DES MOINES IA (CelebrityAccess) — Carol Pollock, longtime venue director and IAVM member passed away unexpectedly on May 15 after suffering complications from pancreatic cancer. She was a trailblazer for women in the venue management industry with her career spanning over three decades.
She served as Executive Director of Hoyt Sherman Place, a historic theatre in Des Moines, IA managed by VenuWorks where she increased bookings by 75% and developed the “For the Love of Art” which included an “Adopt a Painting” program to raise $65,000 in funds to restore 51 pieces of 18th Century Art housed at HSP. Her work led to the financial stability of HSP during recent economic challenges faced by organizations dependent upon endowment funding. She was nominated for Venues Today (VT) Woman of Influence and was runner up in the Booking category of the VT 2009 Hall of Headlines Award.
“Carol was truly one of the best, most creative, and most successful professionals working our industry today,” said Steve Peters, VenuWorks President. “She embodied the spirit of being the ‘servant leader’ in every community she has ever served. Her boundless enthusiasm and can-do attitude, led to her amazing career. We are heartbroken with the loss of our friend and colleague.”
Pollock began her venue management career as the Marketing Director at the MetroCentre in Rockford, IL and created the “On The Waterfont” music and food festival that attracted over 400,000 people annually to downtown Rockford. In 1987, she was named Executive Director of the Saenger Theatre in Pensacola, FL. Five years later in 1992, she became one of the few women in the venue management industry when she was named Executive Director for the Pensacola Civic Center, Saenger Theater and Bayfront Auditorium.
Pollock has been active throughout her career in industry organizations including IAVM where she served as a Region Board Member, on the Annual Conference Planning Committee and most recently on the Foundation Silent Auction Committee and Performing Arts Committee. She also served in various leadership roles on arts and tourism boards in all the communities she had lived and worked in over the years.
It was Carol's wish that any memorials be directed to the Hoyt Sherman Place Foundation.
