INTIX Members’ Favorite Places — From the Big Apple and Treasured Venues to Beaches, Mountain Ranges, National Parks and More

Leadership / 06.29.22

Christine Payne

As that old Gershwin standard from the opera “Porgy and Bess” goes, it’s “summertime and the living is easy.” While there has been no official poll of INTIX members on this topic per se, it is safe to say that many are excited to get out and enjoy some of that easy living — especially after the difficulties of the pandemic. For many, that will undoubtedly mean traveling, either in their own country or abroad. Indeed, the 2022 Holiday Barometer survey from Ipsos-Reid reveals that a majority of Europeans (71%) and North Americans (60% Americans, 61% Canadians) are planning a summer vacation away from home this year.

Throughout the year in our “Getting to Know You” series, INTIX members have shared their favorite places to visit or the places they would love to visit and why. Looking back at these stories, it is clear that our community loves to travel. Sometimes it is just down the road — and in at least one case it is all around the world.

Given his proximity to over 2,400 entertainment venues in New York City, one might expect Mitchell Klein, National Director of Sales Operations for Broadway Across America, to spend all of his time in the Big Apple. After all, he is a lover of live theater (he sees five or six shows a week on average). As far as travel is concerned, Mitchell went on a big adventure, jetting around the world, toward the end of his 20-year career with Ticketmaster. If anywhere, one imagines he might take a quick trip to Texas this summer to visit his favorite Broadway Across America venue. “I am a big fan of the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio,” he said. “It is a beautiful, historic theatre. It is beautifully preserved and has an intimate feel. It has a very specific mood that is perfect for an evening of theater.”

Mitchell at the INTIX 2019 Conference with some of his BAA team. L-R: Tony Hiser, Shannon Reynolds, Joanna Minerley, Mitchell Klein, Trish Goggin, Tyler Loiselle.

In somewhat of an ironic twist, Shayne Ballard already lives in Texas but loves New York City. While the Director of Ticket Operations for the Dallas Mavericks enjoys yard work and gardening, he and his wife Mandie are also frequent visitors to National Parks. But next to a good wilderness adventure, he admits that he just loves the Big Apple. “I went back for the first time as an adult about eight years ago, and I have been back six or seven times since then,” he said. “I love the culture; I love the food. The museums are amazing. I love jazz music and the fact that you can go see a Broadway show, go eat and then go to a really late-night set at a jazz club. I think that is amazing. I just love the vibe of New York City.”

Shayne Ballard in Times Square.

Cary Clark, Chair of INTIX 2022, shares his favorite spot to visit — it is Sanibel Island on the Gulf Coast of Florida, just a 3.5-hour drive from his home. Given that Cary’s most treasured possession is a seashell, it is a good bet that he could return there this summer. But his dream vacation is a lot farther away. He says, “I want to travel around the tip of South America and go to Antarctica, because I know it will be 100% different from anywhere else that I have been.”

Cary Clark.

Julia Elbaum, Chief Financial Officer for the Palace Performing Arts Center, also has her heart set on visiting South America. She dreams of going to Patagonia in southern Argentina. Julia already travels regularly across the Hudson River to and from her home in Troy, New York, to her office in Albany. But she also has quite the reputation as a globetrotter. “We have been to all continents except for Antarctica and South America,” she says. “We have only touched a little bit of Asia. We have been to probably 80% of the countries in Europe; we have been to New Zealand, Southeast Asia, all the U.S. states and Mexico. Just all over. I loved New Zealand. Absolutely. Hands down. Loved it. It is absolutely stunning. Everything about it was good. We took our kids, and it was wonderful that they were able to enjoy it too. [It had] a lot of outdoor activities, great people; everything about it was magical.”

Esteban Stalgis, Founder and General Manager of Tu Entrada, knows all about Argentina — especially the Sub-Andean Mountain ranges, which he has tackled on his bike on more than one occasion. While he lives in Buenos Aires, he has traveled as far as Italy to pursue his passion for mountain biking. When it comes to a relaxing vacation, he loves a beach that is closer to home. “Punta del Este in Uruguay. I spent time [there] with my parents when I was young, and it’s a place I still go with my family and friends. The beach is incredible.”

Esteban and friends in Jujuy, Argentina.

When we interviewed Andrew Bragman, Vice President of Ticket Operations for SOFI Stadium and Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California, it quickly became apparent that he would be happy to spend all his vacation days in just about any Major League Baseball park, such is his passion for the game. However, Andrew also enjoys the beach and playing golf. His “favorite place on earth” is Lake Tahoe. “It is just a perfect environment. Summer or winter, you have the mountains, you can ski and go to the lake. The weather always seems like it's great. It is also another sentimental thing, because growing up, we would go up there all the time … I want to visit South Africa. I need to figure out a way to make that trip happen. I have been lucky. I have been able to travel all over the world, but that is about as remote as you can get from the West Coast. Figuring that one out one day is on my list.”

Andrew and friends from his Emory University days on the field before a Chicago Cubs game on their annual baseball trip.

Like Andrew, Bruce Bielenberg is an avid golfer. With approximately 70 golf courses in and around Las Vegas, he is already in the perfect place to indulge his love of the game all summer long. And, as he told INTIX, there are plenty of other things to do without traveling too far. “Here in Vegas, there is a lot of local stuff [to do]. We have some beautiful hiking and beautiful mountains. People think we are out in the middle of the desert, and we actually have some of the best hiking trails and most beautiful sites to go visit in the country. Zion National Park in Utah is just an hour and a half away from here, and it is gorgeous too. I like getting away sometimes, away from the city as well.” Indeed, Bruce once got away for a 10-day trip to Cuba on the trail of Ernest Hemingway, one of his favorite authors, “and it was pretty cool to see the influence that Hemingway had down there,” he says. “I liked Cuba and I would go back again.”

Bruce Bielenberg poses beside a bronze statue of Ernest Hemingway in Cuba.

If Christina Allen is a woman of habit, she will likely be spotted this summer in Toronto, a short drive from her home in Kanata, Ontario, where she is Senior Box Office Manager for both the Ottawa Senators hockey club and the Canadian Tire Centre (her favorite venue). While Christina visits a good friend in LA from time to time, she says her favorite place to visit is Toronto, where she went to university and began her career. “I loved living there,” she says. “It feels like going back home. Seeing all my friends and walking around the old neighborhood is kind of nostalgic.”

Christina also has nostalgia for the “Amp,” the former Molson Amphitheatre, now Budweiser Stage, on the grounds of Ontario Place. It is high atop her list of favorite venues. “There is something about the ‘Amp’ in the summer: cold beer, live music, the atmosphere and open air,” she says. It is where Christina saw two of the best live events of her life so far, the Foo Fighters and Florence and the Machine. Seeing Adele at Massey Hall, a 2,754-capacity venue in downtown Toronto that has since been renovated, is also on that list. “I saw Adele … the first time she played in Toronto. [Massey Hall] is such an incredible venue. There is no such thing as a bad seat.” Christina also loves Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre, where she worked briefly. “It is just so beautiful. It has a painted gold leaf [ceiling] and is really something special. It is the last double-decker [operating] theatre [in the world].”

Christina Allen.

Other than the odd trip abroad (she lived in Italy for a while), Deirdre Naff seems content to spend time in Salt Lake City where she works full time for AXS. “I love this place,” she says. “The weather, the opportunity, the mountains. It is incredible here. I am not disparaging Kansas, but I grew up with tornadoes, humidity, mosquitos, fleas, ticks, bugs, wind, horrible cold and horrible heat. In Utah, it is really not cold. I have never seen a flea or a tick or even a June bug and the climate is amazing.”

Deirdre has a passion for horses, and she enjoys a good rodeo. “Horses have always been No. 1 since I was little,” she says. “I cannot imagine a life without horses in it. If you ask somebody what they know about me, they will [almost certainly] say my obsession with horses.” With horses of her own to look after, Deirdre will likely spend much of the summer comfortably at her home on the range.

Deirdre and Dodger.

Martin Gammeltoft, Vice President of Commercial Operations for Activity Stream, is also strongly connected to his home in Copenhagen, but admits to having a long list of places in the world that he would like to visit, including Australia and South America. When we interviewed him in April 2022, he told us he was dreaming of traveling to Spain. To enjoy the Costa del Sol perhaps? No. To play his favorite sport, padel (a racket sport). “I would love to experience the sport that I am completely in love with in its home country.”

Whether you travel the world or stay closer to home, we wish all INTIX members heartfelt joy, incredible adventures, new memories and as much fun as you can possibly muster this summer!

If you have not yet read these latest “Getting to Know You” feature stories, we invite you to go on a journey and learn even more about the passionate and talented members of our INTIX community.

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