John Page, general manager of the SMG-managed Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC), was recognized as a 2016 Central Ohio Smart 50 Award recipient by Smart Business Columbus during a recent presentation at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel. “Congratulations, John! Your leadership has fueled great success at your organization and the judges were impressed,” said Meredith Rankin of Smart Business. |
The publishing group’s Central Ohio Smart 50 Awards recognize the top executives of the smartest companies in the region for their ability to effectively build and lead savvy organizations. The October edition of the magazine features the event as a cover story and includes profiles of the honorees.
Also among the award recipients was Don Brown, executive director of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, owner and developer of the GCCC.
Page, in addition to receiving the Smart 50 accolade, was featured the same week in a special sector panel session of the Experience Dedicated Destination program at the Columbus Museum of Art, addressing an audience of hospitality industry associates. He was selected this year for inclusion again in Who’s Who in Black Columbus.
An SMG veteran, Page joined SMG in 1998 and became general manager of the GCCC in 2013. Simultaneously, he is currently guiding the award-winning facility’s $125 million expansion and full renovation which will be completed in July 2017, integration of the new $18 million Goodale Garage, migration to a new event management software system and website, attainment of Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the facility, and increasing the collaborative endeavors between the convention center, Experience Columbus and Greater Columbus Sports Commission sales teams.
His unwavering commitment to meeting with a multitude of community leaders, clients and hospitality partners to gain their insight and alleviate any concerns they may have has resulted in increased brand awareness, project enhancements and impressed guests and customers.
“Congratulations again to John and the Greater Columbus Convention Center. This is a huge honor and I bet you are so proud of the convention center and its accomplishments,” said Somer Karim of Smart Business.
The Greater Columbus Convention Center, located in downtown Columbus, hosted an estimated 2.5 million visitors in 2015. The facility is owned by the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority and is managed by SMG.
Founded in 1977, SMG provides management services to more than 240 public assembly facilities including convention and exhibition centers, arenas, stadiums, theaters, performing arts centers, equestrian facilities, science centers and a variety of other venues. With facilities across the globe, SMG manages more than 15 million square feet of exhibition space and more than 1.5 million sports and entertainment seats. As the recognized global industry leader, SMG provides venue management, sales, marketing, event booking and programming, construction and design consulting, and pre-opening services for such landmark facilities as McCormick Place & Soldier Field in Chicago, Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Houston’s NRG Park and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. SMG also offers food and beverage operations through its concessions and catering company SAVOR, currently serving more than 140 accounts worldwide.
Visit www.columbusconventions.com and www.smgworld.com for more information.