As you can see from our last couple of months we have been showcasing many of the convention centers around the country and letting you know their offerings and how they might fit into your convention plan. No matter if you are planning a large event or a smaller conference, we want to be seen as the place to come for information. You can find all of the information on any city or center just by looking at the categories we have here, or perhaps making sure to visit Conventions.net for the latest information on any of our locations we have featured there.

I wanted to get back to some of the nuts and bolts of actually going through the planning of a convention, trade show or conference. I have been busy with a few of my own shows, one in Las Vegas in 2009 at BlogWorld & New Media Expo, followed very quickly by the Social Media Business Summit in Hawaii at the [re]Think Hawaii event, and most recently I have been working on the Modern Media Man Summit in Atlanta which will take place in September, 2010.  It seems I have a few plates in the air and have been doing many jobs over the last couple of years.  I am sure this will continue as I think it is a great way to gain experience doing a number of different jobs in different locations.

This week I am going to start talking about some of the things that go on behind the doors or events.  These are the things that might not be the glamorous things that occur and it might not be the things that we like to showcase as owners of events or conference directors or exhibit booth salespersons.  I have met a number of interesting people along the way and want to talk about a few of those as well so stay tuned while I start my brain dump of all the things that go into what I see as convention planning!

[photo via Retronaut]

I have been planning another trip to Hawaii after my latest trip in May.  I will be hosting a track in a conference and it will be called the Social Media Business Summit and it will be held at the Marriott Waikiki.   The event is scheduled to take place in the first part of November and is actually an invite only event.  You can leave me a message if you are interested in getting an invitation to the event.

The event is scheduled for about 5 days and this time I will have some extra time to actually enjoy the island and get in some site seeing while I am there and perhaps a little rest.  After the schedule I have had this year I could use a little of that thing we call rest.

Upcoming I have Houston, an then I am off to Los Angeles for a speaking gig I have and then we may be headed to Orlando to attend another event, and then my major event is set for October 15-17 in Las Vegas. Then after Hawaii, I am off to San Diego to speak at the National Association of Realtors and who knows what else. I would say this year is rounding out to be very busy.  The problem is, with the events all beginning again in Las Vegas in January the game begins again!  I hope perhaps to see some of you in Atlanta this year at IAEE.  Are you going?

Tags: Hawaii, Hawaii Travel, HawaiiHTA, Las Veasg, Atlanta, Conventions, Trade Shows, Conferences

The 14th Annual Randy Smith Memorial Golf Classic, benefiting families in the trade show industry who have suffered severe tragedies or face insurmountable medical expenses, will take place on October 24, 2008 at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Georgia, and there are still opportunities to participate!  “The Randy” started with friends helping one man’s family. A decade later, this event is an avalanche of hope for many families in the exhibition industry.

Mike Boone of Coastal International, one of many RSMGC supporters, is overwhelmed at the show of support for our industry and how many individuals and corporations have stepped up to help.

“Their generosity is amazing, but there will always be people in need. Individuals and Corporations can still help this year by participating in the golf class, or offering your help through one of our sponsorships. Wristbands, similar to LIVESTRONG, are available for a five-dollar donation.”

“If you are a member of the trade show community and have not supported this great cause, I hope you’ll start today! We all lead by example and you never know when your actions may help someone close to you who is in desperate need. Donate money and time – it always comes back to you in the long run. This is a very worthwhile charity event to support. All volunteers, all the time,” said Boone.

I wish I had the ability to be there for this event.  Not only would it be great to play golf somewhere that does not have a 1/2 inch of frost on the grass in the morning like here at home, but I think it is a great cause and one that we all should consider being a part of in our industry.

On October 1, 2009, William Pate began his new tenure as the President and CEO of The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau.  The Board of Directors of the ACVB approved of Pate as the leader of their organization effective on January 1, 2009, but he will be the President elect until that date.  Pate replaces Spurgeon Richardson, the ACVB’s current president and CEO.  Spurgeon will retire Dec. 31, after 17 years with the organization.

ACVB is a private non-profit organization that was formed in 1913 and in 2007 they welcomed 37 million visitors who spent $11.4 Billion and helped 225,000 do their jobs in Atlanta.  Congratulations and welcome to William Pate and his staff.

On this day in the United States, we all rush out to get that tax return in the mail, or I guess in this day and age we rush to the computer to file it electronically over the Internet.  Like every other holiday, I try to mix in a little celebration of the day.  Today, all I could think of was death and taxes.  You know the old saw about some things being certain and of those, most prevalent are death and taxes.  This lead me to think about what convention or trade show might be out there that deals with issues of death and taxes. 

You might think a death convention might be a little morbid, and I must say the name does not stick too well with me, but how about a mortuary or other type convention or trade show?  My company has even help establish a funeral blog, so I know they must have a convention.  As you know, all industries have their own trade show and the people at the National Funeral Directors Association are no different.  The NFDA had its national convention in 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the and in 2008, the convention is scheduled in October in Orlando, Florida.

Tax professionals around the US are operating on no sleep and are drinking coffee and energy drinks to get through to midnight when the deadline arrives.  They will be happy to know that they can relax at their national convention this summer in Atlanta, Georgia.  The conference is set to take place at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, July 7-10, 2008.

To all of the tax professionals out there, good luck today with your deadlines.  To the rest of you out there doing your own taxes, you have a little time left if you want to procrastinate a little bit longer, say about 12 hours.

On March 14, 2008, downtown Atlanta was hit by a storm that included a tornado that caused serious damage to buildings, including the Georgia World Congress Center.  That caused people at the center to cancel the events scheduled for the weekend.  They quickly worked to get the center assessed and repaired, and by March 19, they reported they would be back in the game.  Events planned for this week began moving in on Monday after they had closed the campus for a full week.

In a release sent out Monday, the people at GWCCA had nothing but praise for those that helped them get back on their feet:

“We are extremely pleased that the campus is open and ready for business,” said GWCCA Executive Director Dan Graveline. “This is a great illustration of the strong partnership between the GWCCA, the Atlanta hospitality community, the city and the state.”

“Hundreds – really thousands – of people have worked to get the convention center and the city back to business. It’s a perfect example of teamwork and we want to thank our customers and the community for their support,” said Mark Zimmerman, general manager of the convention center.

This week’s scheduled events are the International Window Coverings Expo, and the National Propane Gas Association’s expo.  According to the National Propane Gas Association’s web site, some of the problems they are having is related to damage to their hotel accommodations at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center, a building that also suffered some damage.

One event, The Clinical Laboratory Management Association’s Think Lab ’08 Conference and Exposition that was scheduled for March 29 – April 1 was canceled. 

It does appear that repairs are forthcoming:

A team of architects, engineers and contractors are working with GWCCA officials to develop a timeline to repairs to the convention center. While definitive dates have not been determined, officials are confident that upcoming shows, including the Atlanta Journal Constitution Auto Show (April 19-April 27), FIRST Robotics (April 16-April 19) and DECA International Career Development Conference (April 26-April 29) will open their doors as scheduled.

Good luck to everyone at GWCCA on weathering the storm.  We also want to wish luck to those event planners and conventions and meeting planners that are also having to deal with the trouble caused by the storm and tornado in Atlanta.

Well there really isn’t an association of hens out there that have their own association and convention, but if there was one I bet it would be held around the same time as Easter.  According to some of the reports I heard, eggs were selling at a price higher this year than in the last twenty years. 

There is an association called the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association and they actually have an event called the International Poultry Expo.  The next expo is scheduled to take place at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center on January 28-30, 2009.  They list out some interesting points about their show:

• The expo has been held in Atlanta, Ga., for the past 61 years.
• The show is the world’s largest display of technology, equipment, supplies, and services used in the production and processing of poultry and eggs and for those involved in the feed manufacturing.
• All segments of the industry are represented: feed milling, hatchery, live production, processing, further processing, marketing, and all support activities.
• There were 895 exhibitors at the 2008 expo.

I’m sure they talk about egg prices and such at this show.  I was trying to be cheeky when I talked about an egg convention, but as always I am proven that there really is a convention or trade show for everything!

I went to the hardware store today to buy some replacement parts for a garbage disposal that exploded under my kitchen sink.  I walked down the plumbing supplies isle and a had a little chuckle thinking about the plumbing supply business.  It reminded me of when I was growing up watching TV shows like Happy Days, as I believe Mr. C would be going to a plumbing supply convention for his hardware store.  Perhaps it was thinking of “P Traps” or other plumbing phrases.  Yes, sometimes my inner 13 year old shows himself.  I was actually going to make fun of this profession a little, because as sitcom writers all know plumbing supplies are actually a funny profession, and it always seems like the conventions businessmen are going to back in the day of sitcoms were plumbing supply conventions. 

While kitchen sinks and toilet and toilet brushes are funny things to write in as characters, this is big business for the likes of the people at  the PHCC.  They recently had their 125th Annual Convention in Southern California. 125 years is a long time and obviously this group has some real staying power.  Their 126th Annual Convention and Trade Show is scheduled for September 29, 2008 through October 4, 2008 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.  I wonder if Mr. C will be in attendance.

[photo via Lou's Plumbing Supply]

I was running through my inbox last night and as I scanned the content of a few emails at a time, something caught my eye as it related to some event planning opportunities.  There is a group that I follow and a terrific organization that puts on a convention  each year, and in fact has split the convention into two parts, one being business and the other its flagship event, BlogHer.  The convention I refer to is the folks at BlogHer.org.  I thought I would help them spread the word that there is a need for them to have some event planners nd perhaps if you are looking for an opportunity they have some work:

Speaking of having a full roster…

As you may have heard, in addition to our BlogHer Business event in New York (April) and our Annual Conference in San Francisco (July), we are embarking on our first BlogHer road show — the “Reach Out Tour” in October of 2008.

And we would like a little help from our community.

Specifically, we are looking to hire local event planners to help with some of the on-site conference elements in each of our Tour cities. So, if you have prior professional experience as an event planner and are local to one of our Reach Out Tour stops, please contact Kristy. Don’t forget to include your contact info., relevant background info., and resume.

As a reminder, our Reach Out Tour stops are:
Boston
DC
Greensboro
Nashville
Atlanta
New Orleans

Thanks in advance

I can remember when this group was a small handful of people thinking that it would be cool to put together a conference like this and I’m glad they have made it happen.  If you are an event planner and have a need to get your services noticed, this group is definitely the group to unite yourself with in being noticed.  If you live any any of the cities they are planning their events, give them a line and see if you can help them out.