More information on the VentHaven Ventriloquist ConVENTion from Executive Director Mark Wade.
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Continue to part 5 of my interview with ventriloquist Mark Wade!
Video Transcript:
you when you took over what year was
that um let’s see it was
1999 and I took my first (ventriloquist) convention in
2000 I think it was by myself as
executive director I had run previous to
that we had changed every year and had
convention chairman uh and so I figured
up out of what is this number
30 I forgot now let’s see 35 by 37 or 38
of them I ran about 24 of them okay so
you’ve got a little more experience then
than some of the yeah yeah some some of
the guys met well and but they couldn’t
pull it off some of the guys did really
well but they didn’t want to do it again
because it’s awful lot of work I got it
down now I’ve got all my contact people
there in Northern Kentucky I know who to
see for the buses who to see for this
who to see for that we got a nice hotel
now for years we stayed at the
drawbridge and and that’s kind of a sad
story the hotel was state-of-the-art
back in 1970 and because it’s so big and
it wasn’t attached to a chain of hotels
it kind of lost lost a lot of ground
over the years till it got to the point
now that we just couldn’t see staying
there any longer and we changed a year
ago which is a great move for us I think
it was a it was a night and day
difference um oh yeah yeah in fact a
number of people that I have interviewed
uh talked about coming to the drawbridge
uh the last year it was held there and
uh one of them said she almost didn’t
come back but she decided you know let’s
give it another chance and she came back
to the new one and and she just loved it
and that’s that’s the impression I get
from a lot of people they were the ones
who came and were happy to be at the
drawbridge just because of the history
of it right but we’re grateful to see it
move to some place else and well at one
time it was great I mean they they had
what they needed but then when they
started losing ground so to speak and
they couldn’t keep up they closed the
restaurant and they cut down the staff
and they cut down here and they cut
closed the the the gift shop the coffee
shop to close all start closing things
down and they couldn’t provide us enough
services and uh also we were in a
long-term contract and I had to wait to
got to a point where I could get out of
the long-term contract without costing
us an arm and a leg and uh and for that
time to be honest with you Tom we didn’t
have any place big enough in that
tri-state area to go that would house
our convention um and the big reason we
stayed there is because of vanen Haven
we wanted to take people up to Van Haven
to see the museum and to help kind of
push it along and the taken it to
Cleveland or Columbus or Indianapolis or
or Nashville it just didn’t make sense
okay um what year did Ken uh start
teaming up with you to help out well Ken
helped me on and off when I was just a
convention chairman back in the 90s and
but really where he took off was with me
13 years ago when we we I took over his
executive director I made him my like
right-hand person and was the best
right-hand decision I made yeah he he’s
he’s an awesome guy um can’t can’t say
enough you know I mean you two are just
so busy at convention it’s
unbelievable sometimes I have to give
other break I said Ken I’m going to my
room you’re in charge don’t call me you
know I go up and cool off a little bit
you actually put him in charge what’s
wrong with me no he’s great I could I
you know he’s the only guy I know I
could say Ken run he would run it and I
could go take a break for a few minutes
and just sit down yeah have to let you
have to let your brain cool off with all
that going on sometimes
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