
appreciate Reverend Barber’s kind comments about our community and for sharing
the good word!
If
you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have
addressed in future articles, please email Warren at
warren.gubler@visalia.city. For past
articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.
Mayor
Warren Gubler
