SAN ANTONIO, TX – Rodney Smith, CFE, who had been executive director of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, died March 27 from an apparent heart attack. He was 58. Smith played a key role for the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), leading its Performing Arts Committee. Smith worked for numerous years in Denver at the University of Denver as well as the Denver Performing Arts Complex before taking a position in January 2009 as managing director of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation in San Antonio. He was leading a multi-million dollar renovation converting the Municipal Center into the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts at the time of his death.
Smith also served as a member of the faculty for the Venue Management School at Oglebay (formerly the Public Assembly Facility Management School), both as an instructor and member of the Board of Regents since 2003, and he became Chair in 2008. Smith also served on the Senior Executive Symposium Board of Governors and in numerous volunteer roles.
"All of us IAVM performing arts center members, as well as our colleagues in other sectors of the industry, benefited significantly from Rodney's wisdom, wit and enormous generosity," said Chris Miller, chair of IAVM's Performing Arts Managers Committee and General Manager, McCaw Hall at Seattle Center. "He was a giant in the industry, and a warm and genuine friend and mentor to many. He will be sorely missed, and his shoes will never be filled."
Smith is survived by his wife Donna and son, Nicholas Smith; a daughter, Chelsea Marx, and grandson Kieran Marx.
