James J. DeLoretto – President & C.E.O.
Starplex Corporation

When I first incorporated Crowd Management Services in 1979, it was created and designed to solve the crowd security operations at a few events and venues in a small section of the state of Oregon. We replaced the practice of employing muscle-bound body builders with no formal training as crowd security with our own innovative program for the management of crowds. Our program called for recruiting individuals with interpersonal skills, provided education on crowd management procedures, introduced radio communications, and employed strong field supervisory oversights.

Our new approach to crowd management was successful - so successful that events and facilities throughout all of Oregon and Washington were calling for our services. In the first three years of operations we grew in size rapidly, but I made the decision not to accept the offers from venues outside of the greater Northwest. I believed that, while the offers to expand across the nation were exciting, the ability to assure that our innovative programs would be adhered to so far away from our corporate center would be difficult.

In 1986, due to our expansion into other Northwest regions, and due to the opportunities to assist events and venues with other services, I incorporated Starplex Corporation and transferred Crowd Management Services, or “CMS” as most came to know us, as a division of Starplex. This move allowed us the opportunity to service more crowd venues by providing them with services other than just crowd management operations.

As we grew in the Northwest, we developed strong leaders and managers, many of which are still with us today. These leaders and managers enhanced our operations into six regional operation centers in five greater Northwest states. As other crowd management operations came and went, Starplex / CMS grew into the largest and most reputable organization of its kind in the greater Northwest.

By 1995, our organization had entered a period of stagnation. We were the best of the best in our area of operation and we somehow developed the idea of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. We got lazy – we failed to develop new innovation. We failed to examine the ever-changing demands of our guests. We failed to stay ahead of our industry. These failures grew into lost opportunities.

When I realized that we had become stagnant, I decided to attend the Disney Institute in Central Florida. The Disney operations were renown for maintaining the most outstanding guest service operations and I wanted to learn more about their programs and philosophies. This decision changed the entire course of Starplex / CMS.

I attended 5 out of the 6 Disney Institute courses that related to Guest Services, People Management, and Creativity. I did not adopt the Disney programs, but I studied each and adapted ideas and philosophies that would allow us to be the innovator of our industry’s practices.

The result was the development of an entirely new guest service program that incorporates a blending of the venue, traditions, guest expectations, safety standards, and Ambassadors trained to understand the need for satisfied guests. With this program came a new corporate Rewards and Recognition program which was designed to reward and recognize our Ambassadors who exceed guest expectations. We designed this program because in order for guests to be satisfied, there needs to be satisfied staff.

I came to realize that perception is reality and image is everything. My philosophy changed to “if it ain’t broke, break it yourself and put it back together better than it was before”. With these new programs and philosophies, today we are the very best at what we do. We are not the largest at what we do because we don’t desire to be. We desire simply to be the best.

I am very proud of our management teams who direct our operations, and of those who support the team. Our Ambassadors are now, and will always be, the key to our success. We will not forget this fact as we continue to grow and innovate in a corporate belief that the road is to perfection.

Jimmie DeLoretto