Larry B. Perkins

Mr. Perkins is a 42-year public assembly industry veteran with a vast array of expertise in venue management, including his 24-year service as Vice President at the Meadowlands Sports Authority, home to the NY Football Giants and Jets, IZod Center, Meadowlands Racetrack and former home to the NBA NJ Nets, NASCAR Grand Prix and a host of world-class events.

He is a Certified Facilities Executive (CFE), a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and a Crowd Management Professional (CMP). As a Private Investigator, he held a Department of Defense Top Secret Clearance.

Author of several books including “Buck Seventy-Two, A Destiny of Will,” and “Crowd Safety and Survival – Practical Event and Public Gathering Safety Tips,” he is an internationally renowned Crowd Management expert. Larry appeared on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” and a NBC TV Dateline segment on crowd safety and survival entitled, “Get Out Alive.” 

Perkins served as the 80th President of the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) from 2006 to 2007. He is the recipient of the 2013 Prestigious Charles A. McElravy Award, the Johnson and Wales Distinguished Visiting Professor Award, State of New Jersey Senate Resolution, NC Senate Resolution and was named 2006 Tarheel of the Week. 

Mr. Perkins was appointed by the Governor of to the North Carolina State Emergency Response Commission and he serves on the Enfield Planning Board.

Mr. Perkins’s lifelong passion for helping people, especially young adults and those with disabilities, led him to champion a program aimed at at-risk middle schoolers to “Stay in School, Stay off Drugs, and Living a Healthy Life.” He invited 1000 students annually to participate in a daylong program that included motivational messages by famous athletics and on-field activities with players and staff in the Giants Stadium. 

In North Carolina while writing his book, “Buck Seventy-Two, A Destiny of Will,” over an eleven-year period, he discovered himself and realized he had been a foster child who lived with his grandparents then was sent from home to home to live with aunts and uncles. This was the catalyst that led him to working on behalf of fosters. He joined the Board at Wake County Community College, Fostering Bright Futures, and established “Foster Care Leadership” outings to honor and celebrate fosters. He began an initiative with Wake County Commissioner Jessica Holmes, Wake County LINKS, Methodist Church in Raleigh, and Methodist University in Fayetteville to sponsor a foster night out at Hurricanes games. He worked with the HOPE HOUSE and GSK to launch new million-dollar grant initiatives that was launched at PNC Arena. Mr. Perkins is an advocate for Senator Tamara Barringer and her work in foster care. 

Perkins spent his own funds to produce a film to entitled, “Silence” in honor of Foster Care Awareness month (May) and to honor fosters. He dedicated all proceeds from his book to “Foster A Voice, LLC” a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide a voice, mentorship and support for foster, adopted, and kinship children and those living in an unsafe environment. Finally, Perkins, returned to his native hometown of Enfield, NC, where he purchased a store to help the town and youth prosper. He has not charged a dime for its use. Ironically, this is the same store where Perkins laid away his first suit at the age of 14.