April 10, 2008 - Vogt Named Executive Director at Duplin County Events Center
For Immediate Release: April 10, 2008
Contact: Tammy Koolbeck 319-929-5755
John Vogt has been named the new Executive Director of the Duplin County Events Center. VenuWorks President/CEO Steve Peters made the announcement. The Duplin County Events Center is located in Kenansville, N.C. It is managed by VenuWorks, based in Ames, Iowa.
Vogt has worked in venue management for more than 30 years. He comes to Duplin County from the Turnage Theaters Foundation, Inc., in Washington, N.C., where he was executive director since 2005. He was responsible for the planning and implementation of the rehabilitation/restoration of the historic Turnage Theater, which reopened in November 2007. His duties also included grant writing and fundraising, membership, personnel, construction and financial management, programming, and marketing and public relations.
"We could not have found a better fit for this account than John," said Carl St. Clair, VenuWorks Vice President of Operations and Projects, who headed up the transition team at Duplin County.
Vogt also worked in theater programming in Rock Island, Ill., as program director of Rock Island Youthbuild and Director of Programming for Quad City Arts. Other professional stops have been Executive/Artistic Director at the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival in Greensburg, Pa.; Director of Marketing at the West Virginia Public Theater in Morgantown, W.Va.; Executive Director of the Alberta Bair Theater for the Performing Arts in Billings, Mont.; Director of Programming and Special Projects Coordinator at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Auditorium Manager at Broward County Community College; and Stage Manager at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, La. Vogt is a graduate of Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe.
The Duplin County Events Center is a multi-purpose facility in eastern North Carolina. It cost $13 million and opened in 2005. It has 1,875 permanent seats, but can seat up to 4,200, based upon configuration. Among the events it hosts are concerts, trade shows, agricultural events, festivals, banquets, rodeos, circuses, dances, family reunions and meetings. More than 1.2 million people are located within a one-hour drive, including eight colleges and universities, and three major military bases.
BACKGROUND
VenuWorks (formerly Compass Facility Management) is well known for its success in providing full management services for arenas, theaters, and convention centers, which are primarily under the governance of municipalities, counties, colleges, and universities. VenuWorks, headquartered in Ames, Iowa, is the third largest facilities management company in the United States, serving 26 facilities in 15 communities throughout the US. It also manages food and beverage operations and provides event booking and promotion services. VenuWorks also performs feasibility studies and consulting work for clients with existing and prospective public assembly facilities.
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