Overland Park Convention Center

be more demanding as labor becomes harder and harder to get,” Mitchell says. “Everyone’s a foodie now, so you really have to try to elevate the food game. We just hired a new chef who has worked at the White House and has been four different places internationally. He was on the show Beat Bobby Flay and he Beat Bobby Flay! That is what our clients want—they want the food they love and they want to have an experience with the food. They just don’t want it presented cafeteria-style.” Although the country is almost two decades removed from 9/11, at Overland Park, the focus on safety has never waned. “The industry, as a whole, has a security initiative called EMSSI, which stands for the Exhibition and Meetings Safety and Security Initiative, since rebranded as Safe Venues,” Mitchell states. “We were invited to that table representing the small to mid-sized venues, and we’re still at that table. We were one of two pilot venues for that program, where they came in to do a safety assessment, with the results of that to go back and aid in the building of the entire program for the industry. That’s one of the things we’re proud of.” PREFERRED VENDORS n Schneider Electric, Energy and Sustainability Services www.schneider-electric.us/enable At Schneider Electric, we strive to make your entertainment and convention center spaces as efficient as possible while providing a world-class venue that boosts community favorability. Guaranteed energy savings of over $170,000 annually, the Overland Park Convention Center is a cornerstone project that allows the City to continue to reinvest into other capital and operational needs that benefit future patrons. n On Demand Employment Services www.ondemandemployment.net n Aramark www.aramark.com