By Bob Morgan, General Manager, Dulles Expo Center
The Public Events Council (PEC) has spent time this summer continuing efforts to benefit the consumer events membership within IAEE. The association’s primary initiatives of education and advocacy have been applied to the consumer event segment through the Consumer Event Workforce Ready Program and industry outreach through collaboration.
In June the Public Events Workforce Ready Program (Boot Camp) was unveiled during the NACS (National Association of Consumer Shows) annual convention in Orlando, Florida. Although there are a few tweaks to be made to the program, the overall response was very positive. We plan to include it as part of Expo! Expo! 2015 and possibly offer it to other consumer event industry meetings in the future.
As a continuation of the PEC’s effort to collaborate with other consumer show organizations and associations, the council has extended an invitation to members of the PSMA (Professional Show Managers Association) to hold their annual board meeting at Expo! Expo! in Baltimore. They have also been invited to participate in some of the consumer event education taking place this December.
Additionally, the Council will be finalizing the public event education format for Expo! Expo! in the coming weeks. We have tentatively planned a one-day consumer event education program that will include the opening general session as well as consumer event-related education. There will also be a consumer event attendee reception prior to the opening reception; both are included in this one-day program.
I would like to welcome our two new Public Events Council members who were recruited by the Council’s Vice Chair Mary Bender, Marketing Director with Emerald Expositions – US Antiques Show. They are Camille Candella, Vice President of Marketing for Emerald Expositions and Cathy Rick-Joule, Vice President, Boat Show Division for National Marine Manufacturers Association. Having had the opportunity to work with Mary this year, I am very excited for her leadership of the council for the next two years. The council will be in good hands.
Welcome, Public Events Council Members!
Finally, the Top Public Events Program needs your event! I am confident that your event has some feature, format or operational superlative that sets it apart from other consumer events. Please submit an application for recognition among your peers. The application cost has been lowered to $75 this year to encourage more participation and to elevate the prominence of Consumer Events. Here is a link to the Top Public Events Program and information: http://www.iaee.com/recognition/top-public-events
Why enter the Top Public Events Program? Read the Importance of Industry Recognition, a blog post from David DuBois CMP, CAE, FASAE, CTA, President & CEO, IAEE.
