Dave Hood, long-time San Francisco designer of tradeshow and museum exhibits, has launched a new organization to focus on engagement marketing towards 3-D, multi-channel brand experiences.

The new firm, to be called Hood Branded Environments, is an evolution of Hood Exhibits, which has operated mainly in the tradeshow and museum exhibit sector for more than 20 years, working with brands like Sony Playstation, Levi’s, MillerCoors, LeapFrog, Hewlett-Packard and Francis Ford Coppola.

SMG/Anchorage Convention Centers won the “Member Contribution to the Visitor Industry 2012 Award” at the 25th annual Seymour Awards Banquet at the Dena’ina Center on April 13, 2012. The Centers were recognized for providing top quality meeting and event services, emphasizing the highly successful Food & Beverage operations of Savor Alaska Catering.

In order to streamline and simplify event planning for meeting professionals working with their hotel, the Red Lion Hotel on the River in Portland, Oregon, has implemented the GroupMAX online reservation system from Passkey, a hotel booking company for meetings and events.

As San Francisco’s Moscone Center enters the final phase of its renovation, a “new” convention center is emerging in the North and South buildings.