Those of you that know me know that I love talking about what is going on in my own backyard here in Colorado. I like to talk about conventions going on here and what is happening at some of the places I visit here.  I was reading this week about Colorado’s convention center and the fact that they have made it to LEED certified status.

The Colorado Convention Center is operated by SMG and is owned by the City of Denver. In 2009 they hired a manager that began the 18 month long certification process and have finally reached that designation.  Gems Events reports:

According to CCC management, the facility focused efforts in energy usage, sustainable purchasing, green cleaning, building occupant comfort, improved air quality and waste diversion. Richard Scharf, president and CEO of Visit Denver, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, cited a study conducted by the Watkins Research Group that says four out of ten conference planners will choose the ‘greenest’ city for their convention. “That makes the LEED certification an important marketing tool in selling Denver for future meetings,” he said in a statement announcing the recognition.

It is important that a state that prides itself in the use of its outdoors and the theme of being good in environmental issues get this certification.  This is a proud day for Colorado! Consider your next event to be held here in Colorado.

One of the things that is becoming common in the new world of new media is many companies are now publishing blog posts about their experiences at your convention of trade show.  Many companies are now blogging and they have Facebook pages that they are using to publish articles about your convention, your trade show and event the meeting they attended.  These articles, photos, and conversations can be re-purposed in recap posts.

Recap posts are feedback and review of attendee experience, exhibitor experience and sponsor experience.  These can be some of the best advertising for your event as it is generally not a biased opinion of how well you did in your planning, or your organization of that event.  You can also thank those that are writing about you by recognizing their blog post by putting it in a gathering of those posts in a single post on your own company blog.

Finally, by finding and listening to the content that is being generated, you can also get that valuable feedback that I discussed yesterday.  Feedback and reviews written are great opportunities for find out what people that how you did.  Publish they good bad and the indifferent and then follow that up with your own review and feedback of what you think went well and the things you intend improve on in the next event or show.

So many times we go through the motions without ever taking a moment to thank those around us for doing something out of the ordinary business and day-to-day activities.  Many trade associations have their once a year convention and trade show and then they are not looked at again until the next year’s event.  This is what happens in many shows in our industry.  The great thing is, we can now do a little something for good and be recognized for our efforts.  Corporate Social Responsibility is now a part of many company business plans and they figure a way to help their communities along the way.  Is your trade association doing anything that should be recognized as furthering the public good?  Now you can help them be recognized for their efforts.

The U.S. Chamber Business Civic Leadership Center’s (BCLC) Corporate Citizenship Awards showcase businesses, trade associations, and chambers of commerce for demonstrating ethical leadership and corporate stewardship and for making a positive difference in society.

Nominations for all awards will be accepted until Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.  The awards will be presented at the 11th Annual Corporate Citizenship Awards Dinner on November 30, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

You can go to the US Chamber Business site and download the nomination form.  Companies may nominate themselves or be nominated by an outside party for the company’s good work in society.  Nominations include the following:

• U.S. Community Service Award – Honors a business, accredited local or state chamber of commerce, or trade association that has exemplified the highest ideals of corporate citizenship through a specific U.S. community service program that promotes better business-community relations and contributes to the positive development of the community.  This category recognizes programs that are created and managed from within the organization, rather than a partnership with an external nonprofit. The latter should be submitted under the Partnership Award category.
• International Community Service Award – Honors a business or American Chamber of Commerce overseas that has exemplified the ideals of corporate citizenship through a specific community service program outside of the U.S., promoting better business-community relations and contributing to positive economic and social development within the country.  This category recognizes programs that are created and managed from within the organization, rather than a partnership with an external nonprofit. The latter should be submitted under the Partnership Award category.
• The Partnership Award – Honors a company and a charitable organization that have exemplified success working together to address an important social issue. This is an online people’s choice award and will be determined by public vote on the U.S. Chamber BCLC voting portal. The category requires nominees to be prepared to “get out the vote” and engage their constituencies in the judging process. Companies and nonprofit partners are encouraged to submit the nomination together.
• The Corporate Stewardship Award – This award honors companies that exemplify the highest ideals of corporate stewardship through their overall values, strategies, and operational practices. A corporate steward is a company that understands the linkages between its operations and society and that conducts business in a way that creates shared value: both economic and social progress over the long term.

Take this opportunity to perhaps recognize your own association or if you belong to an association that should be recognized for the good it does, download the form and get a nomination out for them.

Today we are hearing about all of the trade shows and conventions having their troubles with attendance and sizes dwindling and many other doom and gloom type stories.  This is what makes it especially nice to hear about the cool stories and the good news that takes place in our world.  Trade Show Week has now published its list of hottest events and shows in its TSW Fastest 50 Winners.  The announcement was made today listing the top 50 fastest movers in the business.

Shows from the United States and Canada will be recognized during the TSW Fastest 50 event Nov. 13-15 in Houston, which also hosted the inaugural celebration in 2003.

This Fastest 50 event registration opens on August 10, 2009. To register and for more information, go to www.tswfastest50.com.

Conventions.net and we here at Convention Insider would like to offer our most heartfelt congratulations to the winners as they all deserve to be recognized as leaders given the difficulties they have faced in accomplishing this great honor.

Tags: Trade Show Week, TSW Fastest 50, Houston

Experient, the source for integrated meeting and event solutions, is the registration and/or housing provider of choice for 7 of the 10 largest trade shows in the country, including the top three shows.

This information was compiled from Trade Show Executive magazine’s recently released first annual ranking of the nation’s 100 largest trade shows, the Gold 100. To be considered for inclusion in the Gold 100, trade shows had to be B-to-B shows that took place in 2007. Rankings were based on net square feet of exhibit space.

The seven shows in the top ten where Experient provides registration and/or housing services are:

• International CES (#1)
• International Construction & Utility Equipment Exposition (ICUEE) (#2)
• MAGIC Marketplace/August (#3)
• MAGIC Marketplace/February (#6)
• Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show – part of Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week (AAIW) (#7)
• National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) annual meeting and convention (#8)
• International Builders’ Show (#9) 

“It’s exciting to see so many of our customers’ names at the top of the Gold 100 list,” says Rick Binford, CMP, Experient senior vice president. “We work with 36% of the 50 largest shows on the list. Knowing that these recognized industry leaders put their trust in Experient to serve their attendees and help optimize their ROI is extremely gratifying.”

In addition to naming the Gold 100, Trade Show Executive also recognized special award winners at their Award Gala & Summit on Sept. 17 – 19. Several Experient customers were named among these winners including:

• The International CES show named “The Largest Trade Show”
• Advanstar Communication’s fashion event MAGIC Marketplace/August took the honor for “The Largest Show Produced by an Independent Organizer”
• The Radiological Society of North America’s RSNA Scientific Assembly & Annual Meeting documented the “Highest Economic Impact on a Host City” in 2007
• SEMA 2007 was awarded “Most Innovative Practices”
• The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show received the “Highest Global Participation” award
• Surfaces won a Grand Award for being at “The Forefront of Technology”

Experient’s Terence Donnelly, CMP, vice president, was among those who attended the invitation-only gala where he co-presented a Trending and Spending seminar.

Experient is the source for integrated meeting and event solutions including full-service, customized registration, housing, event management and lead retrieval services. With a vision to perfect the event experience and a mission to help bring people together to drive business, this year Experient will create memorable event experiences at more than 3,300 events attended by more than 2.8 million people  occupying more than 5.5 million room nights. Visit us at www.experient-inc.com. For press inquiries or other media relations, email becky.stanley@experient-inc.com

I noticed while thumbing through my latest issue of Exhibitor Magazine, yes I still read the real paper magazines that come in the mail, I found out that Exhibitor Magazine is taking entries for its Exhibit Design Awards.  This award is well established in the industry:

Established in 1986, Exhibit Design Awards honor the world’s best trade show exhibit designs. One EDGE Award (for Exhibit Design and Graphic Excellence) and multiple Gold, Silver, and Special Merit Awards are offered in 15 categories.

In addition, the list of judges is impressive:

The 2009 competition will be judged by a variety of design experts, such as Chris Calori, principal, Calori & Vanden-Eynden/Design Consultants; Michael Donovan, founder, Donovan/Green; Peter Dixon, senior partner, creative director, Lippincott Mercer; Graham Hanson, principal, Graham Hanson Design, New York; and Duncan Jackson, managing director, Billings Jackson.

The entry deadlines are November 24, 2008 for the early birds, and the deadline for the rest of us that love to procrastinate is December 12, 2008.  For further information you may contact Linda Armstrong at larmstrong@exhibitormagazine.com.   I myself wish I could be a fly on the wall so to speak as they unveil the entrants to tis award.  I love to look at innovative exhibit designs and people that are pushing the design envelope as it relates to the types of exhibits we see at trade shows and conventions.  I suppose we will just have to wait with the rest of the world as they tell us the winners in each category in May.  If you are submitting an entry, give me a shout I would love to get an interview and if you win, we’ll make you a feature here as well!