The Los Angeles Convention Center's newsletter highlights an employee every month. This July, LACC chose to profile Edlen's General Foreman, Matt Shimer.
How long have you worked at the LACC?
I’ve worked with Edlen starting in 1999, working on a few tradeshows. I started getting called to work for specific projects around 2009 and I came to work for them full-time in the summer of 2015. I’ve worked at LACC for four years now and I’m here 90% of the time, but I also oversee the Anaheim Convention Center and Long Beach Convention Center.
What was your most memorable event?
At MusiCares in 2017, I got to spend a considerable amount of time with Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) and Brad Shultz (Cage the Elephant). Tom Petty was honored as Person of the Year and after the show, everyone was just hanging out.
What's one of your favorite shows to work on?
Anime Expo is my favorite because it’s so rewarding. You see it all come together in a really short amount of time. We build a whole city in a day.
What is some of your favorite music?
Music is the most important influence in my life. I grew up listening to my older sibling’s music as well as my mother's and grandmother's. Some favorites are: The Pixies, The Cult, Aerosmith, David Bowie, The Stooges, The Beatles, Elton John, Queen, ELO, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam and Lou Reed.
What is a fun fact about yourself?
Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to collect every Disney movie. Four or five years ago, I started collecting them. I now have all movies from now back to 1975. I think it totals to over 300 movies.
About the Los Angeles Convention Center
The Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) is renowned internationally as a prime site for conventions, trade shows, and exhibitions. Owned by the City of Los Angeles and professionally managed by AEG Facilities, the LACC attracts over 2.5 million visitors annually. The facility is an integral economic component to the Southern California area, generating economic benefits through attendee direct and indirect spending and sustaining over 12,500 local jobs. The LACC also remains an enduring symbol of environmental sustainability and social responsibility, and is proud to be a LEED® Gold certified facility; the venue was recertified on the Gold level in 2015 making the LACC the first convention center of its size in the U.S. to receive LEED® EB:O+M Gold recertification. For more information, please visit lacclink.com.
About AEG Facilities
AEG Facilities is a stand-alone division of AEG, the leading sports and live entertainment company in the world. AEG and its affiliates owns, operates or consults with more than 150 of the industry’s preeminent venues worldwide, across five continents, providing complete venue management, as well as specialized programs in operations, guest services, ticketing, booking, sales and marketing. AEG Facilities also provides resources and access to other AEG-affiliated entities, including AEG Presents, one of the largest live music companies in the world, AEG Global Partnerships and AEG Real Estate, as well as such industry leading programs as AEG 1EARTH and AEG Encore to support the success of its venues across the globe. The Los Angeles-based organization owns, operates or provides services to the world’s most elite venues. For more information, please visit aegworldwide.com.