Exhibit City News - July/August 2019

ECN’s 2019 I&D ACE Awards Part II Honoring Our Industry ACES!

NEW FOR 2019: UNLIMITED MATERIAL HANDLING•EXHIBITOR ADVOCACY GROUP•NAB SHOW CARES PACK EXPO FLAT RATES FOR HANDLING•ALL-INCLUSIVE PRICING SHOWA SEA SERVICES•UNLIMITED DRAY CHANGE IN THE INDUSTRY? AGE AT $3.85 VBUDGETABLE EXPENS ES•SIMPLIFIED SHOW BILLING•SELL GOODS FROM SHOW FLOOR•AC CESS CLOUD•WI-FI INCLUDED• NO SURPRISE ELECTRICAL OUTLET CHARGES NEW FOR 2019: UNLIMITED MATERIAL HANDLING•EXHIBITOR ADVOCACY GROUP•NAB SHOW CARES / PACK EXPO FLATPLUS RATES FOR HANDLING•ALL-INCLUSIVE PRICING SHOW SERVICES•UNLIMITED DRAYAGE AT $3.85 VBUDGETABLE EXPENSES•SIMPLIFIED SHOW BILLING•SELL GOODS FROM SHOW FLOOR•ACCES July/August 2019 • VOL. 25 • ISSUE 4

THE POWER OF CUSTOM FLOORING SPOTLIGHT ON NASHVILLE

DUBAI PREPARES FOR 2020 WORLD’S FAIR

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REDUCE YOUR LABOR EXPENSES EXPAND YOUR NATIONAL REACH From City to City, Employco has you covered.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ECN’s 2019 I&D ACE Awards Part II Honoring Our Industry ACES!

NEW FOR 2019: UNLIMITED MATERIAL HANDLING•EXHIBITOR ADVOCACY GROUP•NAB SHOW CARES PACK EXPO FLAT RATES FOR HANDLING•ALL-INCLUSIVE PRICING SHOWA SEA SERVICES•UNLIMITED DRAY CHANGE IN THE INDUSTRY? AGE AT $3.85 VBUDGETABLE EXPENS ES•SIMPLIFIED SHOW BILLING•SELL GOODS FROM SHOW FLOOR•AC CESS CLOUD•WI-FI INCLUDED• NO SURPRISE ELECTRICAL OUTLET CHARGES NEW FOR 2019: UNLIMITED MATERIAL HANDLING•EXHIBITOR ADVOCACY GROUP•NAB SHOW CARES / PACK EXPO FLATPLUS RATES FOR HANDLING•ALL-INCLUSIVE PRICING SHOW SERVICES•UNLIMITED DRAYAGE AT $3.85 VBUDGETABLE EXPENSES•SIMPLIFIED SHOW BILLING•SELL GOODS FROM SHOW FLOOR•ACCES July/August 2019 • VOL. 25 • ISSUE 4

On our cover, The Tradeshow Logic team supporting the onsite sales effort for NAB Show from L-R: Michele Weston Rowe, Deidre Jefferson, Amy Chilausky, Tina Carriere, B. J. Enright and Chris Price

Honoring Part II of the 2019 I&D ACES

46

45

Shop to Showfloor Section I&D and Event Labor

46

THE POWER OF CUSTOM FLOORING

Flooring That’s Not Boring

SPOTLIGHT ON NASHVILLE

DUBAI PREPARES FOR 2020 WORLD’S FAIR

The Power of Custom Flooring

EXHIBITCITYNEWS.COM

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29-44

ECN Presents I&D ACE AWARDS

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Feature Story

The Wow Booth

24-27

Zig Zibits Delivers a Dynamic, Innovative & Vibrant Booth for Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies

Advocacy Group Calls for Material Handling Flat Rates & Inclusive Pricing

The Don & Mike Show

NAB Show Cares Transforming The Industry?

58

Going Back on the Road to D.C. & ESCA Summer Conference in Santa Fe, NM

Columns 12

As The Saws Turn

62

Crate Conversations

EDPA LV Association News

EDPA Las Vegas Hosts 17th Annual Education Scholarship Golf Classic

Andy’s Apps

City Apps Come in Handy When Traveling

16

Social Media Strategies Instagram: The Social Silver Bullet of the Industry

18

The International Man

International Tradeshow Differences: The French Way

20

Ask An Expert

San Jose Takes Convention Experience to the Next Level

Departments 8 Publisher’s Words 10 Convention Center Snapshot 22 Airport Snapshot 55 International Focus 56 AIPC 70 Events & Venues 60 The Convention Center Spotlight 76 People on the Move 82 The D.E.A.L. 86 Regional Show Calendar 95 Service Guide 103 Classifieds 105 Advertiser Index

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EDPA SoCal Association News EDPA SoCal Hosts a Two-Day Industry Experience

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Association Awards

Amanda Helgemoe Wins EDPA’S 2018 Hazel Hays Award

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D.E. McNabb Flooring Opens Las Vegas Office

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Corporate Profile: CEP

Chicago Exhibit Productions Built on Solid Midwestern Ideals

76

In Memoriam

Ron Malliet (KMK Industries) & Patsy Garrity (Heritage Communications, Lincoln Studios and MC2)

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Cover and top photo (EDPA Access) by PADGETT & CO.

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PUBLISHER’S WORDS

PUBLISHER Donald V. Svehla Jr. (702) 309-8023 ext. 102 DonS@exhibitcitynews.com

Greetings to readers everywhere!

A

s we prepare this print edition it’s hard to believe the second half of the year begins... and we pause as an industry to celebrate our nation’s birthday.

At this time of year, I would also like to recognize all the wonderful families in our industry who are celebrating the graduation of their sons and daughters.

Not only is it exciting to have watched so many grow from birth to graduation... it is gratifying to see a good number of children following in their parents’ footsteps into this industry that we call a career.

The July/August print edition is also our yearly Focus on Women in the industry. We highlight some of the very best and this issue is no exception— whether it’s women changing the course of our industry (cover story) ... or winning the top award for their association (see Amanda Helgemoe Wins EDPA’s 2018 Hazel Hays Award).

And, of course, in this issue, we have the second half of our ECN I&D ACE Award winners—from the Seasoned Veterans and Best Firefighters to the William F. Nixon, Sr. Lifetime Achievement award and the ECN I&D Hall of Fame (posthumous) award. What strikes me most as I read the testimonials from their clients and peers, is the life-changing impact they have or had

CSAL

CONVENTION SERVICES ASSOCIATION

AS VEGAS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jeanne Brei (702) 309-8023 ext. 103 JeanneB@exhibitcitynews.com

on everyone they worked with and for.

Hall of Famer Ken Broadbent passed away in 2011 but he is still talked about and missed greatly by those he mentored and worked with at Sho-Link. And Lifetime Achievement award winner Gary Wannemacher in Chicago just retired last month but Nth Degree testimonials speak of his long-lasting legacy as he built their foundation and service standards worldwide for their company.

Congratulations again to all the ECN I&D ACE Award winners—you are the standard by which all aspire to.

For those of you that cannot get enough of Nashville, Tenn., this edition’s Convention Center snapshot is Music City Center in Nashville. This unique center is home to more than 100 pieces of public art! Whether you are looking for hot chicken and waffles, or some of the other regional cuisine offerings ... as always we tell you where to eat, sleep and play while visiting the Music City Center and the Nashville general area.

Until we meet again, have a safe, happy and prosperous summer!

Don Svehla | Publisher

ART DIRECTOR Thomas Speak Tom@Speak-Design.com NEWS EDITOR/WEBSITE Ray Smith (702) 309-8023 ext. 104 RayS@exhibitcitynews.com STAFF WRITER/EDITOR F. Andrew Taylor (702) 309-8023 ext. 105 FAndrewT@exhibitcitynews.com COLUMNISTS Calanit Atia Amadeus Finlay Larry Kulchawik Jim Obermeyer Cynthya Porter F. Andrew Taylor CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Vince Battaglia Pat Friedlander Julianne Jammers Mike Morrison Rebecca Thompson H.K. Wilson NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Christy DiGiambattista (702) 309-8023 ext. 111 ChristyD@exhibitcitynews.com CIRCULATION Manny Chico Barbara French Mike Morrison

Vol. 25, issue 4, copyright 2019 by EXHIBIT CITY NEWS, published six times a year by Mr. Tradeshow Communications, LLC, 1675 E. Desert Inn Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89169. Editorial views presented within this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher and no liability is inherent. To subscribe, go to ExhibitCityNews.com or call (702) 309-8023. Reproduction/reuse of this material may only be permitted with expressed permission of Exhibit City News. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to location listed above.

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Meet the Staff

Publisher

Don Svehla

Editor-in-Chief DonS@ExhibitCityNews.com

Don has been in the tradeshow industry his entire life, beginning as the son of a tradeshow trucker. He began working at Giltspur, and coming from the show floors of Chicago, he realized the need for an industry news source in 1993. With the support of industry friends, he began putting his 20+ years of tradeshow experience into Exhibit City News, which launched in June 1994 as a small eight-page newsletter for Chicago’s tradeshow community. By 1996, the newspaper had grown into a 32-page national newspaper bearing the tagline “Uniting the Nation’s Tradeshow Community.” Over the past 25 years, ECN has become an indispensable resource for industry news and info—both online and in a glossy magazine.

Jeanne Brei

JeanneB@ExhibitCityNews.com

Jeanne is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and has worked and written for Photo District News, The Independent, The Sunday and others. She is also a singer, tap dancer, entertainer and producer with a 7-piece swing band, The Speakeasy Swingers, and a monthly show, The Swanky Supper Club Soiree, now in its ninth year. She’s spent many years working in the tradeshow industry, producing events for DMCs and as a tradeshow rep. She’s a published author on Amazon and has written/narrated and co-produced five PBS Las Vegas documentaries and 13 episodes of her own Vintage Vegas Variety Show that aired on VegasTV in 2012.

News Editor/Website Art Director

Thomas Speak Tom@Speak-Design.com Tom is a UNLV graduate, has worked at FREEMAN Las Vegas as an exhibit designer, and later at Vegas Seven magazine. He now heads Speak Design, an award winning print and web design studio In downtown Las Vegas.

Ray Smith

RayS@ExhibitCityNews.com An award-winning journalism graduate of San Diego State University, Ray Smith worked more than 35 years as a newspaper reporter, writer and editor, including 20 years with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He resides in Las Vegas where he partakes in nearly all of the city’s vices.

Business Development/Sales

Christy Giambattista

Staff Writer

ChristyD@ExhibitCityNews.com

F. Andrew Taylor

Christy has more than 15 years of tradeshow/events experience. She began her career in Atlantic City creating unique fine dining events and a show for the Food Network. In 2008 she worked with the Philly Eagles to create a wine labeled “Happy Tails” to benefit the ASPCA.

FAndrewT@ExhibitCityNews.com Andy is an award-winning journalist, artist, photographer, cartoonist and illustrator. He also works in film production, does local historical research and has been an amateur stunt driver and rodeo participant.

Have news or story ideas for ECN? Email newsdesk@ExhibitCityNews.com!

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CONVENTION CENTER SNAPSHOT

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Music City Center Location: 201 5th Avenue South, Nashville TN, 37203 Year Built: 2013 Square Footage: 350,000 sq.ft. of exhibit hall space with five halls, two ballrooms and two floors of meeting rooms. Utility boxes every 30 feet provide water, compressed air and telecommunication equipment.

Parking: There are 1,797 parking spaces in the attached parking garage; nearly 40,000 parking spaces nearby can be found via parkitdowntown.com Wi-Fi: Free Wi-Fi throughout the facility

PLUS!

Where to eat, sleep and play near MCC on p. 60

Hotels: Within a 1.5 mile radius of the MCC there are 26 hotels; there are 42,000 hotel rooms in the Nashville metropolitan area Airport Info: The MCC is 8.1 miles from the Nashville International Airport

Fun Fact #1: The 14-acre undulating roof is intended to evoke Tennessee’s hills and features an eco-roof with four acres of sedum plants to control water runoff. Additionally, it has a 162-foot guitar-shaped structure that weaves vertically through the building.

Fun Fact #2: The four city blocks where the CC is situated comprise much of the area formerly called Black Bottom because, as the lowest part of town, it was prone to flooding which coated the area in dark mud.

Fun Fact #3: The CC is the home to more than 100 pieces of public art.

Website: nashvillemusiccitycenter.com.

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COLUMN As the Saws Turn

Crate Conversations

I

f you’ve read this column It is where our clients more than several times in see our work come to life, the past, you probably where they experience know that a favorite what we do for them part of my job is in real time in real being on the show space, not in a virtual floor. There are a lot world. Where the of reasons I say that. face-to-face part of

By Jim Obermeyer All of the work that our business really all of our teams—those inside becomes face-to-face. our company and those of our All of that is part of why partners and suppliers—do in I continue to be energized the months (and sometimes when I work the floor and years) leading up to a show why I come back to the office opening all comes together on more passionate about what the show floor. It is truly where we do as an industry. the rubber meets the road, But there is another part where the real work happens. that is just as important to me.

It is where all of the creative It’s the crate conversations. ideas come to fruition. It is Those impromptu discuswhere new materials and new sions that take place when methods get their first assessyou run into an old friend or ment. It is where the latest in a trusted supplier partner on experiential concepts are testthe floor. You’re both leaning ed for the first time. And where on a crate in the aisle and all the new technology that is just chatting. You get to catch coming our way is launched. up on all the latest industry

news—the news that doesn’t necessarily make the headlines in the industry press.

You get to learn about what they are doing now that they’ve changed positions or changed companies. You get to hear about their kid’s latest accomplishments or their most recent adventures in life. And sometimes you get to just B.S. for a while…the best stuff is talked about on the show floor.

But to me, these conversations are just as important as all of the more “formal” reasons for being on the show floor. If you do this long enough you make friends all over the industry and all over the country. And where are you most likely to run into them? OK, well, maybe at the local watering hole. But also, on the show floor.

And it’s not just the meetings with old friends. It’s the chance to meet new people as well. To expand your base of contacts. To stay in tune with

what’s going on in our industry. You never know what will come out of these conversations. New business opportunities. New business relationships. New relationships. New friendships. A new spouse.

Yes, I’ve actually connected several people and been a groomsman in two weddings where the parties met on the show floor. But that’s another story for another day.

Suffice it to say that I enjoy these crate conversations as much as anything that happens on the show floor.

Getting connected and staying connected when we are actually face to face, and not just screen to screen.

See you on the show floor.

Jim Obermeyer has been in the tradeshow industry 37 years, both as a corporate tradeshow manager and exhibit house owner. He is currently a vice president at Hamilton Exhibits and can be reached at jobermeyer@hamilton-exhibits.com.

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COLUMN Andy’s Apps

City Apps Come in Handy When Traveling

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ork, work, work. Everything about the events industry seems to revolve around long hours, hard work and very little time to relax. While it may be hard to carve time to enjoy yourself away from the events, every now and then the opportunity arises, so if you find yourself with some precious play time in any of the three busiest convention and events cities, these apps may help you find just the attraction you need.

as well as tours, food, hotels and even a trip planner. Each attraction opens up to its own page with a description, a link to the Wikipedia page and contact info.

Anyone who has had to dig through a page of ads and false leads while doing a google search for an attraction can appreciate how valuable that seemingly simple information can be.

Visit Orlando Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau–Presumably, one of the best apps about visiting a city should come from that city’s visitors bureau, but that isn’t always the case.

In Orlando, it is. The app is user friendly, with buttons across the top directing you to dining, hotels, attractions and more. A “me” button allows the app to make suggestions of things to

By F. Andrew Taylor Chicago Travel Guide do based on your location. You Tripwolf–It’s possible you could stop do have to sign up for an account to gain right here, as Tripwolf offers guides to a access to the entirety of the features, and lot of cities. The app is free for one city, some user may find this opens you to but you can pay $22 for unlimited access more ads than you’re comfortable with, to more than 600 premium guides, which but your mileage may vary. It also gives offer much more detailed info on each you the opportunity to purchase disarea and allow downloading the guide for counted tickets to theme parks and other offline use. The free portion will suffice attractions. One interesting feature is a for most casual travelers. It includes inbutton that allows you to speak directly formation on more than 300 attractions to an Orlando destination specialist for

those interested in more personal interaction in their apps.

Vegas.com Remark Holdings–This app and site is one of many that provide a guide to the sparkling desert oasis. It isn’t created by the local government, it is a destination-specific, online travel agency which means much of the app is trying to sell you something, and that’s okay. The fact they’re selling to you makes the site stay fresh and ensures that the listings are current. Las Vegas is nothing if not mercurial. Other apps I looked at included attractions that have been gone a decade or longer. Sorry if you had your heart set on going to Star Trek: The Experience or seeing the pirate show in front of Treasure Island. Both are gone and Treasure Island is the TI now, but Vegas.com can guide you to places that are relatively new like Topgolf and Zero Latency VR and things off the beaten path, like Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory. There is a free attractions section, with plenty of options that aren’t trying to be sold to you such as the Conservatory at The Bellagio, which changes its installations five times a year and features display specialties fabricated by exhibit industry stalwarts Gist Specialties, in case you needed an excuse to see it.

“No boss, I wasn’t goofing off, I was engaging in important industry research.”

14 July/August 2019 Exhibit City News

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MORE THAN JUST A SYSTEM

Creating exhibits that are environmentally friendly is not just what we do…it’s who we are.

Reusable!

Recyclable!

Remarkable!

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6/15/19 9:28 PM

COLUMN Social Media Strategies

Instagram: The Social Silver Bullet of the Industry

I

nstagram may be the marketing strategies of the forgotten stepchild future with its strippedof the tradeshow down, user-centric and event indusapproach. And it gets try, lagging behind better: 64 percent of Facebook, Twitter the platform’s users and LinkedIn as the are aged 18-29, with

By Amadeus Finlay fourth most popu42 percent holding lar social platform among a college qualification or event professionals, but the higher. Sound familiar? This two should really consider group is getting ever closer having a drink. And that to the largest demographic in is because Instagram and the event industry—college the world of conventions educated females aged 25and events share the same 35—and that is a correlation essential premise for their to which everyone should existence: to convey beautiful pay attention. Not only will visuals to a world that is all this trend continue as their about being moved by striking careers keep growing, but visuals… and with one billion by engaging loyalty in your users now surfing the InstaInsta marketing today, your waves, where better than an brand will be locked in the image-centric social platform consciousness of the industry to showcase your company’s leaders of tomorrow. finest builds?

How to use Instagram? It’s Sound like a silver bullet? rather simple, really. Take It should, for in the simplicity a compelling photograph of Instagram lies its success. or 20-second video, make Humans have regressed to eye-catching edits within the an average attention span of platform’s intuitive design just eight seconds, and that center and upload to the intolerance is being spearwaiting world. And worry headed by those aged 30 and not if you aren’t the planet’s below. Which means that strongest wordsmith. Instabrand experts need to get gram doesn’t require much in smart with their marketing the way of writing, just four or dollars. But with a simple five words that give the image message to convey and almost context; in fact, it actively no thinking required, Insencourages short messaging. tagram is encapsulating the What the user should remem-

ber to do is use a plethora of hashtags. Unlike Facebook and LinkedIn, Instagram welcomes endless lists of hashtags, and there are plenty out there. Handily, Instagram auto-populates each individual hashtag with the number of times it has been used, indicating how much impact your choice will have. Again, user-friendliness is key to those at Instagram towers.

There’s more. Specific events almost always have hashtags of their own. Accordingly, Instagram users can show off their clout during a show by coupling compelling visuals with the event’s hashtag. Support those beautiful images from the floor with relatable photographs of your team, and you’ve got a live Instagram recipe for success.

As ever with Instagram, users can aspire for a cherry on top, too, by meeting fellow Instagrammers on the show floor and cross-pollinating content; nothing supports an Instagram account like working with another influencer. Need a lexicon refresh? An influencer is an Instagram user at the top of their game; they are usually widely followed and highly active both online and in real life. They are community-focused individuals eager to connect with other users and accounts. In short, they

will want to support your brand (if it makes sense to theirs).

Instagram also taps into the new trend of “stories.” This feature allows users to upload content that is only viewable for 24 hours before disappearing. What does this mean in practice? Dedicated followers of an account are likely to actively seek the unique content, giving the visuals a desirable edge on standard posts. But that’s not all. Users can also employ stories to host competitions, especially popular if the 24-hour window contains a particularly desirable giveaway.

So, get snapping (or gramming, if you want to be cool).

There is a whole new world out there waiting to be explored, and with something as welcoming as Instagram serving as the digital destination, a simple X really will mark the spot.

Having worked with Groupon, IBM, Nordea, and others, Amadeus Finlay is a global connector of people and brands. He has extensive experience in professional copywriting, social media and script-to-screen video production, including on-camera hosting. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, he holds a Master’s degree in American History.

Connect with him at https://www. linkedin.com/in/amadeusfinlay/

16 July/August 2019 Exhibit City News

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The French Way

ish their culture, history, language and cuisine, which are considered an art.

The French have been, and are today, uthor’s Note: The second ediworld leaders in fashion, food, wine, tion of Trade Shows from One architecture and the winners of the 2018 Country to the Next was recently World Cup. released. The guidebook is about interThe French embrace novelty, new ideas national marketing with a focus and manners with enthusiasm as on global tradeshow differenclong as they are elegant. To the es. Although dedicated to the French, language is sacred and venues, top events, exhibit to be handled with due care. design and regulations, much As a newbie traveler to France, of the information speaks to you might enjoy reading a fun

By Larry Kulchawik effective communication and and informative book entitled culture when spending a week French or Foe, by Polly Platt. or less marketing a product in a foreign “The French people are different, woncountry. No one person, or company, derfully different, and differently wonis the expert everywhere in the world. derful. The trick is knowing what the Taking the time to learn and trusting differences are. You have to know the the opinions of local suppliers is a good French concept of good manners and first step when planning a tradeshow behavior to understand that it is the forabroad. When it comes to international eign visitor, not the French people, who exhibiting, we will never stop learning are being rude in their country. Whether something new. Below is an excerpt a tourist or business traveler, trying to from the book; I hope to share highlights function on any level in France with the about doing tradeshows in several select same mechanisms as in other countries countries for upcoming ECN issues. is like putting an Intel chip into a Motorola operating system. It simply does France not work!” explains Platt.

The French adhere to a strong and When you arrive in France, show homogeneous art of values. They cherrespect for this beloved language by

A

apologizing immediately for not speaking proper French, and then feel free to continue the conversation. French pride and the French way of doing things are evident and extend onto the tradeshow floor of any event you attend. Speaking a little French will go a long way when doing a show in France. Located in the heart of Europe, France hosts nearly 700 tradeshow and exposition events yearly, with the majority held in the Paris region.

French exhibitors will invest to create an attractive exhibit to enhance their image.

The French are very style conscious. It is common to acknowledge an exhibitor’s stand for its unique style and for its sustainability at shows in France. Attending a tradeshow in Paris provides an ideal setting to make business contact with Europe, as well as the world.

For exhibit set ups in France, labor authorization is strict. When more than one supplier company works on the same stand, a form must be submitted (PPSPS) describing tasks and responsibilities of the different suppliers. It may be a good idea to work with a French exhibit supplier partner. EDPA and IFES can help you identify a trusted supplier to work with. So much more to say here. Enjoy your business travels!

Photo by Chris Molloy from Pexels

COLUMN The International Man

18 July/August 2019 Exhibit City News

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COLUMN Ask An Expert

San Jose Takes Convention Experience to the Next Level

By Calanit Atia

W

ith 300 days of sunshine annually and as an incredibly clean, safe and walkable city with farm-to-fork delights and craft breweries, the San Jose Convention Center is a place you should consider for your next event.

San Jose is truly a beautiful and clean city. It is large but still feels very intimate and safe.

Everything is within walking distance from the convention center: hotels, restaurants, venues, breweries and a small park to enjoy the beautiful weather.

The SJCC is Silicon Valley’s largest premier event space with more than 500,000 sq.ft., 143,000 sq.ft. of column-free exhibit space and a one-stop shop of branding, the best free Wi-Fi service experience in the nation, state of the art technology and audio/video capabilities, and unconventional cuisine from its in-house catering team.

They also offer event and registration staffing, convention housing, ground transportation coordination, offsite event management, welcome

volunteers and public relations services. More importantly, the convention center owns the city branding, which is very unique, so they are able to assist with advertising opportunities around the city and the airport, which is only a 10-minute drive from the convention center.

Furthermore, the San Jose Marriott and Hilton San Jose have direct access through sliding doors to the convention center, and the Fairmont San Jose and Hyatt Place San Jose Downtown are both just a five-minute walk.

“San Jose, the epicenter of Silicon Valley, is home to the world’s largest concentration of technology expertise, and like many of the tech headquarters in San Jose, our downtown has a walkable core and a campus-like feel,” according to Cheryl Little, CMP, director of sales and destination services. She adds, “We have four historic theaters for unique breakouts and intimate events—the Montgomery Theater, the California Theatre, San Jose Civic Center for Per-

forming Arts and our partner venue, The Tech Interactive.”

“With all major brand hotels surrounding the convention center your group has an opportunity to own the city from branding at the airport to the downtown core,” Little continues. “Also, Team San Jose, our destination experts, and your point person from the sales and booking process, can book your entire event in San Jose.”

One of the most remarkable aspects about this venue is that the catering is in-house, which is very rare. The quality of the food is noticeable with the first bite—since they use mostly local farms you can taste the freshness of the food. With in-house catering, their goal is to interact with the clients, create custom menus and get away from the order-taking process of template menus, which clients normally receive at convention centers.

“My arrival to the organization was clear as set by our CEO & COO on their vision to set a path for the role of food and beverage,” says James MK Te’o, director of food and beverage and sommelier. “Have the food and beverage make a statement. Our focus is a philosophy based on flexibility, innovation and the continued debate of challenging the status quo while being culturally sensitive to the menu process. This allows the philosophy to guide the organization that lends to client flexibility, which creates a story line that is unique to each of our customers. We really engage our clients; this year 72 percent of the menus were custom made. It creates scenarios to never have the same thought

process, to debate and create.”

Te’o adds, “the team responsible to lead this philosophy is passionate in their specific genres. Individuals selected come with years of training to get the skill that is needed.

Many came from ultra luxury hotels, luxury and lifestyle destination resorts, Michelin-rated restaurants, Forbes Service Standard Organizations, well-known wineries and boutique catering.”

“Lastly, we approach this philosophy as humble servants,” he explains. “We understand our role and responsibility to our guests, clients and our fellow team members: Always provide and be the best in what we do. We protect our craft and this responsibility through the approach of Kaizen. In this pursuit we hope to ‘Change the Conversation.’ ” I recommend taking a short drive to Testarossa Winery for an intimate dinner with incredible wine in a private cellar, or Santana Row, the Rodeo Drive of Silicon Valley, where you can splurge on designer brands and visit the flagship Tesla showroom. Also, you are close to the infamous Winchester Mystery House. About two or three hours’ drive away from the iconic Highway 1 offers breathtaking views of the Monterey Peninsula in California and the scenic road Pebble Beach 17 Mile Drive. For more info, visit SanJose.org.

Calanit Atia is an award-winning event planner, exhibit management expert, the founder and president of A to Z Events and Trade Show Talent, a Las Vegas destination expert, Air Force veteran and speaker. Contact her at Info@AtoZevents.com.

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Meet Our Columnists As The Saws Turn

International Focus

Jim Obermeyer has been in the tradeshow industry 35 years, both as a corporate tradeshow manager and exhibit house owner.

He is currently a vice president at Hamilton Exhibits and can be reached at jobermeyer@ hamilton-exhibits.com.

Cynthya Porter is a 70-time awardwinning journalist recognized by national and international associations for her expertise in tradeshow topics, travel writing, photography and news. She has covered the exhibition industry since 2011.

Andy’s Apps

Social Media Strategies

F. Andrew Taylor is an award-winning journalist, artist, photographer, cartoonist and illustrator. He also works in film production, does local historical research and has been an amateur stunt driver and rodeo participant. Contact him at fandrewt@exhibitcitynews.com.

The International Man Larry Kulchawik is the head of Larry Kulchwawik Consulting and author of Trade Shows from One Country to the Next. For more info, visit www.larrykulchawik.com

Amadeus Finlay is a writer, strategic growth marketer and communications/ public relations consultant who resides in Rhode Island. He’s a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and has lived in the U.S. since 2014. Contact him at AmadeusF@ ExhibitCityNews.com.

Ask An Expert Calanit Atia is an award-winning event planner, exhibit management expert, the founder and president of A to Z Events and Trade Show Talent, a Las Vegas destination expert, Air Force veteran and speaker.

Contact her at Info@AtoZevents.com

Have news or story ideas for ECN? Email newsdesk@ExhibitCityNews.com!

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6/20/19 10:35 10:34 AM

AIRPORT SNAPSHOT

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Nashville International Airport IATA airport code: BNA Location: 1 Terminal Dr., Nashville, TN Year Opened: 1937. Originally named Berry Field (hence, IATA code of BNA); it was re-named in 1988, when a larger, more modern terminal was built.

Size: Currently covers 3,900 acres with four runways and 43 gates split between three concourses. A fourth one, Concourse D, is under construction and set to open in 2020 and will add six more gates.

Transportation: Taxis, limos, shuttle buses, hotel courtesy vehicles, We Go Public Transit, and other services are available; most now leave from the new Ground Transportation Center on level 1.

Fun Facts: It is the fourth airport to serve the Nashville area. During World War I, transient planes began landing at Hampton Field, formerly E.L. Hampton’s pasture. In 1921 it was replaced by Blackwood Field until 1928. The city of Nashville built McConnell Field on 130 acres in 1927 (named for Lieut. Brower McConnell, a Tennessee National Guard pilot who died that year in an air crash).

Construction of the current airport was one of the first major WPA projects in the area and named after Col. Harry S. Berry, the Tennessee administrator for the WPA. Bob Hoover, who revolutionized modern aerobatic flying and was described as one of the greatest pilots ever to have lived, learned to fly at Berry Field while working at a grocery store to pay for flight training.

During World War II, the airfield was requisitioned by the U.S. Army Air Forces Air Transport Command as HQ for the 4th Ferrying Command for movement of new aircraft overseas. They also expanded the airport to 1,500 acres.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

L-R: Amanda Helgemoe, Sue Huff, B.J. Enright and Anne Trompeter at EDPA ACCESS seminar on the “State of the Industry” introducing the NAB Show Cares initiatives

NAB Show Cares Transforming The Industry?

BY CYNTHYA PORTER

Confusing and exorbitant drayage calculations.

Hidden electrical charges.

Mystifying rigging expenses.

These are some exhibitor pain points—and there are more causing a considerable amount of agony. Many exhibit managers, often those at larger companies, have reluctantly

swallowed the bitter pill and adjusted their budgets upward year after year. But for some, the ballooning costs and frustration are just too much to choke down, so they abandon tradeshows and take their budget dollars to road shows, customer events, or other faceto-face opportunities.

B.J. Enright and Amanda Helgemoe are all too familiar with those pain points.

Enright is president and CEO of event solution company Tradeshow Logic, and Helgemoe is president of national installation and dismantle contractor Nuvista. From their respective positions on the service side of the industry, they have cultivated a deep empathy for the plight of beleaguered exhibit managers who feel taken advantage of by trade show pricing models that defy understanding or budget controls. The truth is that everyone in the tradeshow universe knows about those pain points, but the difference between ev-

eryone else and these women is that Helgemoe and Enright are doing something to change things.

Each woman took a different path to the exhibition world. Enright is a third-generation general service contracting professional, and Helgemoe found her way to I&D by way of the corporate side of sales and marketing 22 years ago. But the tie that binds them is work with advocacy for exhibitor issues, and each espouses an unwavering sense that these issues could—and should—be handled better.

Enright began working in the industry in 1991 collating service kits for her grandfa-

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ther’s firm, Andrews-Bartlett & Associates Inc. With college, she moved to the show services desk. She remembers her mother, Bonnie Aaron Sorensen, now the Tradeshow Logic CEO, rallying staff at meetings. “She has always been an advocate for exhibitors,” Enright says. “She wanted everyone to work in the exhibitor services area so they could understand it. At company meetings, she would ask the room, ‘Raise your hand if you are in exhibitor service,’ and she would make everyone in the company raise their hands.” The business, Enright says, is in her blood, and she has always loved it. Also in her blood is a sense that she should give back by advocating for exhibitor rights, something she says her grandfather’s firm was always known for.

Helgemoe always knew she wanted to run her own company, she just didn’t know at first what it would look like. It was chance that angled her into the industry through the I&D door, but after four years working for other firms, she knew what she wanted to do. “I felt the timing was right to go out on my own and build a better product and service,” she says. Now, having achieved that through Nuvista, she focuses energy on the mission of the Exhibitor Advocacy Group, an organization comprising of exhibitors, show organizers, union leaders, exhibit houses, and general service contractors @ExhibitCityNews

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that spreads the gospel of fair market fees and transparent pricing to show organizers around the country.

It was their mutual concern that brought Enright and Helgemoe together to push for exhibitor rights. The pair gave a presentation at the last Experiential B.J. Designers and Enright Producers Association (EDPA) ACCESS conference to talk about a movement for change that is starting like a ground-swell but has the makings of a tidal wave. In short, they spoke of a pricing model that included flat rates for material handling and all-inclusive pricing for some show services, both measures that would save many exhibitors significant sums and simplify show billing.

But this wasn’t just talk. The model they shared was set to be rolled out at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show 2019, a mammoth event for the media communications industry, and the very thought of it was radical enough to set the room buzzing. After all, if someone is saving money, that means someone else is making less money, or so conventional thinking suggests. And if someone is making less money, they are bound to be unhappy, at least in theory.

But the reality, Helgemoe says, is that profits for many were already shrinking. The pricing model in place for the past several decades was rising so exponentially that it was pushing some smaller exhibitors off the show

floor. For larger companies, huge drayage charges were prompting them to bring less equipment and pull back on their show-floor footprints. And for exhibitors continuing to buy space, the mind-numbing confusion caused by the show services pricing meant they were utterly unable to budget for expenses accurately, causing many to spend less so they could better weather the surprise of the final invoice.

Smaller exhibitor numbers inevitably resulted in lower attendance for many events, and the trade show industry was spinning in a viciously destructive circle.

Venues, show organizers, general service contractors (GSCs) and exhibitor-appointed contractors (EACs) have all felt the squeeze of fewer dollars floating around the trade show universe, and it was obvious to people like Helgemoe and Enright that the old ways were not working. “For as long as the industry has been here, it has been called a cottage industry, meaning each little show had its own house and did everything however it wanted to,” says Helgemoe. As such, rates for things like drayage rose relatively unchecked and show service pricing increasingly lost its transparency, with exhibitors usually forking over more than they anticipated. “But it has hit a ceiling and it can’t keep going,” Helgemoe says. “Cor-

porations can’t sustain it— they aren’t increasing their budgets anymore so they are going to have to make cuts if prices continue to rise.”

A few shows have tried over the years to institute more reasonable pricing models, most notably PACK Expo, which switched to flat-rate drayage fees at least a decade ago. Though the show eventually boomed with the new fee structure, the concept didn’t get a foothold in the industry, Helgemoe says. With more large firms controlling multiple shows and pressure growing on exhibitor budgets, the time to push for broader acceptance of a new pricing model is now, she says, lest the industry continue to suffer under the old ways.

Enright would argue that the old pricing model has never worked, primarily because it causes significant exhibitor distress and disenAmanda Helgemoe franchises them in the process.

“I think exhibitors for so long have felt like they are taken for granted,” she says. “Like if we build it, they will come, and no one goes to the exhibitor to ask them what they need.” As such, when Tradeshow Logic functions as a GSC, which is one of the capabilities of the company, it has always used a variation of the exhibitor care and pricing models put in place for NAB because Enright thinks it’s only right.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

in by the association because leaders were aware of the company’s revolutionary show production model.

“They approached us and said, ‘We want you to make exhibiting easier and lower costs significantly and in a way that will stay in place on an ongoing basis,’” says Enright. “They wanted us to challenge the industry paradigm. Of course, there were people who said it can’t be done, but we started doing research—talking to exhibitors and exhibitor-appointed contractors to identify what their challenges were.”

Enright says the NAB Exhibitor Advisory Committee was instrumental in generating a frank dialog, and the willingness of the NAB senior leadership to drive innovation was a pivot point for the organization. What emerged from that process was NAB Show Cares, a show-services program that gets to the heart of what was bothering NAB exhibitors most.

The most striking element of NAB Show Cares is a flat drayage fee of $3.85 per square foot of booth space no matter the weight or volume of material being moved to the show floor. Helgemoe says she had customers who saved as much as 60 percent under the new material handling structure. Also of considerable note is revamped and reduced rigging pricing that includes rigging supplies with the rigging crew rate for one transparent fee, and the new “no surprises electrical outlet pricing” that lowered the price and wrapped all electrical charges into one

...flat rates for material handling and all-inclusive pricing for some services... would save many exhibitors significant sums & infinitely simplify show billing...

up-front cost. Exhibitors also gained the ability to sell goods on the show floor and access their own clouds through a new portal.

To achieve the significant savings that NAB Show Cares represented, Tradeshow Logic bid out each element of show services separately: material handling, electrical, rigging, and everything else together (including decorating, furniture, etc.). The rationale for this, Enright says, was that it would isolate each service and promote fair market pricing for it. It also gave organizers the ability to consider specialized vendors who may have never crossed the show’s radar before, and it allowed NAB officials to see the true costs of each component of the event.

But mostly, Enright acknowledged, it was to wrestle the crocodile in the room: drayage.

“Material handling is kind of like alcohol at a restaurant,” she says. A lot of profitability can be cloaked in alcohol, she explains, much like the profit margins that can be tucked into drayage charges.

And those profit margins, Helgemoe says, have gotten a bit out of hand, with the wrong group often being blamed. “A misconception is that the rates have to be so high because of union wages,” she says. “Unions are taking a beating over it, but union wages are not tracking anywhere near the increases in material handling, which can be at a minimum double, or four, five, six times, sometimes even 10 times the rate of inflation over the past 20 years.” Case in point: A 10-year study of cost increases at McCormick Place in Chicago found that over that period, union wages rose 23 percent, independent labor wages rose 24 percent, inflation rose 19 percent, and drayage—on the low end—increased by 42 percent, and on the high side by 142 percent, sometimes even within the same show, Helgemoe says.

But exhibitors might be willing to forgive some of the burgeoning costs if they were told about them up front rather than experienc-

ing sticker shock when they receive the invoice. “I think, of all the pain points, transparency is at the top,” Helgemoe says. “That came out of listening to customers who are very, very frustrated that they couldn’t get transparency in an exhibitor service kit.

They need fair market pricing and they need predictable costs. Those things are at the core of the problem. If show organizers are upset because the show floor is declining, we have a solution for them.

We believe if organizations really understood the pricing better, then they might be able to negotiate better on behalf of exhibitors and control these costs.”

The new pricing model may not be popular with everyone, as the 10x10-foot booth exhibitors must now pay the same material handling fee per square foot as everyone else, even if they previously hand-carried their materials into the show and paid no material handling charges. In the case of PACK Expo, the year they first changed to a square-foot model for drayage, the show floor did shrink and officials were wary of the same possibility at NAB. But that was not the case, Enright says, and it appears that the changes will only make the show stronger.

Part of the point, Enright says, is to encourage all exhibitors to create a better experience for attendees. She hopes that the savings from lowered costs will be poured back into exhibit marketing and that the flat fee for any amount of material handling

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B.J. Enright explains how the NAB Show Care initatives were determined during the “State of the Industry” seminar at EDPA ACCESS last December

will encourage exhibitors to bring more elaborate efforts to the show floor.

Enright is quick to point out that there is no generic fix for every show, as flatrate material handling might not be feasible for certain industries, rigging fees @ExhibitCityNews

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might be more complex for others and the differences in exclusive providers from one venue to the next might complicate certain changes.

“Every show is different and not all can do exactly what NAB Show Cares does,” she says. “Where the pressure

comes in is that organizers can no longer believe that exhibitors will automatically come.” The key, she adds, is for associations and organizers to be sincere in engaging exhibitors to learn what would make their experience more satisfying. “The most

important thing is that exhibitors feel they were heard and it resulted in significant changes. At NAB, exhibitors now believe that something is going to change when they communicate with organizers about problems.”

With NAB 2019 under their belts, Enright and Helgemoe seem optimistic that the numbers will support the new pricing structure. Helgemoe says her clients were ecstatic at the savings they achieved under the new model. Enright says anecdotal evidence suggests the show did well, but she says she and her team will assess everything about the roll out of the revamped pricing to see if anything needs tweaking.

Even though the results are preliminary, it appears the women’s efforts for change have the potential to transform the industry. Perhaps this is not how they envisioned their legacy when they entered the tradeshow world.

But today, both say it is their mission to bring transparency to an industry that has been so good to them. “I was taught from my parents that we are here to serve other people,” Helgemoe says. “That’s always been my underlying motivation. It’s not about me; it’s about my ability to affect people in a positive way.” Enright, who says her grandfather imparted similar values to her, echoes those sentiments. “I would really like people to know that I care. I love exhibitors and I really want to give back,” she says. “I would like to implement change so our remarkable industry can grow and thrive.”

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ECN I&D ACE AWARDS 2019

Exhibit City News Presents

The 2019 I&D ACE Awards Four Seasons Hotel, Las Vegas | February 24, 2019 Presenters: Don Svehla, ECN publisher, and Jeanne Brei, ECN editor-in-chief

Guest Presenters: Jake Merzigian, president/CEO, Zig Zibit; and William F. Nixon, Jr., owner/CEO, Willwork Global Event Services

A longtime dream of ECN’s publisher Don Svehla, the inaugural ECN I&D ACE Awards were an opportunity to honor the unsung heroes of the tradeshow floor—the I&D men and women who build the exhibits despite all the things that can go wrong and sometimes do: from logistics to missing crates and more.

The Traveling Lead of the Year ACES, one of our most popular categories, ended up as a four-way tie; Seasoned Show Veterans was a three-way tie; and there were two winners each in Best Firefighter ACES and the William F. Nixon, Sr. Lifetime Achievement awards. And you’ll see why it was so hard to choose between the nominees when you hear how their colleagues and clients describe working with each of them.

Photography by Exposures, Ltd.

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Exhibit City News Presents the 2019 I&D ACE Awards

EXHIBIT CITY NEWS 2019 I&D ACE AWARDS

Rookie of the Year ACE Award

Best “Firefighters” of the Year ACE Awards

Will Goza, Sho-Link, Inc.

Willie Matamoros, Nth Degree Brian Kaminski, Momentum Management

Regional I&D ACE of the Year Award Dan Pienta, Nth Degree

Seasoned Show Floor Veterans of the Year ACE Awards

Traveling Leads of the Year ACE Awards

Gino Apadula, Nth Degree

Mike Macauley, Nth Degree

Mike Haren, Sho-Link, Inc.

Chris Pohanka, Nuvista

Frank Mennell, Momentum Management

Robert Lassiter, The Trade Group Brad Kearns, Laborinc.ca

The William F. Nixon, Sr. Lifetime Achievement ACE Awards

Best City/Regional

Brian Kearns, Laborinc.ca

Manager of the Year ACE Award

Gary Wannemacher, Nth Degree

Joey Brassell, Sho-Link, Inc. The ECN I&D Hall of Fame (Posthumous) Best Operations Team ACE Award

Ken Broadbent, Sho-Link, Inc.

Renaissance Management Las Vegas (Bill Muller, Ben Buranek, Jim Martin, Bernie Boyd, Liza Romano, Iliana Aguilar, Doug Stone, and Darrell Heckler)

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Exhibit City News Presents the 2019 I&D ACE Awards

Best “Firefighter” of the Year ACE Award: Willie Matamoros, Nth Degree Wille was nominated by D’Anna Hurley, Nth Degree’s marketing project manager, who says that Willie “never breaks a sweat, no matter how hot the fire is, and you will never see him panic when there is an unexpected change or mishap…once a project’s freight was stuck in international customs for several days. This type of delay can be very difficult to overcome, but instead of giving up and waiting around for the freight, Willie acted and developed a solution on the fly to keep the project moving forward. He devised a plan to get the entire overhead truss system installed while we continued to build the exhibit, thus making a nightmare better and truly putting out what could have turned into a raging fire.”

His co-workers, including account exec Patrick Shepherd, applaud his leadership style and say, “Willie loves all people and makes them feel not only appreciated but lifted to a higher level. Willie’s leadership is by his example of how he works and expresses the client’s needs to the entire team not just a select few. In doing this, he has total buy-in from the entire crew, which is rare. Willie’s crew members work harder because of Willie. This is a rare gift, not just a talent.” Steve Daugherty, Nth Degree’s VP of Global Oper-

ations, wrote that “Willie is one of the nicest guys you will meet” and mentioned that Willie “loves to show people around N’awlins, his home town.”

And the clients, including Seattle-based The Production Network’s (aka TPN Events) production manager, Phil Halverson, and event manager Alison Lacro, both agree that Willie’s “positive attitude is contagious and his ability to motivate every person on his team is unmatched.

He leads by example and always shows great patience with young or new teammates.” Phil adds to Alison’s comment and says, “Willie is in a rarified atmosphere of top tier performers—as a production manager, I value the way Willie has of motivating and empowering crews. I want I&D crews to know they are valued. My desire is that they want to work for me. To do that I need key leads who will manage them with respect. Willie does that. I&D crews want to work for him. He’s the sort of man that you would want your son or granddaughter to work for, to be mentored by. I would commend him to anyone as an example of what to look for in a labor lead within the exhibit industry.”

Willie was in D.C. working the Dermatology show, so LV Market City Manager Melvin Alston accepted on his behalf.

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Exhibit City News Presents the 2019 I&D ACE Awards

Best “Firefighter” of the Year ACE Award: Brian “B.K.” Kaminski from Momentum Management B.K. was nominated by Las Vegas City Manager Rich Carlson of Momentum Management who praises B.K.’s impressive commitment to excellence, his leadership qualities and project management skills. He explains that B.K.’s the person who’s called when problems and difficult situations arise. According to Rich, B.K. is great at thinking outside of the box and coming up with solutions. He is a “ ‘work smarter, not harder’ kind of guy who never lets anyone down,” adding

that “he has exceptional knowledge involving the oversight of projects, working alongside exhibit houses and their customers. He has a great understanding of all technical and operational aspects necessary to produce successful end results.” Rich ends by saying, “I am thrilled to witness the many talents he possesses on the show floor and we are confident in his ability to deliver only the highest level of service to our clients.”

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Exhibit City News Presents the 2019 I&D ACE Awards

Seasoned Show Floor Veteran ACE: Gino Apadula, Nth Degree Gino was nominated by D’Anna Hurley, Nth Degree’s marketing project manager, who writes that “to designate Gino as a seasoned show floor veteran is an understatement as he has helped shape how Nth Degree operates on the show floor. He has spent his entire career with Nth Degree dating back to 1984, but his impact has been even more defining than his tenure. Gino has been instrumental in helping manage one client’s account, which includes more than 100 events annually with exhibits over 20,000-square-feet in size. He expertly leads huge labor calls in cities across the country and helps lead a team that manages every tiny detail to maintain efficiency at every show. His in-depth knowledge not only of the account, but all the vendors and players are key components of the program seeing continuous improvements and flawless execution year-overyear. The over 30-year relationship with this customer is the true testament to this achievement. His devotion to the customer, his team and the company is evident in the self-sacrifices he makes every year

including working over the Thanksgiving holiday for the span of his entire career.”

His co-worker, account exec Doug Higgins says, “Gino takes care of his guys in the job ... he’s a team player that puts the success of the job and the company first.”

And clients such as Wisconsin-based Catalyst Exhibits write that “we love working with Gino Apadula for so many reasons— he is dedicated, he is professional, he is there to do the best job he can for you. Gino’s knowledge of the industry is second to none, his understanding of how the show floor works in all cities makes him an asset to any project he leads. Gino’s wealth of experience is beneficial to all parts of the job from estimating, to prints to execution. He has an outstanding attitude on the show floor towards vendors, workers, and customers and that makes for a great working environment. For this and so many other reasons, Catalyst and our clients look forward to having Gino on all of our projects large and small.”

Nth Degree’s VP of Global Operations Steve Daughtery accepted the award on Gino’s behalf.

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Exhibit City News Presents the 2019 I&D ACE Awards

Seasoned Show Floor Veteran ACE: Mike Haren from Sho-Link, Inc. Mike was nominated by Rob West, senior director of field operations for Sho-Link in Lake Forest, Ill., who says, “Mike has always proven to be a standout professional both on the show floor and when working with clients,” adding, “Mike has taken on multiple roles within Sho-Link throughout the years, such as show floor lead, city manager of Sho-Link Atlanta to regional manager for Sho-Link.

He has always been someone I could go to for advice and problem solving and has never disappointed me with his wisdom.”

His co-worker, Las Vegas City Manager Robert Tortolla says, “Mike is dependable, efficient and unfailingly punctual. In fact, I have never worked with a person who gives as much attention to detail as he does. Also, his willingness to take on difficult projects and oversee them to successful completion has repeatedly impressed me over the years. His skills do not end with his carpentry work. He also projects a superb professional attitude to our clients both internal and external. I have seen him resolve conflicts and handle other difficult situations with remarkable patience and admirable tact.” And clients including

Nashville-based Amy Diffee, Milwaukee-based Derse field supervisor Jon Dalton, and Derse’s Las Vegas-based Melissa Alter, all agree that Mike is simply the best.

Says Melissa, “Mike Haren never lets us down, he’s the best. Thank you for a great show, as always Mike Haren leads a great team, he gets the job done and the client loves him. His attention to detail, timely installation running a staff and his ability to work with the client in any situation is always outstanding.” Jon adds, “Mike (Haren), Joey and the rest of the Nashville team came through in a very compressed and technical install. Their willingness to work the long hours required and can-do attitude allowed us to wow our clients and deliver a win.” And Amy says, “Over the years we have worked a lot of hours with Mike and he never disappoints. I believe his greatest asset is that he gives of himself freely and shares his knowledge willingly with those around and under his supervision. I look forward to many more years of having Mike by our side.”

Jean Keefe, Sho-Link’s senior relationship manager, accepted on Mike Haren’s behalf.

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Exhibit City News Presents the 2019 I&D ACE Awards

Seasoned Show Floor Veteran ACE: Frank Mennell, Momentum Management Frank was nominated by Dave Kennedy, Chicago city manager for Momentum Management, who says that “after 23 years in the tradeshow industry, Frank has learned what it takes to be the ‘Ultimate Lead’ man. His calm, methodical leadership style instills an elevated level of confidence to all who work with him. His greatest attribute is his ability to strategically plan, execute and anticipate the scope of work within an exhibit installation. Through his previous experience as a foreman, he is excellent at evaluating talent and utilizing his crew in the most effective and efficient manner.” Dave continues by saying that “Frank is able to communicate with work-

ers and clients equally, so that they both feel as if their interests are at the forefront. His greatest compliment is that everybody wants to work with Frank.

From carpenters to clients, everybody wants to be a part of his team. He successfully balances his friendly demeanor and his drive for excellence in his career on the show floor. Frank is what every city manager is looking for in a veteran lead man. If I had one wish as a city manager it would be, ‘Please find me another Frank Mennell! I promise I won’t ask again.’ As Frank has quietly become one of the best lead men throughout the entire tradeshow industry, and I am so grateful to have him on my team.”

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The Man Who Inspired the William F. Nixon, Sr. Lifetime Achievement Awards William F. “Coach” Nixon founded and continues to serve as president of Easton-based Willwork, Inc. in his retirement from secondary teaching and sports coaching. Willwork employs more than 100 individuals in the Easton area.

Started as Nixonas, a Boston-area I&D company back in 1988, Willwork has matured into a full service tradeshow, event, exposition and exhibit services organization. Today, Willwork provides companies with complete, start-to-finish installation and dismantling services.

Nixon was born in 1928 and grew up in the Depression as an only child in Brockton, Mass. He was a talented athlete who played halfback on a football team that went undefeated (10-0) and played guard on a basketball team that lost in the semifinals of the Eastern Mass. Class A post-season tournament. After high school, he signed up for an 18-month enlistment in Army, did his basic training at Fort Lee in Virginia, and then was stationed in Germany in ’46-47. He holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Stonehill College and a master’s degree in education from Bridgewater State College.

He dedicated 40 years of his professional career to the Easton School system as a quadruple-sport Oliver Ames coach, history teacher and as a negotiator for the teachers’ union. Nixon and his late

wife, Helen, who passed away in 2007 after 52 years of marriage, raised eight children, Deborah, Linda, Susan, Mary, Paula, Tara, Bill (pictured left) and Jim (pictured right), and Nixon is now the proud and doting grandfather of nine grandchildren.

Teams coached by Bill Nixon were known for their up-tempo offense, and for scoring. Over a 41-year period, Mr. Nixon’s basketball teams went 554-224, a 71.2 winning percentage.

“In games, there are some things we can’t always control,” says Nixon. “For example, we may get out-talented, and sometimes even out-coached—you can’t always control those areas. But an area we could always control is that we should never allow ourselves to be out-worked.”

Bill Nixon’s competitiveness, winning, and how he improved the lives of countless young people is remembered, honored and rewarded. Awards and recognitions in his distinguished career include: Oliver Ames High School Hall of Fame (2004); Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame (2001); Easton Lions Club Special Appreciation (1995); Stonehill College Hall of Fame (1991); and Easton Educators Association Award for Outstanding Service (1991).

As an exemplary member of the I&D community and one of publisher Don Svehla’s good friends, ECN is honored to have William F. Nixon, Sr. as the namesake for our ECN I&D ACES Lifetime Achievement awards.

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The William F. Nixon, Sr. Lifetime Achievement ACE: Brian Kearns, Laborinc.ca Brian was nominated by Don Brown, Laborinc’s VP of Operations, because, he says, he has witnessed first-hand Brian’s commitment to the well-being of the exhibit industry and the people who are involved within the industry. Don says that Brian first became involved in the exhibit industry in 1983 with Alphaform Exhibits + Design, a start-up that was designing, manufacturing and installing exhibits throughout Canada. Brian was always requested by the clients and the installers were always keen to work with him because of the positive atmosphere that radiated throughout the exhibit space that Brian created by keeping the guys busy, while never assigning a task to someone who did not have the capabilities to carry out the task successfully. He always had encouraging words and a thank you to share with all. In 1988, Brian was instrumental in starting International Installations, one of Canada’s first installation companies, and went on to become president of TAG and Interna-

tional Installations until 2012. Both companies would exhibit at the Exhibitor and TS2 shows on a regular basis dating back to 1990. Today, Brian is president of Canada’s only “Trade to Trade” I&D company, Laborinc.ca, and whether it is supporting industry associations, attending industry shows and conferences, advertising within industry publications and making donations to industry charities, he has had a positive impact on the industry and the people he has come to know. One client, Jaguar/Land Rover exhibit manager J. Robertson, says, “Over the 20 years we have worked together on the Cruelling auto show circuit we have thrown everything including the kitchen sink at Brian. We have always been amazed at the level of professionalism and calm that Brian and his team portray as they go about delivering on our request. This could not be achieved if it weren’t for the patience and leadership Brian brings to the table.”

Don Svhela accepted the award on Brian’s behalf.

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The William F. Nixon, Sr. Lifetime Achievement ACE: Gary Wannemacher, Nth Degree Gary was nominated by D’Anna Hurley, Nth Degree’s marketing project manager who says that Gary is a true industry legend and one of the original Nth Degree team members, back when the company was known as I&D, Installation & Dismantle, Inc. D’Anna writes that “Gary has given his entire career and his life to Nth Degree—nearly 38 years. He helped build the foundation, he helped forge the culture and he led the way to unprecedented service standards not only in Chicago where he is the Midwest regional manager, but across every Nth Degree touchpoint and every city worldwide where we operate. Gary was strategically placed in some of the most contentious union cities with the belief he could mitigate the situation and make it a viable place for Nth Degree to service their clients. Some of these cities were Boston, Miami, Las Vegas, and Chicago. His presence and ability to effectively work with the unions secured the presence that Nth Degree currently has in each of these cities today. As a testament to Gary’s leadership and his sense of responsibility to the team he leads and the company he works for, he has built a crew of 40+ leadpeople with an average tenure of more than 20 years. Nth Degree Chicago has the deepest labor resources of all our base cities and this is a product of the 30+ years that Gary has spent at the helm of Nth Degree’s Chicago operations. He will sacrifice and work longer and harder if it means that one of his employees is able to be with their family or can attend to a personal commit-

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Exhibit City News Presents the 2019 I&D ACE Awards

Pictured above: Gary Wannemacher, Lynn Dickerson and Al Stuart; Pictured left: Nth Degree VP of Global Operations Steve Daugherty accepted the award on Gary’s behalf.

ment. He works tirelessly to provide each person with enough hours every quarter to retain their health coverage. Gary is simply a great man. His career is a reflection of his character—he is unwaveringly honest, he is steady and reliable, and he is truly selfless. He works hard for his family and for his team and puts everyone else first. Nth Degree would not be the company it is today if this great man hadn’t dedicated his career to our company.”

He received more testimonials from colleagues and clients than we have space for—please go to our website and read all the wonderful things said about him by project manager Dan Pienta (who says Gary not only built a company, he built a family), Chicago assistant city manager Rick Rogala (who says that Gary bleeds the color purple and that he is non-stop—always working day and night, never stopping) and senior account director Maureen Burke (who says “If you walk the show floor with him, he engages with security at the doors, the union stewards, general contractors, our competitors and the Nth Degree leadpeople and project managers with the same respect and courtesy. His presence on the tradeshow floor ignites an energy that is apparent.”)

And Blue Hive’s executive vice president, Jack Hally, says that “Gary is a fantastic labor partner…always welcoming and exceptional in everything he does. His quick wit, attention to detail, and loyalty to his staff have endeared him to the tradeshow industry.

He is a true champion for labor with a tireless commitment to providing an outstanding Chicago experience.”

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The ECN Hall of Fame (Posthumous) ACE: Ken Broadbent, Sho-Link, Inc. Ken was nominated by Sho-Link President Scott Rudel who says, “The easy part is telling you why Ken is so deserving of this recognition, the difficult part is keeping it short. Whether he was mentoring a co-worker, lending a helping hand or listening to someone who needed to confide in somebody, there wasn’t anyone better than Ken at making you feel confident about yourself. Ken had an uncanny ability to convince people they could accomplish what they felt they never could.” Scott adds, “I travel around the country and visit many convention centers, and even though eight years have slipped by without Ken, there is never a shortage of ‘Let me take you back’ (a quote that we all came to endear from Ken) stories about a truly remarkable person.

Ken loved to share, whether it was fish he caught, or knowledge to be passed on. You see, he enjoyed sharing his life experiences and looked forward to teaching others what

he had learned, and he always smiled when he was sharing. I believe that when Ken’s name is announced as a nominee that there will be an overwhelming nod of approval by an overwhelming number of people who knew him and understand why he should be recognized. I couldn’t be prouder to submit this short note and only regret that I didn’t have the luxury of writing a long, long list of reasons, and the fact that this is being presented posthumously.” Testimonials are many and we again invite you to go to our website to read them in their entirety from ShoLink corporate VP Colleen Johnson, Derse’s Tony Andrews, John Fricke and Margaret Boettcher, The Expo Group’s Al Herbold, Larry Kulchawik and Jeff Novotny. As Jeff wrote, “He shared his vast life experiences with me, as I listened in amazement to all he had seen and accomplished, from being a Marine in Vietnam, hiking through Canada and working in a fish

cannery, to subterranean marine salvage.

He had done it all. He was a master carpenter and a man among men.” And as Colleen wrote, “Not a month goes by without someone within Sho-Link mentioning Ken Broadbent to me and sharing the impact he had on their life. He made time to answer questions, to give thoughtful guidance, to let the people around them know he would look after their best interests, and to willingly share his expertise. His eye for spotting talent led to some amazing additions to our organization, many of whom still remain employees. He had an eye for detail, a passion for craftsmanship, and intense loyalty.

Our friend Ken was an honorable man who we could always count on, and it was our privilege to have him name Sho-Link his home for so many years.”

Jean Keefe, Sho-Link’s senior relationship manager, accepted the award on Ken’s behalf.

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Exhibit City News Presents the 2019 I&D ACE Awards

Thank You Exhibit City News would like to extend our gratitude to those who nominated these winners: D’Anna Hurley, Nth Degree; Maddie Ogren, Access TCA; Becca Dewosky, The Trade Group; Rich Carlson and Dave Kennedy, Momentum Management; Jean Keefe, Scott Rudel, Rob West, Joe O’Reilly and Jim Genzano, Sho-Link; Issa Tadros, USW Local 17; Don Brown, Laborinc.ca; and Darlene Cooper, Renaissance Management.

Exhibit City News would also like to thank all those who worked tirelessly to make these awards happen: Lisa Abrams

(production), Clemente Guillen/Clementine Creative Services (event design and videos), Melissa Skipworth/Total Show Tech (sound and lights), Lori Schlichting/Color Reflections (graphics/pop-up booth), James Zacharias/Brumark (carpet), Patrick Hudgin/ Elevation3D (beMatrix panels), Lilly Stetler/Evergreen Silks (flowers), Alison Wainwright/ Las Vegas Store Supply (mannequins), Sasha Wootton/ Horizon Print Solutions (trophies, plaques and programs), Gary Prochorchik/Exposures Ltd. (photographer/timelapse video), Jami Duprey (appearing as Marilyn), Billy Nixon/ Willwork, Inc., and the ECN staff (Don, Jeanne, Christy, Andy and Amadeus) and the Four Seasons staff.

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SHOP TO SHOWFLOOR An In-Depth Look into Today’s World of I&D and Event Labor

The contrast of beautiful blue and white Event Carpet creates an elegant and romantic setting for a private event in Southern California.

Photo courtesy Signature Systems Group

Flooring That’s Not Boring

The Wow Booth

The Power of Custom Flooring for Events & Exhibit Show Floors

Zig Zig Zibits Delivers a Dynamic, Innovative & Vibrant Booth

Pp. 46-48

Pp. 50-52

This section is dedicated to all exhibit house professionals, as well as all exhibit managers and tradeshow coordinators worldwide.

For advertising information and rates, please call our offices at (702) 309-8023 and ask for sales. @ExhibitCityNews

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Custom Printed Textured (CPT) vinyl from The Inside Track produces crisp images on a durable flooring surface

FLOORING THAT’S NOT BORING

by Cynthya Porter

W

hether completing a theme, promoting a company name or creating a brand image, custom flooring has a lot of power as a design tool. But when budgets get cut for events or exhibits, it’s often the first thing axed off the list as an unnecessary luxury for the space, leaving drab, gray showhall carpet or chaotic ballroom prints as the focal point underfoot. But considering that the floor is usually one of the largest surfaces in any space’s design, spurning the opportunity to own it is a decorating blunder that flooring experts say should be reconsidered.

Flooring has come a long way in the past two decades, evolving from inexpensive spun polyester yarn that developed tumbleweeds of fuzz when walked on to custom-printed carpets and vinyl that reproduce high-resolution images with razor-sharp detail. A tradeshow or event manager today has virtually endless choices when it comes to designing the floor, and they can strengthen their overall design exponentially even if the

budget they are working with is just $1 per square foot.

On a competitive tradeshow floor, you need to step up your exhibit’s game if you want to get noticed, and a cohesive design punctuated with coordinated flooring sends a different message about your brand than the venue’s generic carpet does, says Dave Sterne, founder and CEO of The Inside Track, an exhibition flooring and furniture company. While an exhibitor may think of costly custom printed carpet or vinyl when they think of stepping up that game, the reality is that they can do so with just a strategic color choice on the floor.

“Are you high tech? Try using silver or white carpet for a sleek look,” Sterne offers as an example. “Are your products used in a medical environment? Then you’ll want white vinyl. Are you high end?

Maybe your floor should look like marble.” Sterne says that creating designs on the floor out of custom-cut pieces of carpet and/or vinyl is a great trick for creating a high-design aesthetic on a budget.

Even something as simple as a brand-coordinated color of carpet with two layers of 0.5-inch padding will set you apart in an attendee’s mind, Sterne says, because they will walk into the booth with their tired legs and say, “Aaaaahhh.”

For those looking to invest more in a custom floor, Sterne sells a product called Custom Printed Textured (CPT) flooring that can reproduce literally any image onto a durable vinyl that, because it is reverse-printed, will last for several shows.

Need a floor to look like a strawberry patch? No problem. Like ocean waves? A blueprint? A bottomless pit? Whatever a design team can dream of can be rolled out onto the floor using the product, which received a Buyer’s Choice Award at EXHIBITORLIVE! for its innovative qualities.

In the case of custom-printed carpet or vinyl, the goal is to put the floor to work towards a company’s branding or theme. “Hanging signs are great for helping attendees identify exhibits,” Sterne says, “but cool flooring is novel enough that it will draw the eyes right

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Artificial grass and faux slate flooring from The Inside Track add to this outdoor-themed display.

into a display. And on a crowded show floor, that’s half the battle.”

On the event side of the business, Gauro Coen, who heads up the event division for Signature Systems Group in Los Angeles, says he uses custom printed flooring in some applications. But for others, the goal is to have the floor fade from view. “If the floor is wrong, every-

body notices,” he says. “If the floor is perfect, nobody notices it. That’s really how that works.” And in any given ballroom, the chances that the flooring is going to be wrong is probably pushing 100 percent. “If you google ‘ballroom carpet,’” Coen says, “you’ll see that it’s usually a printed carpet designed to have lots of different colors and shapes in it—really to

hide dirt and to try to be less boring. But if you’re hosting an event and bringing in décor, the ballroom floor makes the room look even more confusing. If you put down a single-color carpet like a white, medium gray, black, or red, then your themed décor becomes the centerpiece or the focal point.”

Taking control of the flooring, Coen says, is more or less like taking control of the whole room. “Before we started carpeting ballrooms or doing flooring, event companies used to put flowers four feet above the ground; they’d bring in all these beautiful boxes in an effort to keep the person’s eye off the floor,” he explains. “Once we started carpeting floors, suddenly the events started on the ground—everything got lower.”

Also, planners should not underestimate the importance of the floor when it comes to the photography that will happen inside an event, Coen says. “If the flooring is perfect, it’ll make everybody Continued on p. 48

During the Inaugural ECN ACE AWARDS ceremony, Ken was recognized for his contribution to the industry as an I & D Ace, “Posthumously”

In honor of:

Ken Broadbent 1952-2011

From everyone at Sho-Link, your kindness and inspiration continues to be felt.

847.735.0640 \ info@sho-link.com \ www.sho-link.com

@ExhibitCityNews

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SHOP to SHOWFLOOR I&D and Event Labor

Rainbow custom carpeting for a corporate event in Pittsburgh, Penn.

Signature Systems’ UltimaTurf™ adds flair to the “Houston Huddle” at Superbowl LI in 2017 in Houston, Texas.

look fantastic, it will make the photos look awesome, and then people will show the photos around and create a positive buzz about an event.”

As is the case with a tradeshow, flooring for an event doesn’t need to break the bank. For high-end functions, the company rents a plush product called Event Carpet, and for affairs on a lower budget, they can lay a carpet called UltimaTurf, and event managers can get into those options for between $1 and $3 per square foot.

One kind of carpet that Sterne wouldn’t necessarily recommend for the floor of a tradeshow display is the same kind used in the aisles. “Tradeshow carpeting is produced in a variety of weights, but trying to save money by using a 13-ounce aisle carpet in your exhibit isn’t a good idea as it can come off as cheap,” Sterne explains. “Most exhibit houses recommend a 30-ounce carpet as the minimum weight along with a 0.5-inch, 6-pound pad for channeling the electric and offering underfoot comfort.”

From rubberized flooring to that made of recycled materials, or laminate, wood, a dozen kinds of carpet and just as many varieties of vinyl, there are a lot of choices that can be made with regard to flooring material. An event company or exhibit house would be a good resource for a manager sifting through information looking for options, the men say, and for planners and exhibitors looking for design inspiration to complete their space.

With so many variables, the most important rule of thumb is that people start to look at their flooring as a valuable piece of real estate in the event or exhibit space. It might mean juggling the budget or printing one fewer sign or borrowing from the marketing kitty, which Sterne says he has clients do when they realize that a plain floor is a big marketing opportunity left on the table. The bottom line is that whatever it takes to own that floor space—if done well—will be worth it for the impact it can have, and penny pinching planners who think they can’t afford to do it would be wise to realize that they can’t afford not to.

Photos courtesy of Signature Systems Group

Continued from p. 47

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SHOP to SHOWFLOOR I&D and Event Labor

PROJECT CREDITS

ZIG ZIBIT DELIVERS A DYNAMIC, INNOVATIVE & VIBRANT BOOTH

Client: Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies (Morrisville, N.C.) Show: BIO International Conference 2019, June 3-6, Philadelphia, PA Client team: Andy Fenny, Anitra Johnson, Emily Longstaff, Liza Rivera, Sabrina Borges Production Design: Zig Zibit Exhibit Design: Zig Zibit I&D: Nth Degree Digital Production: Phosworks, Inc. (Stockholm, Sweden) Graphic Design: RDW Creative (Eagles Cliff, U.K.) Fabric Graphics: Moss, Inc AV: NMR Events Photography: Zig Zibit

By Jeanne Brei

W

hen three out of four suppliers tell you that your vision can’t be done, well, sometimes it just makes you more determined. That’s what happened when Zig Zibit approached vendors with their design concepts to fulfill their client’s objectives.

Durham, N.C.-based Zig Zibit has been working with Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies (FDB), which has offices in Morrisville, N.C., Denmark, the U.K. and Texas, for 15 years and they understand how their client is always innovating in their brand and

how they always want to bring something new and unique to the tradeshow floor. FDB is an organization that helps other companies that are in the process of developing their therapeutics to bring to the clinic and subsequently to the market. The client wanted a booth that was vibrant and had a different approach than the standard booth. Liza Rivera, senior director of global marketing at FDB, explains, “Our goal is to be partners for life. We are looking to advance tomorrow’s medicines—that’s our core purpose. We wanted to have something that re-

flected that. When we started working with Zig Zibit and our various partners in developing this booth—that was at the forefront of the thought process—we want something that shows that we’re dynamic, we want something that shows what we do and puts the message out there but at the same time is innovative and is fresh and shows exactly who we are as an organization.”

Zig Zibit’s design gave FDB’s marketing and creative teams the ability to be innovative, which excited them because their company’s culture is to be innovative. But

when Zig Zibit looked for ways to bring the creative vision to life, there were two main technical challenges.

The first was delivering a 20-foot-tall motion projection from 20 feet away onto a 50-foot-wide screen in a fully-illuminated tradeshow floor. The team at NMR Events jumped into the collaborative process and help guide content decisions and ultimately delivered a perfectly tailored technical solution.

When presented with the second challenge, all the suppliers Zig Zibit approached said it had never been done

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it accomplishes absolutely everything that we were looking to do: meeting space, striking, innovative... and only one said it could be done. It was Chicago-area-based Moss, Inc. that jumped at the chance to be innovative. The vision was for vibrant color-changing fabric walls with graphics presenting at variable levels of opacity.

The team at Moss experimented with different fabrics and new production methods while the Zig Zibit team refined the DMX controlled lighting set-up to find a balance that successfully created the desired experience. At final installation, when attendees walked up to the FDB booth, not only were the walls changing color, there were massive videos of people in vibrant silhouettes moving through a sheer screen—creating a very dynamic and impressively unique booth at the BIO International Conference 2019 held in Philadelphia last month.

Rivera says, “If you walk around and see the different elements of this booth: we have clear messaging, we have beautiful spaces that allow us to do what we came to this event to do—which is

partnering, meeting rooms, partnering spaces for our commercial team. We wanted to make sure that we are also true to the mission for this event, which is to partner and have meetings and do business development—this is a most important event for us.

And that was achieved with the design.”

Zig Zibit Marketing Director Clint Allen, Key Account Manager Margie Horner and Estimating/Traveling Supervisor Cliff Sharp described how the collaboration worked to achieve that design.

“Phosworks in Sweden created the video content with live actors doing work in silhouette and RDW Creative, which is located in Eagles Cliff, U.K., did the creative graphics. We collaborated globally and we were making something real that was living in a creative designer’s head that most said had never been done.”

Rivera loved the booth so much that she made a testimonial video that can be seen at https://youtu. be/9Ep9iVIimhI. In it, she

says, “if you walk around the booth, you’ll see that we have panels that are changing colors. Those panels not only look so cool and it stands out,

but it also reflects change in a positive way, it reflects the adoption of innovation—we’re doing things we’ve not done before—and it has vibrancy

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SHOP to SHOWFLOOR I&D and Event Labor

that we use and is one of our core values, genki, which means passion and enthusiasm. I don’t think anything else could reflect the genki, the enthusiasm and the passion that we feel as this booth has done.

She continues, “And then the grand finale is this beautiful wall that opens up to the booth and is absolutely stunning and beautiful with video that again has motion and delivers the message to the people walking in the aisles of what we do in a very innovative and interesting way. This wall was designed with a wave kind of effect to bring in the colors but also to bring in some of the Japanese elements of our

parent company. There’s a very famous Japanese painting from the 1800s called the Great Wave off Kanagawa—and this beautiful wall design is our interpretation of that. We did want to bring a Japanese element to reflect and honor our parent company, Fujifilm in Tokyo.

As you walk the booth and see the different elements of the design, you’ll see it just accomplishes absolutely everything that we were looking to do: meeting space, striking, innovative, stand out, bring our Japanese elements to it...I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I am so pleased and this, if I may say, is probably the best booth in this show.”

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Aluvision is a leading developer and manufacturer of custom modular exhibit systems. The Omni-55 wall frame with holes is by far the most recognizable product line they offer. The company has seen exponential growth in the recent years, since more and more exhibit houses, live event and other experiential environment producers have been convinced by the great quality and precision of their products, in combination with a personal, knowledgeable and highly responsive approach of their team. With the launch of their Certified Aluvision Partner (CAP) program, Aluvision

Omni-55+ • Separate profiles to assemble frames • T ool-free assembly with the QuickFix brackets • 100% compatible with pre-assembled Omni-55 frames • Perfect solution for frames with custom sizes and angles

Hi-LED 55 • Thinnest system integrable LED tile • Flush and seamless integration into the Aluvision frame system • Pixel pitch of 2.5 and 2.8

Hi-LED 55 video wall • 56 straight tiles were used to create this concave videowall • Different wedges are available: 5°, 7.5° and 10° • Wedges are mounted on the sides of the straight tiles to create concave walls

is joining forces with companies that complement their offerings and strive for the same level of perfection when helping clients meet their deadlines and exceed their expectations. The CAP program is divided into two categories: one for AV companies that stock the Aluvision Hi-LED tiles for rent, and another for companies that can produce fabric graphics for Aluvision’s diverse Silicone Edge Graphic solutions. To learn more about the Certified Aluvision Partners, please contact Aluvision at info@aluvision.com or 470-252-3500.

- Aluvision @ InfoComm 2019 InfoComm is the largest, most exciting audiovisual and integrated experience event in the US. The Aluvision booth was once again one of the main eye-catchers on the floor, with the focus on their Hi-LED 55 tile, the thinnest system integrable LED tile on the market.

Hi-LED R1.4’ convex & concave • Match the exact same radius as the Omni-55 R1.4’ curved frame • Back side can be covered with a fabric or a hard panel • Pixel pitch of 2.5

Hi-LED 55 floor • Standard Hi-LED 55 tiles used in raised floor • Adjustable feet allow you adjust the floor height between 4” and 5”

Omni-55 frame • The original, very recognizable Aluvision wall frame with holes • Allows for hard panel and Silicone Edge Graphic infills • Quickest wall frame system to set up

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Dubai INTERNATIONAL

Dubai Preparing for the World’s Fair Stage

by Cynthya Porter

W

ith the 2020 World’s Fair on its horizon, Dubai is seeing a surge of construction, both to its venues and its destination marketing infrastructure, in anticipation of the potential to turn throngs of World’s Fair attendees into future business visitors.

Central in that effort is the creation of the Dubai Exhibition Center (DEC), a facility that will span nearly half a million square feet and serve as the hub of Dubai’s World’s Fair identity, dubbed Expo 2020 Dubai. The center is spread across two campuses and includes a theater, an auditorium, several multi-purpose halls and two dozen meeting rooms.

According to officials, the venue is intended to become a cornerstone of business and tourism in the region, and it aligns with the goals of the United Arab Emirates Vision 2021, which seeks to foster a diversified and sustainable @ExhibitCityNews

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economy to mark the country’s Golden Jubilee celebration.

For six months beginning in October 2020, the facility will exclusively serve Expo 2020 Dubai, but when the fair is finished, leaders say the campus will become a cornerstone of the business economy they expect to see boom in Dubai in the near future. “By any standard, the Dubai Exhibition Center will be a cutting-edge venue that will play a pivotal role during Expo 2020,” says Ahmed Al Khatib, chief delivery officer for Expo 2020. “But the impact of such a unique space will stretch well beyond the six months of the Expo, boosting the region’s meetings and events industry, furthering the UAE’s reputation as a destination for major conferences, and fueling growth in Dubai’s knowledge-based economy for many years to come.”

Dubai Exhibition Center of-

ficials have released a preview video of the venue in advance of its opening on October 20, 2020, the date that the World’s Fair opens. Though the building is still under construction, they’re offering an animated fly-through of the space to offer a glimpse of the state-of-the-art design and technology it will contain.

Representatives from Dubai Business Events, the convention and visitor arm of the city, attended IMEX Frankfurt in May to promote the venue, Expo 2020 Dubai, and the unique offerings of Dubai to the 14,000 meetings, incentive travel and events professionals on hand. Their aim is to position the city among the world’s leading business event hosts.

“Having started the year on a strong note, our participation in IMEX, along with our partners and stakeholders, is a testament to our ambitions to continue to position Dubai as a premier business events destination,” says Al Khatib. “At this year’s event, our focus is on furthering partnerships with stakeholders as well as engaging with business events profession-

FOCUS

als globally, to identify new opportunities for the city. We look forward to showcasing our latest offerings as well as contributing to the larger discourse on the theme of ‘imagination’ which will surely fuel a new level of collaboration and inclusion in the business events industry.”

Shaun Vorster, vice president, strategy and business integration–programming at Expo 2020 Dubai, adds, “There will be no place on the planet offering more exceptional business networking opportunities than Expo 2020 Dubai, and the DEC will be right at its heart.” According to Vorster, some of the 190 countries participating in the upcoming expo have already expressed interest in returning to Dubai for a variety of business functions.

Cynthya Porter is a 70-time award-winning journalist recognized by national and international associations for her journalistic expertise in tradeshow topics, travel writing, photography and news. She has covered the exhibition industry since 2011 and, though she makes her home in the Midwest, she travels the world in search of interesting stories and photographs.

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AIPC

Can a CC Contribute to Member Value of Associations?

BY JULIANNE JAMMERS, SWISSTECH CONVENTION CENTER, LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND

At the heart of the associations value proposition is networking and professional development, and the benefits of these two features are the often the strength of the membership. Meetings have long been the delivery method for these interactions. To some extent, the internet has disrupted the meeting business by providing an alternative method to accessing these features through webinars, open online courses and networking platforms.

Arguably, it has also provided a solution for the environment concerns, cost and hassle of travel. But no matter how good technology is or gets, physical meetings still matter.

So while conferences remain a pillar of the association business, the reality is that they need new and innovative ways to deliver bottom-line value in their meetings—and they have to be more creative than ever before in how they do that.

At the SwissTech Convention Center, we offer that creative approach in acting as a partner to their program development—not just a venue. We collaborate closely with associations to provide an educational environment, develop new contacts and deliver an overall unique member experience.

Unique Value for Associations Many would argue that the role of a convention center is to provide excellence in facility and conference management and ensure that their destination is top of mind for the “after-hour” activities. At the university-based SwissTech CC, on the banks of Lake Geneva, we have developed our USP beyond just these arguably critical elements. We play an active role in providing access to knowledge and talent to associations in relevant fields.

With more than 350 laboratories and research groups on campus, the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne) is one of the world’s most innovative and productive scientific institutions. Dozens of start-ups and multi-nationals on the campus and in the area complement the university environment, and the convention center is an exceptional place to meet and exchange ideas.

On the one hand, we actively identify relevant associations that can benefit from close cooperation with the experts— some of the world’s most respected scientists located on our campus—in the development of their programs.

Complementing this, our active outreach to our professors,

who are members of numerous associations, allows us to help make likely matches with the aim of creating meetings that have unique and lasting value.

Integrating students of all levels from bachelor to doctoral programs into the meetings, both as a resource for delivery but also as participants, provides associations access to their future members. We have helped to create special networking sessions—a kind of “speed-dating”—to encourage and create those serendipitous moments where relationships can form.

Alliances that support convention centers’ strengths can make a difference for associations in their quest to identify appropriate venues that can offer additional value. The SwissTech recently became a member of the Energy Cities Alliance—a select group of destinations with significant energy economies—with the intent to attract energy-related association meetings. While our destination is not considered an energy city, as a knowledge and research partner (thanks to our location on the EPFL campus), we can offer associations access to the expertise in both traditional energy solutions and sustainable energy that is a strong offering on the EPFL campus.

Value for Association Sponsors & Exhibitors Not only do associations have direct access to knowledge and student talent, but this access can be a compelling incentive for association meeting partners and supporters from industry. What better place to hunt for talent than during an event of like-minded folks under a single roof? Industry spends significant time and money in recruiting and associations have an excellent opportunity to position their meetings as a credible platform for complementing this effort.

CCs can play an important role in bringing more value to associations by looking at what they and their community can offer beyond location, rooms and venue. Conventions closely relate to industries and tend to look for venues where those industries are located. The same case can be made for associations. By targeting those associations that match up with local, regional or national economic strengths and creating opportunities to access the knowledge in the economy, convention centers can create a win-win for all of their stakeholders.

In addition to her role as AIPC board member, Julianne Jammers is managing director at the SwissTech CC in Lausanne, Switzerland.

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TRADESHOW/EVENTS PODCAST Clockwise: Mike Morrison with Kevin McLaughlin at 2018 ESCA conference; the ECN staff (Jeanne Brei, Christy DiGiambattista, Don Svehla and F. Andrew Taylor) in Vegas; Morrison in D.C. with Chris Lake, BeMatrix; Dave Flory, CORT; Lynn Reves & Brad Falberg, Exhibitus; Sue McCart, HFI Event Services; Yalonde Tanner, Georgia Municipal Association

The Don & Mike Show’s Latest News GOING OUT ON THE ROAD IN WASHINGTON, D.C. & SANTA FE, N.M.

BY JEANNE BREI

The Don & Mike Show, a podcast featuring interviews with industry colleagues from the tradeshows, event and experiential marketing industries, is going back on the road recording live interviews from Washington, D.C., during Global Exhibitions Day and Santa Fe, N.M., for the ESCA Summer Conference.

Show co-host Mike Morrison attended the two-day event in Washington, D.C., with his fellow constituents from Georgia: Dave Flory from CORT Events, Brad Falberg and Lynn Reves from Exhibitus, Sue McCart from

HFI Event Services, Yolonde Tanner from The Georgia Municipal Association and David McCauley from the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. They held meetings with Georgia’s Senators and congressional legislators to discuss the four main concerns for the exhibitions and events industries: »» Municipal Infrastructure (airports, roads, rail, etc.) »» Renaming of the Visa Waiver Program to the Secure Travel and Partnership Act »» Approval of The Jolt Act »» The act of protecting the program known as Brand USA

At the conclusion of the day’s events, Morrison held an interview with the team recapping the day, which can be heard on the June 7th episode of The Don & Mike Show.

“It was my first time to attend this event and to be honest with you, I was a bit worried and somewhat apprehensive to participate,” Morrison says. “Once we started the meetings, though, I found it to be pretty comfortable in stating the concerns with the staff and members and my entire take on advocacy has changed to be more positive than before ... I think every-

one should participate in Exhibitions Day meetings in Washington if they are able.”

The Don & Mike Show will also be at ESCA’s Summer Educational Conference, June 23-26, in Santa Fe, N.M. Both men will be behind the microphones as they were last year in Carlsbad and are planning on interviewing many of the members and supporters of the service and contractors’ companies and organizations within the tradeshow industry.

Last year, there were many participants in the interviews and this year should be no exception. More interviews will be shared from attendees in upcoming Don & Mike shows.

New Website Features Morrison is still extoling the features of the www.TheDonandMikeShow.net website and says, “The Don and Mike Show website (www.TheDonAndMikeShow.net) has a

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lot of varying features where our listeners can participate. One of those features is a weekly poll related to our industries where answers are given to the audience each Friday during The Don and Mike Show. Also, a form on the landing page allows listeners to submit topics for discussion and make recommendations for future guests or the show.

“There’s also a shopping area for The Don and Mike Show merchandise as well as every previous episode of the shows done since the first show aired on ExhibitCityNews.com July 7, 2017,” Morrison says. “In addition, other related podcasts can be found on the site and much more.”

They celebrate their second anniversary of podcasting the show on July 5 with 118 episodes available on their website. They did two podcasts a week for nearly six months starting in 2019—keeping their original Friday podcasts and adding a Tuesday Don & Mike Show-Extra, and have now surpassed 35,000 listens.

They put the Tuesday shows, which highlighted organizational and association news with interviews from EDPA, ESCA, IAEE, EACA and many more organizations related to tradeshows, events and experiential marketing, on hiatus for the summer.

“Brought to You

by SMT Expo” The podcast is “Brought to You by SMT Expo,” their first sponsor. A division of Glenmore Industries, an OEM manufacturer of a wide variety of home, industrial and auto@ExhibitCityNews

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motive products, SMT Expo is headquartered in Edison, N.J., and has manufacturing facilities and offices in China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the U.K. SMT stands for Smart Modular Technology and is the exclusive provider of the industry’s leading, full floorplan, fabric booth system and the sole manufacturer of this revolutionary tool-free system.

Joe Cascio, SVP sales and marketing at SMT Expo, says, “Just as Don and Mike strive to stay at the cutting edge of the live events industry, SMT Expo is committed to enhanced creativity to improve the overall experience within our industry.”

Morrison adds, “Shooting the Facebook Live videos from the Randy Smith Memorial Golf Classic at EXHIBITORLIVE, as well as from the show floor at EXHIBITORLIVE 2019, and from the ACE Awards presentation truly lets us cover the industry in a way no one else is doing.”

Interviews include these industry people:

»» Dasher Lowe - EDPA »» David Dubois - IAEE »» Mitt Arnaudet and Julie Kagy - ESCA »» Sam Lippman - Lippman Connects »» Tim Searle - DEX Exhibit Systems »» Kraig Shetler - Booth Traffic »» Kelli Liles - Old Dominion »» Dave Sterne – The Inside Track »» Russ Klein American Marketing Association »» Chris Kappes - Exhibitshub.com »» Candy Adams - The Booth Mom »» Glenn Diehl - Genesis Exhibits »» Julie Pazina and Zach Wetterling Edlen Electric »» Reid Sherwood – RSMGC »» Rich Johnson – RSMG

»» Ray Baum - Core Apps »» Steve Golden - CORT Events »» James Zacharias – Brumark »» Steven Hacker - SMT EXPO »» Tom Clark - Game Buzz »» Vince Battaglia TheTradeShowCalender.com

»» and many more!

THE LATEST DON & MIKE SHOWS The Don and Mike Show: ExhibitionsDay 2019 Wrap Up and Reid Sherwood from the RSMGC Board of Directors

The Don and Mike Show: Candy Adams, The Booth Mom on Bait and Switch Problems and Too Many Passwords in Show Kits!

The Don and Mike Show: Tim Searle, DEX Exhibit Systems and Association News The Don and Mike Show: LED Wall Crashes at Mandalay Bay and Association News The Don and Mike Show: Kraig Shetler from Booth Traffic talks Experiential Marketing Summit The LAST Don and Mike Show EXTRA ... Association News and More The Don and Mike Show: Dasher Lowe from EDPA and Kelli Liles from Old Dominion The Don and Mike Show: Julie Pazina and Zach Wetterling from Edlen Electric along with more industry news!

The Don and Mike Show EXTRA: Uber/Lyft Strike Tomorrow, AirBNB and TURO review, Exhibitions Day and Association News The Don and Mike Show: Don and Mike Jingles Buried, Glenn Diehl from Genesis Exhibits New York City

The Don and Mike Show EXTRA: IAEE, EDPA, EACA, ESCA and more Association News, Headlines and More!

The Don and Mike Show: Sam Lippman from Lippman Connects and Texting on the Job The Don and Mike Show EXTRA: The Don and Mike Show: Apple sued over AI claim, more Boeing 737 Max news and Association updates The Don and Mike Show: Dave Sterne with “Good Booth Gone Bad!” The Don and Mike Show: Founder of Exhibitshub.com Chris Kappes interview while Mike is in Miami and Don is in Argentina!

The Don and Mike Show: Russ Klein, CEO American Marketing Association on Experience Design Branding The Don and Mike Show EXTRA: News, Association Updates and Spring Break!

ExhibitCityNews.com July/August 2019 59

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CONVENTION CENTER SPOTLIGHT

EAT

by Jeanne Brei

T

he 2.1 million-square-foot Music City Center in Nashville opened in 2013 so the city could host large, city-wide conventions in the downtown area and was officially LEED Gold certified in 2014. It replaced the Nashville Convention Center that had been built in 1987 on Broadway and Fifth. The new building was designed by Atlanta-based TVS Design, Nashville-based Tuck Hinton Architects, and Moody-Nolan Architects, and a joint venture, Bell/Clark, headed up the construction management. It was developed by Nashville Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency and was built at a cost of about $623 million.

The official groundbreaking for the center was held in March 2010, and more than 200,000 cubic yards of rock and soil were excavated. The 16-acre site took 24 weeks to excavate. Soon after, the six red cranes were erected, the tallest of which reached 200 feet.

The concrete team placed 110,000 cubic yards of structural concrete and 13,500 tons of rebar. Over 100,000 man hours were spent deciding where each piece of steel would go and 14,000 tons of structural steel was eventually placed. The project took three years to complete and more than 7,300 people worked on the project during that time.

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More than 15,000 people toured the building during its two-day grand opening celebration in May 2013 and activities included live music, great food, and a zip line through the exhibit hall. Since then, the building has been filled with events such as CMA Fest’s Fan Fair X and the Music City Sports Festival. About one third of the staff journeyed from the old building to the new construction.

In its first five years, the Music City Center hosted 1,500 events, bringing 2.8 million people to Nashville and generating over $1.5 billion dollars in direct economic impact. This equates to about $950,000 of direct economic impact generated every single day.

The Convention Center Authority’s reserves currently top more than $100 million and have ballooned far greater than projected since the center opened in 2013, creating a sizable surplus.

In 2017, the authority spent $19.9 million to expand the center with a new concourse space, enclosure of a ballroom terrace and construction of a food and beverage outlet. The Music City Center is seeking a new master plan this year as part of a potential expansion at new sites in order to add more convention space to Nashville. $750,000 was set aside to get a master plan developed.

SLEEP Downtown Nashville has nearly 2,500 hotels and 363 of those are vintage hotels that maintain the feel and look of another era. Both the Union Station Hotel (built in 1900) and the Hermitage Hotel (built in 1910) are magnificent opportunities to “time-travel” back to an era of architectural beauty and elegant grandeur. If you prefer a more modern feel, check out the Bode Nashville; other hotels around 100 yards from the MCC include the Omni Nashville Hotel, Hampton Inn & Suites Nashville Downtown, Holiday Inn Express Nashville Downtown and Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown.

PLAY Bridgestone Arena (where the Nashville Predators hockey team plays), the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and Walk of Fame Park are all just across the street. Just down the street is the Ryman Auditorium (built in 1892 and home to the Grand Old Opry radio show from 194374), and a short walk takes you to the Johnny Cash Museum, George Jones Museum, Schermerhorn Symphony Center and Riverfront Park. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Federal Building and Customs House is close by too.

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Rendering courtesy of tvsdesign / Design Las Vegas via Las Vegas News Bureau

Music City Center

Steps from the MCC, there’s Pancho & Lefty’s Cantina for taco lovers, Pete & Terry’s Tavern for sports and beer lovers and Chef-owner Trey Cioccia’s The Farm House for those who love local food from family-owned businesses using from-scratch ingredients, featuring Southern classics like rabbit sausage benedict with fried egg and fried green tomato. For those on expense accounts, we recommend Bourbon Steak

by Michael Mina inside the JW Marriott, which has 360-degree views of the Nashville skyline, or Oak Steakhouse, by the Westin. Italian-lovers will love Trattoria Il Mulino’s Business Express Lunch special—$20 for two courses with complimentary valet parking.

Installing and Dismantling Exhibits Throughout California

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www.onsiteexhibitorservice.com | 707 258 8980

MEET IN A PLACE WHERE YOU MATTER. COBO CENTER | CENTERED AROUND YOU Welcome to a place where you can be part of something. Where a city and center are humming with energy. A place where you can actually feel good about a meeting. Where people go out of their way for you because that’s what we do. Because here, you matter.

What matters to you? Value? Service? Sustainability? A positive voice guiding you, every step of the way? We get it. We have reinvented this city and center for you.

COBOCENTER.COM 313.877.8214 DOWNTOWN DETROIT

@ExhibitCityNews

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LISA HENNESSY

COBO CENTER EVENT MANAGER

What a pleasure it was to work with Lisa on our convention. She went above and beyond to make sure everything went smooth and all our needs were meant.

Nothing was impossible.

SHERRY DULEY | SEIU DIRECTOR, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

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L-R: Mike Carvalho, Las Vegas Expo; Blaize Wheaton, Brumark Total Flooring Solutions; and Dalene Threeton, RoxMedia Group

ASSOCIATION NEWS

EDPA Las Vegas Hosts 17th Annual Education Scholarship Golf Classic

by Rebecca Thompson

T

he EDPA Las Vegas chapter and the EDPA Foundation held their 17th Annual Las Vegas Education Scholarship Golf Classic on June 6 at Bear’s Best Golf Club. More than 140 industry professionals attended the awards luncheon along with 95 golfers, marking another record-breaking year for both attendance and funds generated. Education scholarships were awarded to Arlene Rivera

and Kaitlin Kozich, both children of Czarnowski Las Vegas employees. National recipients will be named next month.

First place with a score of 52 was the team from Design Factory: Trey Harvey, Adam Williams, Lance Crosbey & Jon Scolari. Second place with a score of 53 was the team from Elevation3D: Patrick Hudgin, Brandon Sipe, Kurtis Kestler and Doug Sipe. Closest to the pin winners were Jeff Castillo A Czarnowski foursome with Paul Francis, John Palakovich, Kenny Wolcott and Dom Calomino

CONCERTS CONVENTIONS DINING ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT SHOPPING SPORTING EVENTS and Sophia Higuera, and the longest drive winners were Jon Scolari and Lauren Lescenski.

2019 Golf Tournament sponsors included Las Vegas Expo (Platinum); Color Reflections (Gold); Xpert Tradeshow Carpet, beMatrix & Quest Events (Silver); MC2, Willwork & D.E. McNabb (Bronze); Flooring Exhibits (Sunscreen); Brumark (Golf Cart/Grantor); Optima (Golf Clinic); DS&L & Mike Boone (Opportunity Prize); Nth Degree, CDS, EEI Global

Las Vegas, Derse, stevensE3 & Exhibit Force/EDPAF Scholarship (Flags); TLS Productions (Bloody Mary Bar); Hill & Partners & Classic Exhibits (Breakfast); Elevation3D, MatrixSystems USA, CORT Tradeshow, and NuVision Technologies Inc. (Exclusive Holes); Design Factory/Network (Tee 2); Marquis (Goodie Bags); AFR (Putting Green/ Driving Range); OnLocation (Cooling Towels), Exposures (Photo) and TWI (Tee 4).

Photos by Exposures Photography

ROSEMONT’S IMPACT FIELD

A Color Reflections foursome with Chris Fuentes, T.J. Dietz, Xavier Kimbrough and Larry Meyer

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Together we have provided nearly 100 scholarships.

Together we have helped support the future.

Since it’s inception in 2001 the EDPA Foundation has been supported by 51 Founding Grantors and Grantor companies, individuals, and charitable events.

Our policy that 95% of money raised going to recipients and causes allows you to be sure that your donation will enable us to continue to make a difference together.

We can’t stop now.

Join us on the ‘Road to One Million’ To make a company or individual donation, please contact either Amanda Helgemoe at ahelgemoe@nuvistaonline.com or Rob Cohen at rcohen@dslgroup.com

Together we have helped more than 150 industry families in need.

Together, We Are Making a Difference.

Be Part of the Story.

Visit www.edpa.com/edpafoundation to see how.

Now You Can Donate Online At www.edpa.com/edpafoundation

@ExhibitCityNews

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

Golfers tee off at first annual SoCal Randy Smith Memorial Golf Classic

EDPA SoCal Hosts a Two-Day Industry Experience

»» Robert Laarhoven, beMatrix USA »» John Kerrigan, Super Color Digital »» Antonia Nuzzolo, Eagle Management

Other winners included Jonathan Paul and Scott Sokol, Coastal International, for Closest to the Pin; Scott Rea, Exhibitree, and Antonia Nuzzolo, Eagle Management, for Longest Drive; and Grady Funk, Skyline Orange County, for Longest Putt.

Jim Wurm, RSMGC organizer and executive director of the Exhibitor Appointed Contractor Association (EACA), said, “This first year event was inspired by Jim Genzano of Sho-Link, who reached out to say that there are many supporters of the RSMGC mission that can’t make it to other Randy events, especially the big one in Atlanta, but would like to support the cause. Great thanks goes out to Jim, Vince Battaglia with the SoCal EDPA chapter, and all those who helped make this event possible. Our industry has many colleagues who are struggling, and we are proud to be able to offer them financial and emotional support in their time of need.”

2nd Place Team »» Jose Lopez, AFR Furniture Rental »» David King, Willwork »» Jonathan Paul »» Mr. Lawrence

Connecting through Experience The camaraderie inspired by the RSMGC was a fitting segue to Tuesday’s EDPA SoCal chapter meeting, which featured speakers Dasher Lowe, EDPA exec-

By H. K. Wilson

O

n April 29 and 30, the Experiential Designers and Producers Association (EDPA), SoCal chapter, co-hosted the First Annual SoCal Randy Smith Memorial Golf Classic (RSMGC) in conjunction with its chapter meeting in Irvine, Calif. The tournament was originally instituted in 1995 after the tragic death of a beloved industry colleague, Randy Smith, in an auto accident. More than 50 industry professionals, including golfers, sponsors and volunteers, came from as far away as Florida to participate in the RSMGC, an initiative that has raised more than $1.5 million and assisted more than 200 industry families in need over the past 25 years.

Randy’s son, Austin Smith, was present at the April event. He said, “This means a lot to my family. My dad was passionate about helping other people, and he would have been very impressed to see his legacy carried on through helping other people. I hope to see this become an annual

event here on the West Coast.”

The tournament took place at Strawberry Farms Golf Club in Irvine. Nestled among the picturesque canyons and wetlands of Orange County, golfers were expecting sunny California skies, but the morning began at 8 a.m. with a light drizzle that turned to full rain by midmorning. Undaunted, the participants played through all 18 holes and reconvened in the afternoon for lunch, prizes and fellowship in the clubhouse.

1st Place Team

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utive director, and Eddie Newquist, GES creative executive, who discussed ways creative professionals can turn experiential design into new profit centers.

Lowe focused on EDPA’s mission of promoting connection and collaboration in the industry with an eye to helping design professionals deliver an elevated product to clients. “Our job is no longer about selling, it’s about how to connect a client’s brand with an experience,” he said. “Consumers want deeper relationships with brands, and they want to connect in more personal ways.”

By linking the word “experiential” with concepts like holistic, real-time, memorable and non-traditional, Lowe demonstrated that there are no limits on what designers can imagine and create with clients. He presented a series of case studies that illustrated ways in which brands have successfully connected with consumers through experience. Among them, the SC John-

son Museum of Feelings, a temporary exhibit set up in 2015 just two blocks from the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, that allowed people to experience the company’s Glade candles in a whole new way. Visitors entered a fully immersive sensory exhibition with rooms themed to scent-induced emotions like “Optimistic,” “Joyful” and “Calm.”

A video of the event, available on YouTube, poses the question, “Can a $4 candle inspire people’s feelings?” The answer is yes, since visitors waited in line for more than four hours to enter, millions shared their experiences on social media, and the museum earned nearly one billion media impressions. See the video at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=t6_TllTf7-A. Lowe ended with Maya Angelou’s famous quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget

how you made them feel.”

“Creating a memorable experience fits every area of the marketing funnel, including awareness, interest, desire and action,” he said. “We need to understand what problem a business is trying to solve, and become indispensable partners in helping them connect with consumers.”

Newquist is a globally recognized creator in the film, entertainment and exhibitor industries, and his clients are among the world’s most innovative companies, including Disney and Universal. He urged designers to perfect the art storytelling. “Become a better storyteller.

What we’re trying to do is help brands tell a story, and the best companies can tell their story in under a minute.”

According to Newquist, there are two books that are required reading for creative professionals who want to hone their storytelling skills: The Experience Economy, by James H. Gilmore and B.

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

Eddie Newquist speaks on experiential design and becoming better story tellers at EDPA SoCal chapter meeting

Joseph Pine; and The Hero With a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell.

Newquist outlined a number of elements that will help creatives tell a client’s story effectively: Tell One Story at a Time »» Build buzz with a shareable experience »» Don’t sell — tell a story »» Don’t exhibit — celebrate »» Don’t display — engage His advice for a successful client pitch? “Start with a blank piece of paper, and follow the idea from beginning to end.

Think about what that partner will be doing in six months or a year. Think forward rather than waiting for them to release an RFP. Get ahead of it, and give them ideas.”

He also urged professionals to be transparent about the numbers. “Understand your

client’s budget to make sure you can deliver on the idea.

Then, be specific about dollars, dates and deliverables.”

Newquist’s bottom line: “Be extraordinary!”

EDPA SoCal President and owner of The Tradeshow Calendar, Vince Battaglia, summed up the impact of the two-day experience: “Our goal is to build a vibrant and engaged association for tradeshow professionals in Southern California, and we were thrilled with the success of both the Randy Smith Golf Classic in SoCal and our meeting on experiential design. Many of our attendees made a point of telling us that our speakers were exceptional, and the content of the meeting was extremely valuable to their businesses.

The experiential design meeting will continue to be an annual event among our quarterly educational offerings.”

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40 40 UNDER

Submissions Open August 1

Go To www.ExhibitCityNews.com/40Under40

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ASSOCIATION AWARDS

Amanda Helgemoe Wins EDPA’S 2018 Hazel Hays Award

by Pat Friedlander and dismantle labor industry, as we know it, is distinctly American.

Entering this highly competitive field, Helgemoe was motivated to create a new type of company, a woman-owned business that would be a launch pad for new opportunities, opportunities directly resulting from the inefficiencies she observed.

Tradeshow exhibiting can be a company’s highest single-cost line item in their marketing budget, and exhibit marketers must prove the value of every dollar spent.

“When a significant chunk of exhibiting costs is eaten up by material handling, budgeting is almost impossible, since the rates aren’t published when the contract to exhibit is signed,” she explains.

“And if the rates increase, the exhibitor is certainly not guaranteed more marketing value. For those reasons, exhibitors might reduce the size of booth space or decline to attend the show altogether.

And when exhibitors reduce their participation, attendees have less reason to attend the show, sending everything into a downward spiral.”

Tirelessly supporting exhibitor appointed contractors and exhibitors, Helgemoe remains on the forefront of the fight for transparency on the labor

L-R: EDPA President Emeritus Gwen Hill, Amanda Helgemoe, former EDPA Executive Director Jeff Provost

side of tradeshows. Her ongoing advocacy for transparency is a critical component of her company’s brand promise.

For years, she has worked with other industry leaders to collect independent research on material handling rates and how exclusive vs. non-exclusive services show up on the exhibitor’s final invoice.

She continues to challenge the status quo through speaking engagements at Industry meetings—HCEA, Exhibitor and EDPA ACCESS—and is committed to improving the existing tradeshow and event industry model.

Helgemoe is on the board of EDPA and serves as the events chair for the EDPA Foundation, running the silent auction at the EDPA ACCESS Gala. She served on the board of the now-defunct E2MA, where she was awarded the E2MA Intrepid Award for her work on the development of the Exhibit Industry Council, a nonprofit member association designed to define and advocate exhibitor-focused best practices.

Her presentation, “The Myth of Union Busting,” in which

she explains the intricacies of tradeshow labor, is a CTSM course at EXHIBITORLive.

“Tradeshow managers are often confused about the roles unions play in show floor labor,” she says. “Our session provides insight from three different perspectives: EAC, exhibitor and a union rep.

This is all in the interest of helping exhibitors manage their budgets.”

Within the past year, Helgemoe helped form the Advocacy Group, an ad hoc group whose members include corporate exhibitors, exhibitor appointed contractors, unions and general service contractors. The mission of the Advocacy Group is to ensure the successful future of face-to-face business events and promote transparent and reputable business practices, consistent standards and new business models.

Amanda holds a BA in Marketing from Michigan State. “I never thought that my marketing degree would lead me to where I am today,” she says. “But I am extremely honored by the recognition from EDPA.”

Photo by PADGETT & Co.

A

manda Helgemoe, recipient of EDPA’s 2018 Hazel Hays award, is a pioneer twice over.

First, she launched a women-owned business, Nuvista, in the competitive I&D market, and secondly because the mission of her company was not simply excellent service, but also transparency within the labor segment. Either one of these achievements would have earned her a place in EDPA’s hierarchy of contributors to the industry, but both set her apart.

Helgemoe is the owner of Nuvista Event Management Services and serves as its CEO. She came to the tradeshow and event industry in 1996 as the director of sales at Nth Degree from ’96-’97. From ’97’99 she was vice president of sales and marketing at Eagle Management Group. During her tenure at Nth Degree and Eagle Management Group both companies experienced tremendous financial growth and consistently exceeded sales projections.

When she decided to build her own company in 2000, she understood that installation and dismantle is an important supplier segment in the face-to-face industry.

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EVENTS/VENUES

D.E. McNabb’s Milford staff came to help open the Las Vegas office, L-R: Tom Chester, LV foreman; Jake Simmons, account manager; Betsy Call, tradeshow operations; Jeremy Drenchen, director of show coordination; Zach Rossetter, LV account manager; Matt Kress, director of operations; Aaron Smith, director of tradeshow; John Mitter, controller; and David Sims, LV warehouse manager

D.E. McNabb Flooring Opens Las Vegas Office

By F. Andrew Taylor D.E. McNabb Flooring welcomed visitors to its new Las Vegas office at 6283 S. Valley View on May 15. Industry professionals were invited to check out the new west coast expansion for the 68-year-old company. Barbeque and beverages were provided along with the opportunity to play games, including cornhole and golf, with visitors and staff trying their hands at a seemingly impossible 100-foot putt. The task proved to actually be possible for a few.

The staff looks forward to serving the events industry in Las Vegas and the west coast and exploring their new town.

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CORPORATE PROFILE

CEP Built on Solid Midwestern Ideals

BY F. ANDREW TAYLOR

“We are one of the best companies in the industry,” says Mike Ebert, president of CEP. “I’m biased, but we really are. We have a rock-solid reputation for adapting to all industry scenarios, demanding quality and being very client centric.”

Despite the pride he has in the company, he has a deep respect for his peers in the industry and recognizes that it is a golden age for exhibition and exhibit companies.

When the industry faced hard financial times a few years back, several entities had to shut their doors for good.

Ebert contends that those that remained were flexible enough to reformulate products and services to meet the new industry tapestry.

“Everybody needs to be able

to do design very well, and that is one of our strongest assets,” Ebert says. “Everybody ought to be able to build things really well, and we do…our carpenters are some of the best in the world.

So, what defines success and how do you remain in the industry? Stay true to your unique position, visualize your brand, constantly strengthen client communication by listening and responding with solutions, and finally, building a strong company culture.”

He maintains that there is an ineffable quality apparent among CEP’s staff that outsiders recognize when they see the team in action or visit the

offices. He says it’s something you can just feel; you don’t even have to talk to anyone to be aware that something wonderful is happening. He touts the fact that the CEP staff is totally focused, Mike knowledgeable Ebert and always project prepared.

“Five years ago, we set out to develop the best Standard Operating Procedures in the industry, which provide our internal teams with a consistent roadmap that can be followed in the dark,” explains Ebert. “And like any roadmap, there must be flexibility built in; our team knows that at times they might need to take a detour to get the job accomplished.”

“Maybe it’s because we’ve got a good mix of people who have been in the industry a long time along with some new people in the mixture,” Ebert says, “It’s like you have that great championship team where everyone gels. From every level, employees share a passion for servicing clients from all business categories…it is a shared vision based on pride. That’s where we’re at now, and it’s an enviable position.”

The company has been around since 1985, when it was founded as Chicago Exhibit Productions. It was built on “solid Midwestern ideals and a belief system that held high the concepts of relationships, accountability, value creation and family,” the company profile states.

Those principles are still an

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asset CEP’s staff and management are proud of, along with steady growth, an extraordinary rate of employee retention, an impressive client list in a diverse array of important industries, a nationwide presence and a global footprint.

Ebert came to the company seven years ago when Werner Koos, owner and CEO of CEP, felt the company needed some changes. Ebert quickly ascertained that there was room for improvement in communicating with and appreciating employees, collaboration across all departments, inspiring new ideas and self-awareness, focus on staff development and strengthening long range planning.

“The company had always set new goals and met them, but there came a time when our goals needed to be more aggressive to bolster the company’s financial position and industry leadership,” explains Ebert. “Werner said it was time for fresh ideas, organizational restructuring, new solutions and hands on leadership. He led the company exceptionally well for 28+ years, but realized that, change is inevitable, and that time was here. He recognized and appreciated my successful business management experience and I was recruited from Michigan. The one thing that stood out in my mind during our initial phone conversations were the questions Werner would ask were about my family. How were they?

How would it affect them?

How can we make it easier for them during the transition?

When a man cares so much for an employee’s family, you will do whatever it takes to carry the torch. After so many years of guiding the company, ‘letting loose’ for Werner was a process @ExhibitCityNews

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he embraced from day one. He trusts his senior management to make the correct decisions… he trusts us as leaders.”

“When Werner hired me, I presented a long-term business plan and vision,” Ebert continues. “I’m proud to say we’re on track and in great shape. I’m very happy, with where we’re at as a company right now, but there is a lot more to accomplish. Our drive for improvement is never-ending.”

Over the years the company has expanded its operations in Orlando and Las Vegas by establishing full-service operations to meet coast-to-coast business demands. CEP LaborSource, their field services division which completes their integrated concept-to-installation offerings, has also been steadily expanding annually. Additionally, CEP’s international sector has grown dramatically. By offering one source, one point of contact for turnkey exhibition services, CEP currently has extensive business in more than 50 countries. The international division, led by Allison Trost, has created a strong foothold in international business through integrated procedures and great relationships in the international community. Global sales have tripled under Trost. Ebert sees expanded international business as a very strategic part of CEP’s overall plan and a major contributor to incremental sales for the company and adds, “Allison is an exceptional talent with an amazing connection to details, she will be a great leader for CEP well into the future.”

Ebert takes a special interest in all CEP employees, both personally and professionally.

He fosters a healthy work/life balance that employees appreciate. He professes that a content

and motivated employee has a much greater penchant of making significant contributions to the company. To display his dedication to employee esprit de corps, Ebert has instituted many internal employee programs including individual anniversary recognitions, employee appreciation days, seasonal parties and fun activities

outside of work. He feels this type of support and recognition is a major contributor to team strengthening and success.

“It’s a magical thing that’s going on right now,” Ebert says. “I’m proud of CEP’s success, and especially proud of the people that wear the CEP brand so proudly. Stay tuned, there is a lot more to come.”

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IN MEMORIAM

Ron Malliet

September 1, 1938 -May 13, 2019

E

DPA past president (’95) and board member Ron Malliet passed away May 13 at the age of 80 after a courageous battle with cancer. For 50 years, Ron was a tradeshow exhibit designer and producer as owner and president of KMK Industries, based in Wisconsin.

He made significant contributions to the tradeshow industry as a long-time board member of EDPA, serving as its president in 1995, and, in 2000, he was awarded the association’s prestigious Hazel Hays Award. Exhibit Systems, a premier exhibit and display company offering onestop service for tradeshows and events, acquired all assets of KMK Industries, a Milwaukee-based firm known for designing and manufacturing quality tradeshow exhibits, last December.

Born in DeKalb, Ill., Ron was a longtime resident of Cedarburg, Wisc., and was an active member of his community, serving many years as a Cedarburg Lions Club member. He devoted countless hours to his faith community at St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church and School and served as school board chairman for two terms. Ron was passionate about art and spent many years collecting with his wife. He served as a volunteer with the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Ozaukee Art Center and the Cedarburg Art Museum. He also loved to read, travel and vacation with Patti and Christina.

Tradeshow industry veterans including Coastal International’s Michael Boone wrote, “What a fine man Ron was; about

Exhibit Systems’ President/CEO Richard Magliocco, KMK Industries’ President Ron Malliet and Exhibit Systems’ Exec. VP/Partner David Jentz

the time I met him in 1992, he was perhaps in his presidency or close to it. Later he was a good client, and better friend for 25-plus years. Hugs to Patti! and his family! May he rest in peace now. Planning out the next meeting for us,” and Julie Pfeiffer wrote, “Ron Malliet, my mentor. He taught me all I know about the exciting, fun, exhilarating, nerve-wracking and infuriating tradeshow business. A true icon. He will be missed. Rest in peace, Ron.” David A Jentz, executive vice president of Exhibit Systems wrote, “I met Ron a few years ago as we were starting the Exhibit Systems acquisition of

KMK Industries. As I started working more closely with Ron and some of his clients, he always impressed me with his professionalism and knowledge. At one point when on site during a show set-up, we were casually having a discussion about the client we were working with. I asked him how long he had been working with them, and Ron answered 55 years. I thought wow—55 years! I said I was still in grade school then. He just smiled like it was no big deal.”

He is survived by his beloved wife Patti, who he married in September 1986; daughters Christina (James) Vandagriff and Danielle Malliet; brother Robert (Peg) Malliet; sisters Karen (Arnot) Heron and Marilyn (Gene) Flasch; sister-in-law Lee Malliet; and other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence and Sylvia (Myllymaki) Malliet, his brother Vernon Malliet, and his first wife Marlene, the mother of Danielle.

A memorial Mass was held at St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church (North) in Cedarburg, Wisc., on May 28. The family would like to thank Ron’s recent caregivers and Lasata Care Center for their compassion during his brief stay.

If you would like to express condolences or share a memory, visit his online guestbook at http://m.muellerfuneralhome.com/ obituaries/wall? obituaryId= 4403803

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Patsy Garrity

Pictured L-R: Patsy and Hank Garrity, Patsy with her friend Tiffany Dahlen and Patsy with her VW bug

Jan. 31, 1938-May 29, 2019

P

atricia (Patsy) Garrity, a long-time tradeshow industry veteran, passed away May 29.

She was born on January 31, 1938, in Meridian, Mississippi, and was raised by her mom, Eloise Bodeker, and her uncles, Raymond and Richard Clay.

A true Southern debutante, Patsy graduated from Meridian High School and married Karl Stingily and had two children, Karl Jr., and Michael. She later married Henry (Hank) Garrity in 1962 and had two more children, Shawn and Bonnie.

Hank was in the Air Force and they lived in Orlando and Puerto Rico before he retired and moved the family back to his home state of Massachusetts in 1972.

While in Worcester, Mass., Hank served another 17 years working in corrections for the State of Massachusetts while Patsy worked in the restaurant hospitality business prior to their move to Las Vegas.

“My mother and father moved to Las Vegas to ‘retire’ in 1987 and ended up building a whole other career working with the family starting and growing a series of tradeshow companies ultimately

culminating with the successful launch of MC2” says her son, Michael Garrity, a former division president of MC2 and past president/CEO of Sho-Air International.

Daugher Bonnie Garrity adds, “They loved their family, their employees and one another until their last days. Many of their fondest memories and best friendships were formed on the show floors in Las Vegas and around the country.”

Patsy had a very distinguished and fulfilling tradeshow career running show services for several leading tradeshow companies including Heritage Communications, Lincoln Studios and finally MC2 where she retired.

According to her son, Shawn Garrity, Circle TPR CEO, “Her passions included her family, her show floor memories and all things New England sports. She will be remembered as a loving mother, passionate friend and ultimate social butterfly.”

Michael Boone, director of international business at Coastal International Exhibit Services, wrote, “Patsy always reminded me of my own feisty grandmother...a favorite of mine. Meeting her and Hank in 1992 at the old Heritage

offices is always a fond memory for me.

Seems we have lost one more great lady on this side, as she has moved to a better place now. Free to visit with old friends, already there waiting for her ... Rest in peace now.”

Another friend, Carol Clarke, wrote, “You were such a smart Southern gal whose wings took you far beyond the south and into a land of family, work and friendships. You had a full life Patsy and it was such a joy to know you dear friend.

I’ll remember you always and with great fondness. Rest in peace.”

She is survived by her four children, Karl Stingily Jr., Michael, Shawn and Bonnie Garrity, two daughters-in-law, 11 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and many loving friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Hank, who passed away July 5, 2009.

Funeral services were held June 6, at Palm Boulder Highway Mortuary, 800 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson, NV 89015. To leave a memory or message in her online guestbook, visit https://www. dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/henderson-nv/patsy-garrity-8727831.

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

People on the Move Emerald Expositions Events, Inc. has appointed Sally Shankland (right) as president and CEO of Emerald.

Shankland will assume her new role on June 1 and will remain a member of the company’s board of directors. Phil Evans, Emerald’s interim president and CEO, will continue to serve as the company’s CFO. Shankland brings more than 35 years of experience including a tenure of more than 20 years with UBM, now part of Informa plc, a U.K.-based multinational events, academic publishing and business intelligence business. Her most recent position at UBM was CEO of the Americas, delivering events and marketing services in the technology, fashion, licensing, advanced manufacturing, construction, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Shankland is currently a principal and founder of Astra Terra, a strategic advisory and consulting firm.

In 2018, she served as interim executive at Healthline.com, the fastest growing health information site globally.

Corcoran Expositions, one of the country’s largest independent tradeshow organizers, has hired Laura Dann and Celeste Fuchs as new exhibit managers. Dann joins Corcoran Exhibitions from the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) where she has served as their meetings and exhibits coordinator since 2013. She will be working with the ASCD and the National League of Cities as their exhibit manager. Fuchs joins from the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM), where she served for 12 years in several roles and most recently as their membership manager. She will be working with the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, ASTRA and the Illinois Library Association as their exhibit manager.

by Exhibit City News

Corcoran also hired Sean Fitzgerald and Scott Brewster as sales associates marketing exhibit space. Fitzgerald joins Corcoran Exhibitions from Computers Nationwide, where he was a sales representative and technology consultant. He is a recent graduate of Indiana University with a degree in Communication and Media Studies. Brewster joins from the American Academy of Implant Dentistry where he served as director of meetings, corporate relations and sponsorships.

Corcoran also promoted Jennifer Kattalia, Gavin McAuliffe and Kyle Corcoran to exhibit managers. Kattalia is now the exhibit manager for the Association of Supply Chain Management and the Association of College & Research Libraries. McAuliffe is now the exhibit manager for the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Materials Science & Technology and the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. As exhibit manager, Corcoran will manage the WQA (Water Quality Association) Convention and Exhibition. He had been directly involved with a number of special projects in the areas of sales, systems implementation and finance.

Carly DiVito (left) was promoted to Corcoran’s group account director. As group account director DiVito will provide tradeshow oversight and strategic planning to the portfolio of shows managed by her team of exhibit managers.

MC², an award-winning brand experience solutions agency, announces the hiring of Philip Schlitz as corporate vice president, strategic business development. He will join the company’s leadership team, reporting to CEO Rich McAdam. In this newly created

role, Schlitz will form a strategic business development team whose focus will be to identify and secure new growth opportunities. As part of this initiative, he will develop and deploy a client acquisition framework designed to produce sustainable growth along with customer success.

Most recently, he was a top contributor on Freeman’s newly established Strategic Business Development team and was originally a founding member of FreemanXP’s sales team at the start of the agency.

They also named Ben Nazario (left) as MC² division president, California. He will join the company’s leadership team, reporting to CEO Rich McAdam. A 29-year industry veteran, he brings a wealth of leadership experience to his new role.

Most recently, he was chief sales officer at Sparks. Prior to that, Nazario served as vice president, national accounts at MC².

“I am delighted to welcome Ben back to MC²,” says McAdam. “Ben has a long history of success in the industry—and at our company. I look forward to his proven leadership to help drive new and continued growth opportunities for the west coast.”

Momentum Management has added Courtney Foley (left) as a new account manager to support its West Coast region. She has worked as an operations and finance director for a private real estate investment fund based in Atlanta. Momentum also welcomed Nina Sins to their growing account coordinating team. Sins worked for years with News America Corporation in their free-standing-insert/printing division. In recent years, she worked for an international wellness company as an online customer service representative, leader/ coach and mentor.

Mirror Show Management, based in Rochester, N.Y., has hired three new em-

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

ployees: Senior Account Executive Sarah Markey, Account Executive Kathryn Guglielmo and Woodshop Custom Fabricator Eric Jorgensen.

Markey was most recently with AFCOM as association director.

Guglielmo was most recently with The Salvation Army as a special events and public relations manager in Syracuse, NY. Jorgensen was most recently with J.A Troiano Contractors.

CEO Wendy Cudney of Holman Exhibits, a Toronto-based total solutions provider for the exhibition industry, says, “I am so happy to announce the appointment of three of our own to executive level positions: A.J. Sparkes is our new executive vice president of business development. A seasoned sales executive with more than 20 years’ experience, AJ is a specialist in the retail sector. During his time at Holman AJ has worked closely with me to develop our retail offerings.

Paddy Jordan-Higgins is our new executive vice president of creative. During his time at Holman Paddy has worn several hats, most recently as creative director. An award-winning designer in multiple industries, Paddy’s skill set combines strong creative and technical skills with experience in the entertainment, retail and custom architectural fields. Robert Collins is our new executive vice president of operations. With 17 years’ experience in the tradeshow, museum and experiential marketing world, Robert is a master of getting it done! Having worked in every role from detailer to estimator to project and account manager, he knows what it takes to deliver on schedule and on budget.”

Gateway, an exhibit design and build company based in St. Louis, Mo., promoted Anna Dohogne (right) from administrative assistant to the director of human resources, Mike Brown has been promoted to IT manager and Kyle McClaskey has been promoted to Custom-

Fab manager.

Award-winning designer Peter Gallagher (left) has joined ProExhibits in their Silicon Valley headquarters as the creative director. Gallagher will lead a talented team of designers to closely collaborate with clients in guiding their visions into brand-building experiences and environments. He will also manage the creative team for ProGlobalEvents, the sister-company of ProExhibits that focuses on innovative corporate events.

Skyline Displays of Orange County, Calif., has announced the hiring of two new exhibit consultants at its Lake Forest Showroom/Design Center, according to John Funk, president of the Trade Show Marketing Communications Company. Kellie Migliaccio joins Skyline with career experience in tradeshow furniture rentals, interior design and event promotion. Dennis Moy joins Skyline after a successful sales career with E&T Plastics Manufacturing in New York City, and with Street Glow, Inc., in Wayne, N.J. Jim Kelley has joined Fern, a leading national marketing support and tradeshow services provider, as vice president, marketing & industry relations. His career has spanned the industry, including roles with Production Resource Group (PRG), exposition service contractors, convention centers and hotels. “I am personally thrilled to have Jim join our growing team,” says Aaron Bludworth, Fern CEO. Kelley has been active in PCMA, both locally and nationally, serving as president of the PCMA Capital Chapter board of directors. In 2014 he was honored by PCMA as the “Distinguished Service Professional of the Year.” Additionally, he serves as a member of the exec-

utive committee and treasurer for the Incentive Research Foundation and the board of directors for CEMA (Corporate Event Marketing Association).

Vest retired from Fern Expo’s Charlotte operation on May 31 after 50 years with Fern Expo. He has been with the company for the past 45 years continuously after a short break in service in the ‘60s. “He started with Browder Decorating here in Charlotte in 1964 and left in 1969 to go to D.C. and work construction,” says Fern Expo Charlotte GM Joe Fisher. “He came back to Browder in 1974 (Browder was bought by Fern in 1999, I think) and has been with us until his retirement on May 31st.”

Tina DelFiacco (left) has joined Valley Expo and Displays as a national sales executive. DelFiacco will focus on tradeshow, events and exhibit sales in the Chicago market. DelFiacco’s professional industry experience started in 2000 as an exhibitor services representative at The Freeman Company. She then expanded her career at Orbus Exhibit & Display Group in 2008 serving as their regional sales manager.

Volume 11 Marketing, a full-service 3D communications company that specializes in the design, production and support of corporate branded environments, welcomes Chet Bailer (left) to oversee business development. Bailer joins Volume 11 with more than 30 years of business management and ownership in the display industry. After receiving his Bachelors in Fine Arts in Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design he opened his own company. While in business for close to 30 years he mastered the display industry as a designer, sample maker, design consultant and manufacturers rep.

Photector, previously known as PEIR, today announced a corporate rebrand and several new key senior hires. “We are excited about the corporate rebranding

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

of Photector, strategic actions that go far beyond a name change from PEIR,” says Tom Burke, CEO of TCompanies, parent company of Photector. “These changes comprise a new brand identity that includes website and mobile app and user experience enhancements, as well as several key senior level new hires to move Photector forward. What remains unchanged is Photector’s ability to easily protect logistics and transportation companies from paying for shipping damage that they did not cause.”

Photector key new hires include Neal Gehrig (right), senior director of sales, who brings 16 years’ experience in optimizing corporate sales potential.

Most recently he was a director of sales for DigyInk, and previous experience includes serving as business development manager at Quadrant Information Systems, associate director at SocialSpring and sales manager at Centergistic Solutions. Josh Evans, vice president of product, with more than 15 years’ experience in B2B Saas was most recently product manager-security at Code42, and his previous experience includes serving as solutions consultant at Delaget and VP of product development at Lorton Data, Inc. He is a former Fulbright Teaching Assistant and holds a B.A. Degree in German from St. John’s University. Bonnie Hanson (right), head of brand and marketing, has more than 20 years of experience that includes running her own consulting firm and serving as VP of marketing at The Laundry Doctor, director of marketing & communications at Industrial Fabrics Association International, and director of marketing at Schuler Shoes/ New Balance Twin Cities. Dan Holmoe, director of user experience and design, joins Photector from Code 42, where he was a principal product designer. Prior to this, he was a senior product designer at Bloom Health.

PRA, Inc., a leader in the business events industry, with the broadest-owned network of offices in the Americas, is pleased to announce the company has named Danielle Cirami-Gillis (right) vice president of strategic partnerships.

She will activate PRA strategic partnerships across all PRA service and solution platforms with a primary focus on aggressively forming and expanding hotel partnerships across the markets PRA serves. She will operate as a sales leader, building on strategic relationships that contribute to the overall PRA growth plan, while developing approaches that ensure strategic advancement of key partners.

Spectra, the providers of venue management and food services & hospitality to the Owensboro Convention Center, has promoted Angie Hanley to wedding sales coordinator and Katy Holland (right) joined the team in March as an event manager. Michelle Pessia has been promoted to sous chef.

Visit San Antonio has hired Colleen Buchanan, CMP, CTA to be destination sales manager, Molly Hernandez to be destination experience manager, and Estelle Rodriguez to be a destination experience coordinator. Buchanan joined Visit San Antonio in January 2017 as a destination experience manager and has worked with key convention groups including the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). In her new position, Buchanan will work closely with partners at the Henry B. González Convention Center, local hotels, meeting venues and attractions to coordinate in-market site visits. Hernandez pre-

viously worked as a venue and catering sales manager for the RK Group, a leading San Antonio event firm and the primary catering vendor for San Antonio’s Henry B. González Convention Center.

Explore St. Louis welcomes Judy Kent as the new national sales manager for Explore St. Louis. Kent served as director of sales and marketing for the Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland and spent nine years with Experient, A Maritz Travel Company, as a strategic sales executive, association sales. Previously, she was the regional director of Midwest convention sales out of Chicago for Tourism Toronto. She has held senior sales management positions with The Traveller, Inc., Intercontinental and Marriott Hotels in the U.S. and Canada and is an active member of several industry organizations, including ASAE and PCMA, and has served as a guest speaker for professional events and university hospitality programs.

Leslie Lotten, assistant director of event services for the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, received the “Tourism Matters” award from New Orleans and Company at a National Travel and Tourism Week Rally on May 7. “She was chosen because of her 32-year career at the convention center, her rise throughout her career, and her above and beyond commitment to her clients,” says Stephen Perry, president and CEO of New Orleans & Company.

“People like her are the reason people come to New Orleans.”

In international news, Joachim König received the 2019 JMIC Unity Award, AIM Group International appointed Annalisa Ponchia as director of innovation and customer experience, Jenny Waller and Charlie Smith are heading up Barbican’s sales team and Christophe Berger is the newly appointed director of conventions Malta.

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THE D.E.A.L. By Jeanne Brei

Dining, Entertainment, Attractions & Lodging

Black Rabbit Speakeasy

DINING

Black Rabbit in Printer’s Alley Transports You to a ‘20s Speakeasy Nashville is known for its down-home cooking and hot fried chicken, which you can check out at Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, Party Fowl, Pepperfire Hot Chicken, and Scoreboard Bar & Grill. Another Nashville food staple is the classic Southern-style “meat and three,” where you go through a cafeteria-style line and order a meat and three sides. Places like Loveless Cafe, Arnold’s Country Kitchen, Swett’s, and Monell’s Dining will let you choose between fried chicken or meatloaf, mac & cheese or mashed potatoes, and delicious pie or banana pudding. And then there’s the award-winning barbecue joints you’ll find including Martin’s BBQ Joint, Peg Leg Porker, Edley’s Bar-B-Que, Jack’s Bar B Que, Bar-B-Cutie and Puckett’s Grocery. Well-traveled foodies will appreciate Etch, Catbird Seat, Husk, 404 Kitchen, and Rolf and Daughters.

Closer to the Music City Center, Mellow Mushroom is a combination of great food, a live music venue, restaurant and bar with a beautiful view from their roof-

top; and Rippy’s Bar and Grill has two levels, three stages, an amazing open-air rooftop, private dining spaces, barbeque, cold beverages and live music. But as regular readers know, if I’m in downtown Nashville, I’d head to Black Rabbit, where you can be transported to a 1920s-style upscale cocktail bar and dine on small plates and finger foods. Nashville chef Trey Cioccia, who also owns The Farm House, has crafted a cocktail bar and restaurant reminiscent of the early 1900s speakeasies that once filled Printer’s Alley in downtown Nashville.

Black Rabbit is housed in a historic building dating back to the 1890s and attributes its name to a long-gone New York cocktail bar. The space was once the law offices of Frank Ragano, legal counsel for Jimmy Hoffa and other notable figures of mafia notoriety, and is built around its intriguing history showing off 16-foot ceilings, exposed brick and original hardwood flooring. They left the original details intact in order to preserve the old-school energy that was already abundant throughout the building. The venue is a true ode to old Nashville and the storied past of the historic Printer’s Alley neighborhood in which it resides.

Black Rabbit boasts a large bar, spacious banquettes and a living room area, while an adjacent exterior patio offers open-air

seating. There’s several weekly events and live entertainment, including a cabaret show embodying the energy of Gatsby-era, swing-time band music. The Willies bring a modern marriage of jazz and blues, rockabilly and punk to the room and perform frequently at the Black Rabbit.

The bar’s schedule includes Happy Hour, Mon.-Fri., 4:30-6:30 p.m., with $5 cocktails, wine and beer. Blockbuster Mondays Dance Party features DJ Majik with music from all of your favorite movies while the movie of the week plays in the background. Tuesdays they offer their signature burger: Two southern, natural beef patties topped with onions, pulled pork, swiss, and mustard BBQ sauce slow grilled over an open flame—while supplies last. On Taco & Tiki Thursdays they mix street food like their famous trout, beef and potato tacos with some cocktails from the South Seas for folks on their way to Live on the Green. And you can catch them grilling on the patio every Saturday in the summer for BBQ in the Alley. Enjoy $10 BBQ burgers and Andouille dogs; $4 sides of house-made chips, grilled watermelon or corn; and cold canned beer.

Black Rabbit, 218 Third Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37201. Telephone: (615) 891-2380. For more info, visit www.blackrabbittn.com

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ENTERTAINMENT

Nashville Is a City Built on Music If cities had a soundtrack, Nashville’s would be a mix of music’s past, present and future that’s a little bit country, bluegrass, rock, pop, Americana, gospel, classical, jazz and blues, all blending in perfect harmony.

Running smack in the middle of downtown Nashville is Lower Broadway, where honky tonks play world-class live music 365 days of the year and never charge a cover. In the area “North of Broadway” are historic buildings reimagined into music attractions, boutique hotels, art galleries and chef-driven restaurants, and “South of Broadway” are newly constructed hotels, eateries, music venues and attractions. Either direction, there is plenty of fun around Nashville’s incredibly walkable downtown area.

Acme Feed & Seed, Nashville’s iconic, century-old building located in the heart of downtown, provides locals and visitors an elevated downtown experience while honoring the much-loved character of Lower Broadway. The first floor is an updated take on the classic honky-tonk, offering street-food inspired cuisine, craft beer, and live music featuring a rotating selection of Nashville’s diverse musical

Acme Feed & Seed rooftop

landscape—where every genre is represented. The second floor features a lounge with seasonally-inspired handcrafted cocktails and a menu of shareable dishes and is home to Acme’s sushi bar. The third floor encompasses The Hatchery, the largest one-level private event and music venue on Lower Broadway. On Acme’s rooftop, guests enjoy an open-air bar with views overlooking the lights of Broadway, Nissan Stadium and stunning views of the Cumberland River.

Also on lower Broadway country music superstar Alan Jackson is “Keepin’ it Country” with AJ’s Good Time Bar. Voted the number one honky tonk in Nashville

by Billboard magazine, the bar plays the kind of country music that made Nashville famous. Just steps away from the historic Ryman Auditorium and the Country Music Hall of Fame, this venue features three multi-faceted floors and a roof top bar with

the most stunning view of the city.

Housed in the oldest building on Broadway, this historical venue was once, among other things, a civil war hospital, Nashville’s first used record store, and the home of the famous Bullet Records (a record label started in 1946 to record the stars of The Grand Ole Opry). Today each floor offers a unique look into Jackson’s career and personal life while featuring some of the best live country music in town, a great place to watch the game, and a stage where anyone can shine like a star when they sing karaoke.

Acme Feed & Seed, 101 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201 . Telephone: (615) 915-0888. For more info, visit www.acmefeedandseed.com AJ’s Good Time Bar, 421 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203. Telephone: (615) 678-4808. For more info, visit www.ajsgoodtimebar.com

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THE D.E.A.L. By Jeanne Brei

Dining, Entertainment, Attractions & Lodging

ATTRACTIONS

Music City Rollin’ Jamboree or a Big Green Tractor Tour—Which Should It Be? There are city tours, and then there’s the Music City Rollin’ Jamboree…The Rollin’ Jamboree is a rolling country music, comedy sing-along on wheels that serves up Nashville’s biggest sights, sings some of Music City’s best songs and shares some city secrets that most guides don’t even know. Jamboree comedian Jessie keeps the bus in stitches, while fellow host Jenny shares the inside scoop on Nashville’s biggest stars and leads the tour side of the adventure through Music City. Along for the ride is one of Nashville’s top country crooners, Devon Cox. The trio will have you laughing and

singing all throughout Music City. Hot spots on the tour include Music Row, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Union Station, and the historic Goo Goo Store. It also covers new turf, including the Johnny Cash Museum, shooting sites for ABC’s show Nashville and American Pickers’ star Mike Wolfe’s Antique Archaeology.

Tripadvisor just voted the Jamboree one of the top 5 Nashville attractions and winner of the Certificate of Excellence.

Another extraordinary, one-of-a-kind Nashville experience is to tour the city on a John Deere tractor with a customized wagon that seats 30 people and has a DJ along with coolers for all your party needs. Rain or shine the party goes on. From birthday parties to bach-

elorette parties to church groups—if you’re looking for a unique way to see Big Green Tractor Nashville check out the Big Tour Green Tractor Tours.

There’s just SO much to see and do in Nashville, I highly recommend using two of the best city websites I’ve ever seen: www. visitmusiccity.com and www.nashvilledowntown.com. They have hundreds and hundreds of things to see, do, eat and places to visit by category. After all, I have yet to mention visiting Opryland, Loretta Lynn’s ranch, taking a trolley, kayaking in the river and SO much more! Enjoy Nashville!

Music City Rollin’ Jamboree, 330 Commerce St., Nashville, TN 37219. Telephone: (615) 430-3109.

For more info, visit musiccityrollinjamboree.com Big Green Tractor Tours, 701 Division Street, Nashville, TN 37203. Telephone: (615) 975-2488.

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LODGING

Union Station Hotel, Hermitage Hotel & The Russell Preserve the Past Luxuriously Readers know my affinity for historic buildings, and Nashville encourages not just historical preservation but renovations on the interiors as well. You could stay in the old Union train station built in 1900, a recently renovated Presbyterian church that was originally built in 1904 or in the luxurious Hermitage Hotel built in 1910 and recently renovated to the tune of $20 million.

Union Station’s imposing Gothic design—complete with turrets and towers— made the grand structure an architectural marvel in its day, delighting travelers with its beautiful detailing, including ornate wood carvings, sparkling stained glass, beautiful Italian marble, and soaring ceilings. After nearly 100 years, a National Historic Landmark designation, and a $15.5 million renovation, Union Station is Nashville’s newest luxury hotel and became a Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel in 2012.

Today, the hotel in the heart of the city offers 125 uniquely decorated guest rooms and suites, an on-site bar and restaurant, beautifully appointed event spaces and more, including its historical, heavy-stone Richardsonian-Romanesque design; 65-foot, barrel-vaulted lobby ceiling featuring gold-leaf medallions and 100-year-old, original luminous prism stained glass; marble floors, oak-accented doors and walls; and three limestone fireplaces; 20 gold-accented bas-relief angel of commerce figurines and two bas-relief panels—a steam locomotive and a traveling chariot—at each end of the lobby.

The Russell, a 23-room boutique hotel in East Nashville, was constructed in the former Cumberland Presbyterian Church, built in 1904. It just opened in June after a $7 million renovation as a tech-focused boutique hotel where guests use @ExhibitCityNews

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Union Station Hotel

their smartphones to check in and out.

The Russell also features a photo booth and an on-site podcasting/recording studio for guests or visitors. Among the 23 rooms, eight are single beds while 15 have multiple sleeping options, including two suites. The Russell blends elements from the church: some of the building’s original stained glass and pews serve as headboards in the majority of the rooms.

Room numbers are styled as bible verses.

Exposed brick in certain parts of the hotel give it a modern, rustic feel. There’s an old-school luggage lift on the first floor to take suitcases upstairs.

As Nashville’s first million-dollar hotel, no expense was spared in the Hermitage’s furnishings: sienna marble in the entrance; wall panels of Russian walnut; a painted glass ceiling in the vaulted lobby; Persian rugs and massive overstuffed furniture. Downstairs, adjoining the Oak Bar, was the Grille Room (now the Capitol Grille) which was built by German craftsmen. These days, the AAA Five Diamond hotel is Nashville’s only remaining landmark of such grandeur.

The historic hotel was built in a Beaux Art style and advertised itself in 1910 as “fireproof, noise-proof, and dust-proof, $2.00 and up.”

Due to its central downtown location, right next to the Capitol building, the historic Hermitage Hotel quickly became the preferred gathering spot for Nashville’s socialites, politicians, and entertainers, including William Howard Taft, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Al Capone and pool player Minnesota Fats.

The term “Meet me at the Hermitage” became a tradition and practically a city slogan that still holds true today. After being closed for 11 months, The Hermitage reopened its doors on Valentine’s Day of 2003 after undergoing a $20 million renovation that increased the size of the guest rooms, finished the bathrooms in marble, and added extra deep soaking tubs. An additional $5 million was spent adding iPod docking stations and large flat screen televisions to both the bedroom and bath.

Union Station Hotel, 1001 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203. Telephone: (615) 726-1001. For more info, visit www.unionstationhotelnashville.com The Russell, 819 Russell St, Nashville, TN 37206. Telephone: (615) 861-9535. For more info, visit www.russellnashville.com The Hermitage Hotel, 231 6th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37219. Telephone: (615) 244-3121. For more info, visit www.thehermitagehotel.com ExhibitCityNews.com July/August 2019 85

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Tradeshow Calendar TRADESHOW ROUND-UPS

SOUTHEAST

InfoComm, June 12-14, Orange County Convention Center

As North America’s largest event focused on the pro-AV industry, InfoComm can’t afford to do things by half.

Over the course of three action-packed days, more than 1,000 exhibitors and 44,000 attendees from 110 countries descended on downtown Orlando to experience the very latest in immersive technology from across the globe. Four pavilions dedicated to audio, digital signage, lighting and staging, and collaboration and conferencing solutions showed off the most innovative new ideas in their respective spaces, while AVIXA’s Sviatovid display (a colossal, 360-degree projection-mapped installation inspired by the all-seeing ninth century Slavic god of the same name) captivated attendees in Hall E. Of course, all work and no philanthropy makes for a self-serving conference, and on June 14, a fun-run race was held to benefit the AVIXA Foundation. For more info, visit infocommshow.org

NORTHWEST

Farwest Show, Aug. 21-23, Oregon Convention Center

Farwest is a showcase of agricultural might, as well as the largest event to hit the northwest this summer. With a focus on growers, retailers, wholesale buyers, suppliers, and landscape professionals, Farwest encapsulates all the integral elements of the horticulture industry under one streamlined roof. As usual, the event will be jammed with educational seminars, including a series exclusively in Spanish. Expect more than 6,000 attendees over the threeday affair, with more than 400 exhibitors set to present their wares. The show floor opens at noon on the 21st, closing at 2 p.m. on the final day. For more info, visit farwestshow.com

CENTRAL

NORTHEAST

Outdoor Retailer Summer Show, June 18-20, Colorado Convention Center

Total Store Expo, Aug. 24-26, Boston Convention and Exhibition Center

Following two decades in Salt Lake City, Denver has more than stepped up to the gargantuan task of becoming the new home of Outdoor Retailer, and the second Summer Show in the Centennial State was indicative of this successful changing of the guard. A crowd of 43,003 attendees and 1,157 exhibitors showed up for the three-day event, drawn by the latest fashions in markets as diverse as surfing, yoga and fly fishing. But with all this product, attendees needed somewhere to test the gear, and the Demo Experience, presented

by PayPal, offered just that. Located on the 1,400-acre lake at Chatfield State Park in Littleton, Colorado, the Demo Experience provided attendees with an expansive beach, large lake, and miles of trails at Chatfield State Park to get to grips with the coolest new toys on the market. For more info, visit outdoorretailer.com

With the promise of more than “300 chains representing over 197,000 stores and $650 billion in retailer buying power,” there is only one place to be seen in Boston, Mass., this August. And that’s not hyperbole, either. As the official tradeshow of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, TSE showcases cutting-edge discoveries from the worlds of med device, pharma and retail enterprise, all the while supporting the festivities with myriad education seminars and networking occasions. The exhibit hall is set to be a monster, with a number of large booths scattered throughout. Among the heavyweight speakers is former Presidential hopeful John Kerry, as well as famed Noughties rock act, Weezer, who will also be offering their thoughts on the market. It doesn’t get more varied than that. For more info, visit tse.nacds.org

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See complete listing of shows online at ExhibitCityNews.com/tradeshow-calendar

SOUTHWEST

Comic-Con International, July 18-21, San Diego Convention Center

The daddy. The big kahuna. The most fun you’ll have all summer. Where to begin...? Perhaps with a visit to Floyd Norman, one of the animators of Disney’s The Jungle Book, or a visit through the 1,000-exhibit-strong show floor. Maybe even an exploration of Artists’ Alley to wonder at all the creative genius on display. At Comic-Con, the opportunities for childlike wonder are endless, and since the event runs for four days, best pack comfortable walking shoes (the show floor is a whopping 460,000 sq. ft.). Be warned… the show is set to attract more than 123,000 attendees, a significant number of whom will be fully grown adults in cosplay.

And that is because one thing is for sure: Comic-Con is far from conventional. For more info, visit comic-con.org

CANADA

Canadian Meetings and Events Expo, Aug. 13-14, Metro Toronto Convention Centre

And finally, one just for the industry. As everyone already knows, CMEExpo is Canada’s largest and longest-running tradeshow and conference for meeting and event professionals, and this August the bar is set to be raised yet another notch. More than 350 exhibitors representing 700 different companies from across the world are expected to attend; the show floor will be alive with this year’s smartest designs, latest discoveries and finest desirables. Exhibitor move-in and setup runs from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 12, with move-out commencing at 5 p.m. on the 14th. But worry not, Metro Toronto Convention Centre signed a five-year extension with GES at the end of May, retaining the firm as its general service provider until 2024. The show should flow like clockwork. For more info, visit cmeexpo.ca @ExhibitCityNews

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MIDWEST

The Great American Trucking Show, Aug. 22-24, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center

It is said that truckers keep America going, and if GATS is anything to go by, that sentiment is as real sliced bread. With more than 48,620 attendees expected, plus 554 exhibitors displaying their latest high-octane wares, this three-day extravaganza is set to be a modern-day rendezvous in the heart of downtown Dallas, Tex. But this wouldn’t be the Lone Star State without an endless stream of twang, so pack some dancing boots and enjoy live country and folk music, right there on the show floor.

But it isn’t all fun and games. GATS has long been an advocate for the health and wellness of truck drivers, and this year’s show will see the return of free screenings and health care education. To further this endeavor, a variety of educational seminars and healthy-cooking demonstrations will also be offered. For more info, visit truckshow.com

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Tradeshow Calendar U.S. CENTRAL

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

Show Bio World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology Conference for the Advancement of Math Teaching - CAMT National Association of College & University Food Services American Podiatric Medical Association - APMA National Association of College & University Business Officers - NACUBO American Association of Physicists in Medicine - AAPM School Nutrition Association - SNA Texas Restaurant Association - TRA Marketplace Airborne Law Enforcement Association Annual Conf - ALEA APSCON National Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Symposium Institute of Transportation Engineers - Annual - ITE AHRA - Association for Medical Imaging Management - Annual Unconventional Resources Technology Conference - URTeC Amer. Acad. of Family Physicians - AAFP Residence & Med. Students Nat. Conf.

RetailNow - Retail Solutions Providers Association - RSPA RDH Under One Roof eWomen Network International Texas Pharmacy Association - Rxperts Sunbelt Builders Conference & Trade Show Nursery & Landscape Expo - TNLA USA Gymnastics National Congress and Trade Show American Association of Diabetes Educators - AADE American Association of Motor Vehicle Admin - AAMVA Association for the Healthcare Environment Exchange NAPE Summer Houston - North American Prospect Expo The Great American Trucking Show - GATS Fetch, a dvm360 conference National Institute of Governmental Purchasing - NIGP Forum Islamic Society of North America - ISNA

You Built It!

Start 07/08 07/10 07/10 07/11 07/13 07/14 07/14 07/14 07/15 07/18 07/21 07/21 07/22 07/25 07/28 07/31 08/01 08/02 08/06 08/08 08/09 08/09 08/20 08/21 08/21 08/22 08/23 08/25 08/30

End 07/11 07/12 07/13 07/14 07/16 07/18 07/16 07/15 07/20 07/21 07/24 07/24 07/24 07/27 07/31 08/02 08/03 08/03 08/09 08/10 08/11 08/12 08/22 08/24 08/22 08/24 08/26 08/28 09/01

Venue City St Iowa Events Center Des Moines IA Henry B. Gonzalez CC San Antonio TX Denver CO Salt Lake City UT Salt Palace CC Austin CC Austin TX Henry B. Gonzalez CC San Antonio TX MO America’s Center St. Louis George R. Brown CC Houston TX CenturyLink Center Omaha NE Keystone Conference Center Keystone CO Hilton Austin Austin TX Gaylord Rockies Denver CO Colorado CC Denver CO Kansas City CC Kansas City MO Henry B. Gonzalez CC San Antonio TX Gaylord Texan Dallas TX Embassy Suites Frisco Dallas TX Irving CC at Las Colinas Irving TX Gaylord Texan Grapevine TX Henry B. Gonzalez CC San Antonio TX Kansas City CC Kansas City MO George R. Brown CC Houston TX Hilton Omaha Omaha NE Henry B. Gonzalez CC San Antonio TX George R. Brown CC Houston TX Kay Bailey Hutchison CC Dallas TX Kansas City CC Kansas City KS Austin CC Austin TX George R. Brown CC Houston TX

All Information Is Subject to Change*

Att 1200 6900 1080 3500 2500 4000 3500 5041 1200 1200 2000 1000 4300 2700 1400 1500 3000 1000 2500 5300 6570 650 1000 7000 49K 6500 1917 20K

Exh 60 187 250 225 200 120 385 505 165 100 120 150 173 372 134 125 100 90 208 460 85 118 90 130 700 554 275 245 350

Nsf 46750 29900 31200 47600 83200 83869 15000 16500 52000

Industry Science Education Education Healthcare Education Healthcare Food & Beverage Food & Beverage Aerospace & Aviation Medical & Healthcare Building & Construction Healthcare Petroleum, Oil & Plastics Healthcare

45600 17500 11000 Medical & Healthcare Business 38000 Medical & Healthcare 31800 Building & Construction 96800 Landscape & Garden 20000 Sporting Goods & Rec. 48300 Healthcare 9000 Government 23000 Healthcare 70000 Energy 188K Automotive & Trucking 47600 Medical & Healthcare 33000 Government 150K Religious

Now Flaunt It! SHOW OFF YOUR GREATEST EXHIBITS WITH THE GREATEST PHOTOGRAPHY!

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See complete listing of shows online at ExhibitCityNews.com/tradeshow-calendar

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

U.S. MIDWEST Show The ASI Show!

Cultivate - Organization of Horticulture Professionals American Association of Collages of Pharmacy - AACP Pri-Med Midwest Annual Conference Scleroderma Foundation National Patient Education Conference Expidite Expo International Association of Venue Managers - IAVM VenueConnect EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Fly-In National Association of Tax Professionals - NATP The Sports Concussion Conference - American Academy of Neurology National Training Institute - NTI - NJATC Face & Body Spa Expo & Conference Midwest Ohio Association for Career & Technical Education - ACTE American Phytopathological Society Annual - APS Plant Health Global Business Travel Association - GBTA American Psychological Association - APA American Association of Nurse Anesthetists - AANA ASAE & The Center Annual Meeting Midwest Security & Police Conference/Expo Independent Garden Center Show - IGC Oklahoma Restaurant Association - ORA Expo Defense Credit Union Council Conference & Exhibition - DCUC Community Health Institute & Expo - NACHC AIAA Propulsion & Energy Forum & Exhibition Orgill Dealer Market Fall The American Legion National Convention NCSL International - World Measurement Science Experts Farm Progress Show Chicago Shoe Market

All Information Is Subject to Change*

Start 07/09 07/13 07/13 07/18 07/19 07/19 07/21 07/22 07/22 07/26 07/27 07/28 07/29 08/03 08/03 08/08 08/09 08/10 08/13 08/13 08/13 08/18 08/18 08/19 08/22 08/23 08/24 08/27 08/28

End 07/11 07/16 07/17 07/19 07/21 07/20 07/24 07/28 07/25 07/28 08/02 07/29 07/31 08/07 08/07 08/11 08/13 08/13 08/14 08/15 08/14 08/21 08/20 08/22 08/24 08/29 08/29 08/29 08/29

Venue McCormick Place Greater Columbus CC Hyatt Regency Chicago McCormick Place Chicago Marriott Downtown Allen County War Mem. Col. McCormick Place

City Chicago Columbus Chicago Chicago Chicago Ft. Wayne Chicago Oshkosh Hilton Chicago Chicago JW Marriott Indianapolis University of Michigan Ann Arbor Donald E. Stephens CC Rosemont Hilton Columbus at Easton Columbus Huntington CC of Cleveland Cleveland McCormick Place Chicago McCormick Place Chicago Hyatt Regency Chicago Chicago Greater Columbus CC Columbus Tinley Park CC Tinley Park McCormick Place Chicago Oklahoma City Bennett Center Fairmont Chicago Chicago Hyatt Regency Chicago Chicago JW Marriott Indianapolis McCormick Place Chicago Indiana CC Indianapolis Huntington CC Cleveland Decatur Embassy Suites Chicago Chicago

St IL OH IL IL IL IN IL WI IL IN MI IL OH OH IL IL IL OH IL IL OK IL IL IN IL IN OH IL IL

Att 4422 12.6K 2000

Exh Nsf 641 89950 568 154K 50

1659 500K 1000

213 221K 800 1M

1900 3000 550 1800 6450 12K 2400 2812 2300

100 107 55 50 475 193 200 431 175 600

11500 21700 55000 60000 118K 20600 20000 68400 28000

30 100 60 1K 110 130

3000 22000 14500 500K 80000 18000

6000 2000 1500 20K 10K 1200

Industry Advertising & Marketing Landscape & Garden Medical & Healthcare Healthcare Healthcare Automotive & Trucking Gaming & Entertainment Aerospace & Aviation Accounting Healthcare Electrical & Electronics Beauty & Healthcare Education Agriculture & Farming Travel Industry Healthcare Medical & Healthcare Exhibition & Meeting Ind. Police Landscape & Garden Restaurants & Food Serv.

Banking Healthcare Aerospace & Aviation Building & Construction Government Business Agriculture & Farming Apparel

Where Can You Find Industry Features, Maps, Insider Information, Shop Talk And Free Stuff?

Exhibit City News, of Course!

Sign up for six stunning, full-color issues of ECN and get our very special 20th anniversary edition, 52 weekly digital updates and free stuff to wear proudly!

GO TO EXHIBITCITYNEWS.COM/SUBSCRIBE OR CALL 702.309.8023

@ExhibitCityNews

086_Tradeshow_Calendar_0719.indd 4

ExhibitCityNews.com July/August 2019 89

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Tradeshow Calendar U.S. NORTHEAST

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

Show American Society of Agricultural & Biological Engineers - ASABE Autism Society of America National Conf. & Expo - ASA Accounting & Finance Show NY American Association of Law Libraries American Society for Healthcare Engineering - ASHE Intl. Council of Shopping Centers - ICSC New England Conference & Deal Making Virginia Academy of Family Physicians Annual - VAFP Academy of General Dentistry Annual Meeting - AGD National Principles Conference Home Textiles Sourcing Expo International Apparel Sourcing Show Summer Texworld USA - Summer American Academy of Dermatology - Summer Meeting - AAD Natl. Contract Management Association World Congress - NCMA World Congres American Correctional Association Annual - ACA American Veterinary Medical Association - AVMA SHARE Summer Technology Exchange Academy of Management Annual Meeting - AOM American Sociological Association Annual Meeting - ASA Affiliate Summit East APCO Int’l Conf. & Expo - Assn of Public-Safety Communications Officials JA International Jewelry Show National Stationary Show & The Supply Side NY NOW - New York International Gift Fair Printsource New York Ag Progress Days National Association of Chain Drug Stores - NACDS Total Store Expo American Association for State & Local History - AASLH American Political Science Association - APSA

Start 07/07 07/09 07/10 07/13 07/14 07/16 07/18 07/18 07/18 07/22 07/22 07/22 07/25 07/28 08/01 08/02 08/04 08/09 08/10 08/11 08/11 08/11 08/11 08/11 08/13 08/13 08/24 08/28 08/29

End 07/10 07/11 07/11 07/16 07/17 07/17 07/21 07/20 07/20 07/24 07/24 07/24 07/28 07/31 08/06 08/06 08/09 08/13 08/13 08/13 08/14 08/14 08/14 08/14 08/14 08/15 08/26 08/31 09/01

Venue Marriott Copley Place Hyatt Regency Javits Center Walter E. Washington CC Baltimore CC Boston Conv. & Expo Center Sheraton Oceanfront Hotel Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort Hynes CC Javits Center Javits Center Javits Center New York Hilton Hynes CC Hynes CC Walter E. Washington CC David L. Lawrence CC

City Boston Bethesda New York Washington Baltimore Boston Virginia Beach Uncasville Boston New York New York New York New York Boston Boston Washington Pittsburgh Boston New York Hilton Midtown New York Marriott Marquis New York Baltimore CC Baltimore Javits Center New York Javits Center New York Javits Center New York Hotel Pennsylvania New York Russell E. Larson Center Rock Springs Boston Conv. & Expo Center Boston Philadelphia 201 Hotel Philadelphia Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Washington

All Information Is Subject to Change*

St MA MD NY DC MD MA VA CT MA NY NY NY NY MA MA DC PA MA NY NY MD NY NY NY NY PA MA PA DC

Att 1800 1000 2000 2000 4000 1100 300 5000 3000 408 655 4399 2607 2000 3000 8800 2000 8000 6700 2500 3000 5765 6987 49K 2200 46K 3000 1000 6500

Exh 30 100 50 120 279 90 87 200 250 126 210 503 140 55 400 283 68

Nsf 13300 15700 18800 20000 37900 15000 4200 30000 100K 14402 26630 65703 18200 5500 175K 46300 10700 10000 5280 13000 70000 78243 91173 545K 15000

Industry Agriculture & Farming Healthcare Accounting Financial & Legal Healthcare Real Estate Healthcare Medical & Healthcare Education Textiles Textiles Textiles Healthcare Financial & Legal Police Medical & Healthcare Computers & Apps Business 66 Science Advertising & Marketing 130 300 Security 456 Jewelry 623 Paper 2.8K Gifts 76 Textiles Agriculture & Farming 493 475 97150 Medical & Healthcare 50 4000 Associations 120 34000 Government

PUT YOUR BUSINESS ON THE MAP! Showcase your regional services with a calendar sponsorship.

Contact Sales@ExhibitCityNews.com For Rates and Details. (Design Services Available) 90 July/August 2019 Exhibit City News

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See complete listing of shows online at ExhibitCityNews.com/tradeshow-calendar

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

U.S. NORTHWEST Show SEMICON West National Association of Elementary School Principals - NAESP Society for College & University Planning - SCUP O’Reilly OSCON Open Source Convention NCIA Cannabis Business Summit HydroVision International - Clean Energy National Science Teachers Association - NSTA STEM Forum & Expo Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference - PMA School Bus Expo - STN West Int’l Society for the Study of Xenobiotics - N. American ISSX Meeting Washington School Nutrition Association - WSNA NATCO - The Organization for Transplant Professionals Plant Biology - ASPB INDO EXPO - The Premier Cannabis Trade Show Microscopy & Microanalysis - MSA American Bar Association Annual Meeting - ABA American Accounting Association - AAA The Money Show San Francisco SharePoint Fest SecureWorld Expo Farwest Show Small Business Expo Face & Body Spa Expo & Conference VMworld Embedded Systems Conference - ESC Silicon Valley America’s Dental Meeting - ADA & FDI World Dental Congress Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses-APHON PWX - Public Works Expo - American Public Works Association - APWA PCB Design Conference West

@ExhibitCityNews

086_Tradeshow_Calendar_0719.indd 6

All Information Is Subject to Change*

Start 07/09 07/10 07/14 07/15 07/22 07/23 07/24 07/26 07/26 07/28 07/29 07/30 08/03 08/03 08/04 08/08 08/09 08/15 08/19 08/21 08/21 08/22 08/25 08/25 08/27 09/04 09/05 09/08 09/09

End 07/11 07/12 07/16 07/18 07/24 07/25 07/26 07/27 07/31 08/01 07/31 08/02 08/07 08/04 08/08 08/13 08/14 08/17 08/23 08/21 08/23 08/22 08/27 08/29 08/29 09/08 09/07 09/11 09/12

Venue Moscone Center

City San Francisco Spokane Washington State CC Seattle Oregon CC Portland San Jose McEnery CC San Jose Oregon CC Portland San Francisco Moscone Center Morterey Peppermill Resort Reno Oregon CC Portland Spokane CC Spokane Hyatt Regency Bellevue San Jose CC San Jose Portland Expo Center Portland Oregon CC Portland San Francisco Marriott Marquis Hilton SF Union Square San Francisco Hilton SF Union Square San Francisco Washington State CC Seattle Santa Clara CC Santa Clara Oregon CC Portland San Francisco Marriott Marquis San Jose CC San Jose San Francisco Moscone Center Santa Clara CC Santa Clara San Francisco Moscone Center Marriott San Jose San Jose Washington State CC Seattle Santa Clara CC Santa Clara

St CA WA WA OR CA OR CA CA NV OR WA WA CA OR OR CA CA CA WA CA OR CA CA CA CA CA CA WA CA

Att 29K

2500 7500 2639 1750 1000

1500 1800 9000

500 500 6000 4200 23K 11K 35K 750 8500

Exh Nsf 690 131K

Industry Manufacturing Education Computers & Apps

100 358 52400 Renewable Energy Education 157 15700 Food & Beverage 110 88000 Transportation Healthcare Healthcare Science 110 36500 Science 125 10000 Financial & Legal Accounting Financial & Legal 25 5000 Computers & Apps 60 6000 Security Agriculture & Farming 400 Business 193 36400 Beauty & Healthcare 185 188K Computers & Apps 250 Computers & Apps 379 88900 Medical & Healthcare Medical & Healthcare 650 105K Building & Construction Engineering

ExhibitCityNews.com July/August 2019 91

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Tradeshow Calendar U.S. SOUTHEAST

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

Show Health Physics Society - HPS Annual Meeting National Environmental Health Association - NEHA ICAST - American Sportfishing Association - ASA Atlanta Gift & Home Furnishings Market National Association of Church Business Administration - The Church Network SwimShow - Swimwear Association of Florida Florida Roofing, Sheet Metal & Air Cond. Contractors - FRSA NAMM Summer Session Florida Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Assn - FPMA Sunshine EXPO Council on Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Education - ICHRIE American Association of Meat Processors Exposition - AAMP Southeast Building Conference - SEBC Florida Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists - FSHP Louisiana Foodservice Expo - LRA Florida Health Care Association Annual Convention - FHCA American Culinary Federation National Convention - ACF National Conference of State Legislatures - NCSL Legislative Summit Association of Progressive Rental Organizations - APRO Fire-Rescue International - IAFC International Society of Arboriculture - ISA Kentucky Dental Association - KDA New Orleans Gift & Jewelry Show - Summer Bronner Brothers International Hair Show International Municipal Signal Association - IMSA Law Enforcement Operations Conference & Trade Show - NTOA Florida Chiropractic Association - FCA National Convention & Expo The Louisville Gift Show ASTA Global Convention - American Society of Travel Advisors Florida Recreation and Park Association - FRPA

Start 07/07 07/09 07/09 07/10 07/11 07/13 07/17 07/18 07/22 07/24 07/25 08/01 08/02 08/03 08/04 08/04 08/05 08/06 08/07 08/11 08/15 08/15 08/17 08/18 08/18 08/22 08/25 08/25 08/26

End 07/11 07/12 07/12 07/14 07/14 07/16 07/19 07/20 07/25 07/26 07/27 08/02 08/04 08/05 08/08 08/08 08/08 08/08 08/10 08/14 08/18 08/18 08/19 08/22 08/23 08/25 08/26 08/27 08/29

Venue Hilton Orlando Gaylord Opryland Orange County CC AmericasMart Charlotte CC Miami Beach CC Gaylord Palms Music City Center Palm Beach County CC New Orleans DT Marriott Arthur R. Outlaw CC Gaylord Palms Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Hilton Riverside New Orleans Hyatt Regency World Center Marriott Music City Center Kentucky International CC Georgia World Congress Ctr. Knoxville CC Galt House Morial CC

All Information Is Subject to Change*

City Orlando Nashville Orlando Atlanta Charlotte Miami Orlando Nashville Palm Beach New Orleans Mobile Orlando Orlando New Orleans Orlando Orlando Nashville Louisville Atlanta Knoxville Louisville New Orleans Atlanta New Orleans Hyatt Regency Orange County CC Orlando Hyatt Regency Orlando Paroquet Conf. Center Louisville The Diplomat Beach Resort Ft. Lauderdale Omni Orlando Orlando

St FL TN FL GA NC FL FL TN FL LA AL FL FL LA FL FL TN KY GA TN KY LA GA LA FL FL KY FL FL

Att Exh 1500 100 1500 91 8604 457 91K 2.4K 1600 100 3000 400 2500 209 15K 508 1500 183 800 50 1200 110 5500 300 1100 100 9000 420 1000 275 115 5000 300 650 100 14K 500 2211 121 27K 30K 1000 1200 3000 2100 1000 1000

Nsf 11300 11800 134K 1.1M 27300 31200 67321 31200 19600 15000

10000 40000 27500 80000 84000 25000 180K 36400 17700 350 95000 300 80 17376 207 38000 420 43000 100 20000 200 200 18000

Industry Healthcare Pollution Control Fishing Food & Beverage Religious Apparel Building & Construction Art, Music & Culture Petroleum, Oil & Plastics Hotels & Resorts Food & Beverage Building & Construction Medical & Healthcare Restaurants & Food Serv.

Healthcare Restaurants & Food Serv.

Government Building & Construction Fire & Fire Protection Agriculture & Farming Medical & Healthcare Jewelry Beauty & Healthcare Government Police Healthcare Gifts Travel Industry Sporting Goods & Rec.

Where Can You Find Industry Features, Maps, Insider Information, Shop Talk And Free Stuff?

Exhibit City News, of Course!

Sign up for six stunning, full-color issues of ECN and get our very special 20th anniversary edition, 52 weekly digital updates and free stuff to wear proudly!

GO TO EXHIBITCITYNEWS.COM/SUBSCRIBE OR CALL 702.309.8023

92 July/August 2019 Exhibit City News

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See complete listing of shows online at ExhibitCityNews.com/tradeshow-calendar

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

U.S. SOUTHWEST Show International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers of America - IPCPR Electrical Apparatus Service Association - EASA Environmental Systems Research Institute - ESRI Hawaii Lodging, Hospitality & Foodservice Expo National Association of Counties - NACo International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease Comic Con National Retail Federation - NFR NXT Accounting & Finance Show LA BizBash Live Expo International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo - BCA National Medical Association - NMA Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management - AHRMM Siggraph Cosmoprof North America Las Vegas Market/Summer (Furniture) ASD Las Vegas Clinical Lab Expo - AACC - American Association for Clinical Chemistry OFFPRICE Wholesale Apparel Show Associated Locksmiths of America - ALOA Gentlemen’s Club Expo WWIN - WomensWear In Nevada - August MAGIC - Business of Fashion - August PGA Fashion & Demo Experience - Professional Golfers’ Association THE NBM SHOW SuperZoo Coffee Fest American Chemical Society Fall - ACS Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo

All Information Is Subject to Change*

Start 06/28 06/30 07/08 07/10 07/12 07/14 07/18 07/22 07/23 07/24 07/24 07/27 07/28 07/28 07/28 07/28 07/28 08/04 08/10 08/11 08/11 08/12 08/12 08/13 08/15 08/20 08/25 08/25 08/25

End 07/02 07/02 07/12 07/11 07/15 07/18 07/21 07/24 07/24 07/24 07/26 07/31 07/31 08/01 07/30 08/01 07/31 08/08 08/13 08/17 08/14 08/15 08/14 08/14 08/17 08/22 08/27 08/29 08/27

Venue Sands Expo Mandalay Bay San Diego CC Neal Blaisdell Center Bally’s & Paris Las Vegas Los Angeles CC San Diego CC Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles CC California Market Center South Point Casino Hawaii CC San Diego CC Los Angeles CC Mandalay Bay World Market Center Las Vegas CC Anaheim CC Sands Expo South Point Casino Planet Hollywood Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino Las Vegas CC The Venetian Long Beach CC Mandalay Bay Los Angeles CC San Diego CC Los Angeles CC

City Las Vegas Las Vegas San Diego Honolulu Las Vegas Los Angeles San Diego Las Vegas Los Angeles Los Angeles Las Vegas Honolulu San Diego Los Angeles Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Anaheim Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Long Beach Las Vegas Los Angeles San Diego Los Angeles

St NV NV CA HI NV CA CA NV CA CA NV HI CA CA NV NV NV CA NV NV NV NV NV NV CA NV CA CA CA

Att 6000 2000 13K 4414 23K 5000 123K 2365 1700 1200 2047 2500 1016 23K 36K 50K 40K 21K 14K 3500 4000 7700 66K 2803 10K 10K 8000 13K 8000

Exh 300 217 300 326 180 75 1K 305 120 150 132 150 200 153 1.3K 450 2.8K 750 525 200 500 480 4.3K 200 396 1.2K 400 500 400

Nsf 150K 39600 30700 53000 28000 12000 53500 20000 31649 46500 37600 29800 46500 222K 550K 684K 207K 132K 45000 100K 180K 951K 25300 43500 285K 41500 50000 50300

Industry Stores & Store Fittings Electrical & Electronics Science Hotels & Resorts Government Healthcare Publishing Accounting Exhibition & Meeting Ind. Sporting Goods & Rec. Healthcare Healthcare Computers & Apps Beauty & Healthcare Home Furn. & Int. Design Gifts Medical & Healthcare Apparel Building & Construction Gaming & Entertainment Apparel Apparel Sporting Goods & Rec. Printing Food & Beverage Chemical Food & Beverage

• Delivery in Las Vegas, FedEx/UPS to all cities • Be a HERO use Horizon Print Solutions and make it EZ • Everything for your show or event from a top quality 25 year supplier!

Color Printing • Rack cards • Brochures • Booklets • Everything else @ExhibitCityNews

086_Tradeshow_Calendar_0719.indd 8

Meeting & Event Supplies • Lanyards & Credentials • Binders, Tabs and inserts • Tote Bags & Inserts • Tickets & Programs

Promotional Products • Giveaways • Table Drapes & Signage • Branded Apparel • Gifts & Awards ExhibitCityNews.com July/August 2019 93

6/17/19 10:05 AM

Tradeshow Calendar CANADA

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

Show Canadian Urological Association - CUA Canadian Institute of Planners Annual Conference Canadian Business Aviation Association - CBAA AX Spring-Summer World Small Animal Veterinary Association - WSAVA Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Comm. - AEJMC Animethon Canadian Gift Association - Toronto Gift Fair ICCE - International Conference & Exhibition on Clean Energy ICANM - International Conference & Exhibition on Advanced & Nano Materials IncentiveWorks Edmonton Marathon & Sports Expo Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) ExpoZoo - PIJAC Alberta Gift Show - Fall The National Franchise & Business Opportunities Show International Association of Assessing Officers - IAAO IEEE Petroleum and Chemical Industry Technical Conference Oil Sands Trade Show & Conference Security Canada Atlantic - CANASA Canadian Health Food Association - Expo East - CHFA Canadian Dental Association - CDA National Conference National Pet Industry Trade Show The National Franchise & Business Opportunities Show Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society - CHES The Canadian Coffee & Tea Show

Start 06/29 07/03 07/09 07/16 07/16 08/07 08/09 08/11 08/12 08/12 08/13 08/16 08/16 08/25 08/25 09/07 09/08 09/09 09/10 09/11 09/12 09/12 09/15 09/21 09/22 09/22

End 07/01 07/06 07/11 07/18 07/19 08/10 08/11 08/14 08/14 08/14 08/14 08/17 09/02 08/26 08/28 09/08 09/11 09/12 09/11 09/11 09/15 09/14 09/16 09/22 09/24 09/23

Venue Hilton Quebec Westin Hotel

Metro Toronto CC Sheraton Centre Edmonton CC Metro Toronto CC Delta Hotels Montreal Delta Hotels Montreal Metro Toronto CC Edmonton CC The Centrexpo de Drummondville Edmonton CC International Centre

Suncor Comm. Leisure Centre Metro Toronto CC TCU Place International Centre Shaw Conference Centre Saskatoon Arts & CC Toronto Congress Centre

All Information Is Subject to Change*

City Quebec City Ottawa Calgary Sherbrooke Toronto Toronto Edmonton Toronto Montreal Montreal Toronto Edmonton Toronto Drummondville Edmonton Toronto Niagra Falls Vancouver Ft. McMurray Moncton Toronto Saskatoon Mississauga Edmonton Saskatoon Toronto

St QC ON AB QC ON ON AB ON QC QC ON AB ON QC AB ON ON BC AB NB ON SK ON AB SK ON

Att

Exh

700

74 14100 Aerospace & Aviation Sporting Goods & Rec. 200 Medical & Healthcare 50 6000 Education

2000 20K

Nsf

Industry Healthcare

1K 13

421K

2400

Gifts Renewable Energy Manufacturing 700 52000 Travel Industry

977 16K 5000 1200

98 740 150 36

5700 200 3800 10K 1811 1600 300 1300

400 40 800

17900 190K Gifts 21000 Business 4200 Associations Petroleum, Oil & Plastics 85000 Petroleum, Oil & Plastics 5800 Security 73000 Food & Beverage Medical & Healthcare 40800 20000 Business 15000 Healthcare Food & Beverage

230 50 160 135

*DISCLAIMER: Please note that tradeshow information is provided as a resource only. All show information is subject to change. Please check show dates and venues with official show organizers and producers. For updated show and event listings, visit www.exhibitcitynews.com/tradeshow-calendar.

PUT YOUR BUSINESS ON THE MAP! Showcase your regional services with a calendar sponsorship.

Contact Sales@ExhibitCityNews.com For Rates and Details. (Design Services Available) 94 July/August 2019 Exhibit City News

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INDUSTRY SERVICE GUIDE Where to Find Professional Services, Products and Supplies—a Companion Directory to Our www.ExhibitCityNews.com/Service-Guide

Aadvantaged Displays 98 BWC Visual Technologies 96 CDS 100 CEP (Chicago Exhibit Productions, Inc.) 97 Champion Logistics 99 Clementine Creative Services 96 Corey Johnson Photography 100 Corporate Communications 97 Corporate Events 97

Equip, Inc. Exhibitrac Direct Marketing Exhibit Source Inc. Horizon Print Solutions Jami as Marilyn Monroe Tribute Artist KB Lines King Size LED Displays KKOM Larry Kulchwik Consulting

101 101 98 101 97 100 99 98 96

Las Vegas Power Professionals Last Minute Venues LipSmacking Foodie Tours Prism Lighting Quality EFX Massage TSEMA.org TWI Group YOR Design Your Event Audio

98 101 99 99 96 97 100 98 96

For Service Guide information and rates, call sales at (702) 309-8023. Inclusive categories are available for all your company advertising needs. @ExhibitCityNews

095_ServiceGuide_0719.indd 1

ExhibitCityNews.com July/August 2019 95

6/17/19 10:07 AM

INDUSTRY SERVICE GUIDE

NVMT 4993

Chair Massage Foot Massage Stress Release Massage and More...

QualityEFX Massage Therapy Quality EFX Massage Therapy provides Premium Chair Massages for your business, tradeshow or corporate event at optimal savings.

Massage therapist Roy Duncan has been in the hospitality industry for 20+ years. He has a real desire to provide the true commitment of quality service with grace and kindness through the healing process of massage. A former athlete, he knows the importance of attention to detail and quality customer service. It is his promise to fulfill your massage and bodywork needs while upholding the highest values of quality service, professionalism and personalized attentive care. Enhance the Quality of Your Life! www.qualityefx.com

Convention Chair Massage Services We use massage techniques & tools that surpass services provided by the competition.

Massage services range from 5 minutes to 30 minutes.

Advanced massage services that engage the highest level of convention services.

www.QualityEFX.com

Call or Text (702) 336-9362

Audio Visual Technology

Audio Visual Technology

Consulting

Creative Design Services

96 July/August 2019 Exhibit City News

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INDUSTRY SERVICE GUIDE

CorpCom Exhibits and Events

Exhibit / Trade Show Displays | Event Planning | Sporting Event Décor

CorpCom Exhibits and Events, is a tradeshow & event management organization that specializes in custom exhibits, rental properties and full service logistics coordination including installation & dismantle in Boston & New England—including upstate New York. Since 1986, we strive to find the best resultdriven solutions to improve our clients’ marketing efforts and develop stronger brands.

Exhibitor Education

Creative Entertainment Services

Exhibit Production

Exhibits

Upstate NY

Montpelier, VT

Concord, NH

Boston, MA Worcester, MA Springfield, MA

Hartford, CT

Providence, RI

@ExhibitCityNews

095_ServiceGuide_0719.indd 3

(508) 366-8594 info@corp-eventsne.com

6 30.378.4 8 4 8 w w w.cepexhibits.com

ExhibitCityNews.com July/August 2019 97

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INDUSTRY SERVICE GUIDE

YOR Design YOR Design Group’s mission is to create tradeshow exhibits and environments that convey your brands image cohesively.

We offer Freelance Design ∙ Design Consultants ∙ On-Site Design Service Available. Established in 2005, we have more than 24 years’ experience in local and national markets. Customer testimonials include: “Excellent design and communication, easy to work with, flexible, reliable,” “We use YOR when we need highly polished creative design” and “Deano Pappas of YOR Design Group is highly professional, creative & honest. He understands core advertising/marketing concepts which is an enormous strength.” Got Design? We Got YORS! (708) 598-8100 | www.yordesigngroup.com

Exhibits

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262-250-2060 EXT 232 | RKOHL@KKOMINC.COM

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Graphics

The Attention You Deserve Displays Starting at $69.95

941-758-8444 866-239-8056

Visit us online for more of our products & services

AadvantageDisplays.com 98 July/August 2019 Exhibit City News

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INDUSTRY SERVICE GUIDE

Lip Smackin Foodie Tours Honored as “Best Tour,” “Best Fine Dining,” and “Best Brunch”

by LV’s Review-Journal, awarded “Best Food/Beverage Tour Operations (Land)” by The World Food Travel Assoc., awarded “Best Tour” by InVegas magazine and “Best New Tour” by Thrillist—the Lip Smacking Foodie Tours is the premier walking tour company exclusively geared toward those craving the ultimate tastes of Vegas. They have several types of tours, daytime or evening at up to five top restaurants, on the Strip or downtown—including the elegant Savors of the Strip, the Downtown Lip Smacking Tour or Boozy Brunch, Vegas Sights & Worldly Bites and more! www.vegasfoodietour.com

Lighting

Lighting

EYE-CATCHING LIGHTING SOLUTIONS •Perfect Lighting for Exhibits, Retail Environments & Special Projects •Full Line of Innovative LED Products; Flexible Strip Lighting, Recessed Lights, Arm Lights, LED DMX and so much more!

•Fast Connect Cable System Saving Time and Labor •Eco-Friendly Battery Solutions •Easy to Install, Plug And Play Lighting Solutions

PRISM – INNOVATION LIVES HERE!

WWW.PRISMLIGHTINGGROUP.COM | 1.866.620.1380 | SALESUSA@PRISMLIGHTINGGROUP.COM

Logistics Champion Logistics Group has a transportation division specializing in the coordination of trade shows and special events. Champion provides the most reliable and flexible trade show transportation in the industry.

ADVERTISE IN THE SERVICE GUIDE •Added value with your ad in print and on our website.

•Engage a captive audience with 38,000 readers every month!

•Increase revenue and gain marketshare!

Print and Digital Distribution (Ads in print issues will run concurrently online.)

1 Issue: $500 per month 3 Issues: $400 per month 6 Issues: $300 per month 12 Issues: $200 per month Chicago | Atlanta | Boston | Dallas | Las Vegas | Los Angeles | New Jersey

800.323.5401 | info@champlog.com | www.champlog.com

@ExhibitCityNews

095_ServiceGuide_0719.indd 5

Contact sales for details: 702-309-8023 or sales@exhibitcitynews.com ExhibitCityNews.com July/August 2019 99

6/19/2019 10:44:00 PM

INDUSTRY SERVICE GUIDE

TWI Group TWI Group Inc., the premier specialist in domestic and international tradeshow shipping and exhibition logistics, is an all-in-one destination for any type of industry and is the official exhibitor’s transit company of 100+ tradeshows. The hallmark of our service is the personal attention and on-site support we provide. Specializing in exhibition freight forwarding, transportation and arranging customs requirements worldwide, TWI provides managers the luxury of not worrying about freight shipments at 15,000+ exhibitions in 60+ countries. If your exhibiting plans include an international venue, give TWI an opportunity to prove that Delivering First-Class Service Every Time is not just a concept for us, it’s a reality.

Logistics

Photography

exhibit and event experience photography

10% OFF

www.cjphotog.com

ECN10

Las Vegas, Nevada 218 - 209 - 1466 corey@cjphotog.com

PROMO CODE

Printing

Attention Exhibit and Event Companies Local Service for Trade Shows and Events In: Washington D.C. - Baltimore - Atlantic City Philly - NYC - Hartford - Boston All in same-day driving distance from us.

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We Can Provide You A Local Presence

Question: Where Can You Find Industry Features, Maps, Insider Information, Shop Talk And Free Stuff?

Answer: Exhibit City News, of course!

Sign up for six stunning, full-color issues of ECN and get our very special 20th anniversary edition, 52 weekly digital updates and free stuff to wear proudly!

VISIT US ONLINE:

SUBSCRIBE@EXHIBITCITYNEWS.COM OR CALL:

702.309.8023

100 July/August 2019 Exhibit City News

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INDUSTRY SERVICE GUIDE

Equip Inc. Equip Inc. has been manufacturing custom covers for retail displays and equipment as well as delivering commercial furniture, fixtures and equipment nationwide since 1999. All of our furniture and site amenities are commercial grade and built for years of service in high traffic public spaces with 1-10 year warranties. All custom covers are designed and manufactured in Colorado Springs, CO (no outsourcing!) and ship worldwide with an industry-leading, two-year product guarantee. We have supplied custom sized covers to over 600 shopping malls, 200 retailers, 40 airports and thousands of customers. No minimum orders required. Qty pricing available for wholesalers. www.equipinc.com

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W W W. E Q U I P I N C . C O M

7 1 9. 5 9 9. 0 3 0 0

Tradeshow Lists

• Delivery in Las Vegas, FedEx/UPS to all cities • Be a HERO use Horizon Print Solutions and make it EZ • Everything for your show or event from a top quality 25 year supplier!

Meeting & Event Supplies • Lanyards & Credentials • Binders, Tabs and inserts • Tote Bags & Inserts • Tickets & Programs

Promotional Products • Giveaways • Table Drapes & Signage • Branded Apparel • Gifts & Awards

Venues

ADVERTISE IN THE SERVICE GUIDE •Added value with your ad in print and on our website.

•Engage a captive audience with 38,000 readers every month!

•Increase revenue and gain marketshare!

Print and Digital Distribution (Ads in print issues will run concurrently online.)

1 Issue: $500 per month 3 Issues: $400 per month 6 Issues: $300 per month 12 Issues: $200 per month Contact sales for details: 702-309-8023 or sales@exhibitcitynews.com @ExhibitCityNews

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Exhibit City News Congratulates the 2019 I&D ACE Award Winners Submissions Opening for 2020 on Nov. 1

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Classifieds

Trade Show Floor Manager (I&D) - New York On Location, Inc New York, NY Benefits Offered: Vision, Medical, Life Insurance, 401k, Dental Employment Type: Full-Time On Location, Inc. a nationwide provider of Labor and Management for Exhibits, Events and Environments is looking for a Trade Show Floor Manager. Due to continual growth, the organization is seeking a hands on person that is willing do what it takes to get the job done. For over 25 years we have provided personalized service that resulted in a positive ROE (Return on Experience) for our clients. We are looking for an ENERGETIC, CUSTOMER FOCUSED, and LOGISTICAL MINDED individual that will help us continue to grow.

The right person will be able to travel up to 50 – 60% of the year. Should have a few years “Real Life” experience in Face 2 Face Marketing or Customer Service. Ideally, the right candidate will reside in New York area.

Working closely with On Location’s Northeast Regional Manager the individual will perform the following duties:

PRE SHOW Provide pre-show planning assistance for our larger shows which includes: • Coordinating and scheduling lead travel • Perform pre-show calls • Assist with scheduling local labor • Help determine equipment and supplies requirements • Work with Account Managers to ensure that ALL pertinent job information is received.

• Assist Regional Manager with ordering tools, equipment, and supplies.

• When available assist Regional Manager with delivering tools, equipment and supplies to show site.

• Assist Operations Managers and Account Managers with job estimates.

ON SITE Travel to show sites to provide: • Document daily booth cards (payroll) and ensure boothcards have meaningful documentation • Manage onsite equipment and resources • Managing labor (additions and cutbacks) • Monitor budgets vs actuals, continually evaluate team performance • Ensure continual communication with clients regarding any onsite issues • Assist in coordinating third party vendors (riggers, electrations, etc.)

• Monitor onsite customer satisfaction.

• Ensure proper brand identity in designated region.

• Ensure ALL projects are documented via photos and photos and finished photos are sent to client.

POST SHOW • Ensure proper job recaps • Ensure all that On Site Purchases have been documented.

• Help resolve any onsite issues (internal and external) • Make recommendations for operational improvements both Regionally and Nationally.

• Assist with Account Teams with any client disputes.

ABOUT ON LOCATION, INC: On Location, Inc. is a growing provider of labor for exhibits, events, and enviroments nationwide. For over 25 years we have provided personalized service that resulted in a positive ROE (Return on Experience) for our clients. On Location, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/job/ff418e5f

National Trade Show & Event Labor provider seeking Atlanta, GA Manager

National I&D labor provider is seeking a talented and experienced professional for the position of city manager for the Atlanta, GA area. Candidates should be motivated self-starters and possess good communication skills in dealing with exhibitors, clients, crew members, general contractors and show management. Responsibilities include but are not limited to labor calls, pre-show planning, on-site show management, hands-on abilities. Office duties involve receiving orders, payroll, invoicing and submitting post show reports. Knowledge of Microsoft Office and smart phone usage (i.e. sending pictures via text, email) is required.

If you are interested in joining this leading organization and possess the desire to succeed, please forward your resume to blindbox@exhibitcitynews.com. Must include “Atlanta City Manager” in the subject line. @ExhibitCityNews

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2019 EDITORIAL CALENDAR* *Content is subject to change

JANUARY-FEBRUARY

MARCH-APRIL

January (print & digital)

March (print & digital):

February (digital only)

April (digital only):

• Feature: Year in Review • Transportation/Warehousing/Material Handling • Vendors International Focus: Thailand

• Feature: EXHIBITORLive Preview • Furnishings • New Product Showcase International Focus: Chile & Argentina

• Exhibit Building & Design • Show Management/Kits • Corporate Social Responsibility Regional Focus: Southwest U.S.

• Technology Show/Products • AV/Lighting/Graphics/Photography • Corporate Social Responsibility Regional Focus: Northeast U.S.

MAY-JUNE

JULY-AUGUST

May (print & digital):

July (print & digital):

June (digital only):

August (digital only):

• Feature: Museums/Exhibits • ECN’s 2019 I&D Ace Award Winners • EXHIBITORLive Post Recap International Focus: Australia

• Feature: Women in the Industry • ECN's 2019 I&D ACE Awards Part II • Industry Salespeople International Focus: Dubai

• Insurance/Legal/Contracts • Floor Coverings/Flooring • Tension Fabric Regional Focus: Midwest U.S.

• Mobile Exhibits • Warehousing/Material Handling • Extrusions Regional Focus: Central U.S.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

September (print & digital):

November (print & digital):

October (digital only):

December (digital only):

• Feature: Labor/Unions • Associations •Healthcare • Booth Staff/Talent/Brand Ambassadors International Focus: China

• Feature: Giveaways/Incentives • General Contractors • ECN’s 2019 Convention Center Parking Survey International Focus: London

• Lead Retrieval v. Data Matching/CRM • Tradeshow Marketing/Traffic • Social Media Regional Focus: Northwest U.S.

Content covered digitally and in print Jan., March, May, July, Sept. and Nov. Other months, digital coverage only.

• Special/Corporate Events • Hybrid/Co-location Events • Corporate Social Sustainability Regional Focus: Southeast U.S.

Deadline / Space reservation: 8th day, or closest business day, of month prior to print issue.

We would love to hear from you! Share the coverage you would like to see in future issues at newsdesk@exhibitcitynews.com 3

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Advertiser Index 4 Productions

17

4Productions.com

D.E. McNabb

4

DEMcNabb.com

Aluvision

13/108

Aluvision.com/us

Design to Print

79

AnglesOnDesign.com

EACA

51

2

beMatrix.us

EDPA Foundation

52

57

Brumark.com

Employco

63

53

CamdenTradeshow.com

Experience Transport Agency

5

66

CBDisplays.com

Exposures Ltd. Photography

79

71

ChampLog.com

Full Circle Events

88

81

CharliePalmer.com

Highmark Tech

73

91

ClementineCS.com

Hill & Partners

57

61

CoboCenter.com

Horizon Print Solution

69

107

ColorReflections.com

Corporate Communications

Somers Furniture Rental Storage West

93

Sunset Transportation

28

Superior Logistics

Las Vegas Mannequin/ Las Vegas Store Supply

Total Show Technology (TST)

84

LVMannequin.com & LVStoreSupply.com

Momentum Management MomentumMgt.com

Cort.com

NewGen Business Solutions

Crown & Anchor Pub

83

NewGenNow.com

Nolan Advisory Services (NAS)

47 106 59 71 69 19

Sunset-LV.com

53

65

Facebook.com/CrownAndAnchorVegas

SMT Expo

ShipSuperior.com

Corp-eventsid.com

CORT Events

ShowNets, LLC

LaborInc.ca

Corpcom-Events.com

Corporate Events

Laborinc.

Sho-Link Inc.

StorageWest.com

PrintEfficiency.com

ColorReflections

62

SomersFurniture.com

HillPartners.com

Cobo Center

Rosemont – RES

SmtExpo.com

HighmarkTech.com

Clementine Creative Services

7

ShowNets.net

FCELV.com

CharliePalmer

Orbus

Sho-link.com

ExposuresLtd.com

ChampionLogistics

61

Rosemont.com/DESConvention

ETALV.com

CB Displays

Onsite Exhibitor Service

Orbus.com

Employco.com

Camden Tradeshow Furnishings

15

OnsiteExhibitorService.com

EDPA.com/edpafoundation

Brumark

Octanorm Octanorm.com

EACA.com

beMatrix

43

Nuvistaonline.com

DesignToPrint.com

Angles On Design

Nuvista

69 3

77 49

TotalShowTech.com

Willwork

44

Willworkinc.com

77 63

NolanAdvisory.com

FOR ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES Contact sales: 702-309-8023 ext. 105, sales@exhibitcitynews.com @ExhibitCityNews

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@ExhibitCityNews

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ExhibitCityNews.com JULY 2015 2

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