IN MEMORIAM
Eugene “Gene” Winther 1941 – April 16th, 2024 by Kerstan Szczepanski
E
ugene “Gene” Winther, former owner and founder of Expon Exhibits, president and board of directors member of EDPA, pilot, race car driver, Navy mechanic, and beloved member and mentor of the tradeshow community, passed away on April 16th, 2024. Born in South Bend, Indiana in 1941, Winther traveled the country as part of a military family. When he joined the Navy, he became an aircraft mechanic working on flight control systems and hydraulics. But it was as a salesman in Sacramento, California that Winther met his wife of 56 years Linda, and entered the world of cars
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and tradeshows. He raced and judged cars at the Sacramento Autorama, founded and owned by Linda’s father. Looking to rustle up money for racing, Winther started doing holiday display lighting for shopping and strip malls. This piqued his interest in the business of marketing displays and led to the creation of Display Services. Winther developed custom displays for counties in the annual California State Fair. It wasn’t long before he was looking at the tradeshow industry, and by 1985, Display had become Three-Sixty Designers, a full service exhibit company. In 1989 Winther acquired the Expon Modular System and in 1999 Three-Six-
ty became Expon Exhibits. For over 50 years and three names, Winther’s company designed, built, and shipped tradeshow booths, hospitality suites, and temporary office spaces. Their clients included the US Military, Lockheed-Martin, Chevron, Firestone, Yokohama and many other companies and organizations, both national and international. Winther was not just a businessman; he was a people-person. He was a member of the Exhibit Producer & Designer Association (EDPA), its President in 2000, and Chairman of the Board of the EDPA Foundation in 2003-2004. A tireless
promoter of the tradeshow industry, and supporter of the community, Winther was a board member of the Tradeshow Exhibitors Association (TSEA) as well as Chairman of TS2, the association’s own annual tradeshow. Winther was also part of the International Association of Exhibit Managers (IAEM), the HealthCare Exhibitors Association (HCEA), and a member of the Center for Exhibit Industry Research (CEIR). He has spoken before the IEA, IAEM, and the American Marketing Association. Winther has written for and been interviewed by, Exhibitor Times, Tradeshow Week,