What's In a Building's Name? (A Lot!)

I was at last Thursday's City of Fresno Council meeting on an issue related to traffic-calming roundabouts and was surprised to hear that Council President Cynthia Sterling was proposing to rename the downtown Convention Center's New Exhibit Hall after Lloyd Kennedy, the retired director of the City Convention Bureau. This building is the most recent addition to the downtown entertainment complex that also includes Saroyan Theater, Selland Arena, the exhibition building now called Ernie Valdez Hall, and the Robert Schottler Convention Center adjacent to the Radisson.

The proposed naming request raises a number of issues. Foremost is the questionable recent practice of naming Convention Center buildings after former City of Fresno employees. Robert Schottler was the Convention Center's former City department head. He was then followed as Convention Center department head by Mr. Ernie Valdez for whom another building was named. Now some council members are proposing naming the lone remaining building after Mr. Kennedy. Why? Apparently because he was the long-time Convention and Visitor Center manager. It begs the question: Should a building be named after someone based on the criteria of having managed its operation for a number of years? I thought that good management was what is expected of staff.

Naming a building after someone should be a carefully thought-out process. Just think about the other two individuals that have their names on Convention Center buildings. One is William Saroyan. Is there any question about the pride Fresnan's have for this native son? The other is Arthur A. Selland, Mayor of Fresno from 1958 to 1964, whose vision and leadership led to the development of the downtown Convention Center as well as many other contributions essential to making Fresno known throughout California. Saroyan and Selland left their mark. They deserve to have buildings named after them.

I would encourage the Council to not rush into making a decision on naming this building. Let's wait for the next Saryoyan or Selland before we put another name on the Convention Center.

Coming Soon. . .

1. Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey?
2. City of Fresno pensions: Who knew what and when?
3. FUSD hires the insiders.

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail .com.