Business View Magazine | April 2021

143 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE APRIL 2021 nice. Now, we have to clean for safety. If we don’t do a good job with our cleaning, people are going to get sick and potentially end up in the hospital and potentially not go home. So it’s an entirely different philosophy because of COVID… how we deal with our facilities.” The challenges the facilities have dealt with over the past year don’t stop at COVID-19. During Texas’ February 2021 snow storm Uri that left many in the state without power or water, Will Rogers Memorial Center was in the middle of hosting the 12-day National Reined Cow Horse Association’s Celebration of Champions. “The day they moved in, it was like 68 degrees,” Kemp recalls. “Then a few days later, it’s two degrees below zero and we’ve got on property about 1200 horses, 150 RVs, 300 head of cattle and all the people that come along with that. They were already here, and they couldn’t leave due to the streets being covered in snow and ice.” Kemp says his crew anticipated problems and took precautions, but still ended up with water line breaks in about 20 faucets around the facility. Fortunately, the incidents were isolated and they had a plan in place to keep power and water running for both two-legged and four- legged customers for the duration of the storm. He notes, “So they stayed here and the show went on.” And the show will continue to go on in Texas fashion for both the Fort Worth Convention Center and the Will Rogers Memorial Center, no matter what comes their way. A lot of that has to do with their dedicated staff of 137, who always want to ensure guests are experiencing the best of Fort Worth. “That welcoming, can-do spirit is what sets us apart from our competitors,” says Crum. “It’s not necessarily something that’s in our training, though we do have customer service training and planning, but it’s part of a city-wide culture for Fort Worth. People always mention the FORT WORTH CONVENT ION CENTER & WI LL ROGERS MEMOR I AL CENTER