COLUMN As the Saws Turn
25 Years of Ramblings
I
wrote my very first article for the As The Saws Turn column for Exhibit City News (ECN) in By Jim Obermeyer October of 2000… exactly 25 years ago. Who would have imagined that this column would have lasted this long—through numerous job changes, through industry booms and recessions, through a pandemic? Certainly not me. Yet here I am, 25 years later, still sitting at a computer writing this stuff. have enjoyed the challenge of I ran into Don Svehla, pubtrying to come up with somelisher of ECN, at a reception thing (hopefully) worthwhile at the now-defunct TS2 show to write about each time. in Washington, DC in the I’ve written columns at summer of 2000. Somewhere home, at work, in hotels, during our conversation, he in airports, in airplanes, asked me if I would be interwherever and whenever the ested in doing some writing for idea for a column struck me. his tradeshow industry newsSometimes, I’d have an idea paper. We talked about me do- and write the column well ing a monthly opinion column. before the deadline. Other I agreed on one condition: I times, I’d be staring at my could write about anything I monitor desperately trying wanted, as long as I tied it to to come up with a kernel of a the industry in some way. thought to write about. Over the last 25 years, the Going back and reading column has gone in a lot through the columns, I realof different directions, but ized two things: always I tried to link it to our » 1. For industry folks, it is a bit of an industry in some way. Somehistorical look at our industry and times it was quite a stretch to the issues—some serious, some make the connection, but I not so much—that we’ve dealt with 88 Oct/Nov/Dec 2025 Exhibit City News
in the last 25 years. Topics like intellectual capital and selling value against price have been a part of our industry for a long time, and unless something radical changes, it will most likely be for a long time to come. Other problems such as special freight handling fees and union work rules in certain cities have been pretty much resolved. » 2. For family and friends, it gives a bit of a clue about just who I am, what I really do for a living, and what has been important to me throughout my career in this industry. I think perhaps that second reason was the real motivator for me to keep writing. Whether it’s of any value to you as a reader is always in question. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this
publication and for allowing me to ramble on about all manner of things for so long. We have seen a lot of changes in the exhibition and events industry in the last 25 years, some of it very positive, and some not so much. But one thing has remained constant— the incredible passion and dedication of the people that do this for a living. It’s what has kept me doing this for over 30 years. See you on the show floor… still! Jim Obermeyer has been in the exhibits and events industry for over 40 years, both as a corporate trade show manager and exhibit house owner. He can be reached at jobermeyer903@gmail.com