Savannah Convention Center

7 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3 specifically for the event industry has recently been upgraded, and is a valuable tool for the center. Planning also requires what Spinks describes as, “a lot of talking, negotiating, and working with Visit Savannah, the convention center, and the multiple hotels to bring a group to final contract.” Although contracts for the hotels and the convention center are individual, everyone works together to ensure the customers needs can be met. “You have to have the number of hotel rooms that they need, we have to have the space that they need. So, there’s lots of different conversations to pull it all together,” she adds. Prior to COVID, Savannah Convention Center employed more than 50 full time staff, with 100 part time employees brought in for large events. During the pandemic the number of full-time staff members was reduced to 15. Spinks admits, “We did everything that was needed, we did not use any part-time staff for nearly a year. It was very rewarding, it was fun, and yes, we were tired. We got a little bit cranky with each other sometimes, but we all survived and everyone’s doing good. We joke about it nowadays.” With the full-time team doubled to 30, the facility has also returned to bringing in 100 or more part- time staff for events. “We’ve actually lost several employees, not to COVID but for other reasons during the past two years. So, it’s been tough here, but we’re a close-knit group and we do what we need to do to support everyone,” adds Spinks. Giving back to the community is an important part of the culture of Savannah Convention Center, who have acted as a Red Cross community shelter during hurricanes, and sponsored local scholarships and charity events. Although there hasn’t been as much opportunity during the pandemic, employees of the center also volunteer time to help those in need. “We would send a team each month over to Emmaus House, to help prepare meals for the homeless