I wrote my very first article for the As The Saws Turn column for Exhibit City News (ECN) in 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.
I ran into Don Svehla, publisher of ECN, at a reception at the now-defunct TS2 show in Washington, DC in the summer of 2000. Somewhere during our conversation, he asked me if I would be interested in doing some writing for his tradeshow industry newspaper. We talked about me doing a monthly opinion column. I agreed on one condition: I could write about anything I wanted, as long as I tied it to the industry in some way.
Over the last 25 years, the column has gone in a lot of different directions, but always I tried to link it to our industry in some way. Sometimes it was quite a stretch to make the connection, but I have enjoyed the challenge of trying to come up with something (hopefully) worthwhile to write about each time.
I’ve written columns at home, at work, in hotels, in airports, in airplanes, wherever and whenever the idea for a column struck me. Sometimes, I’d have an idea and write the column well before the deadline. Other times, I’d be staring at my monitor desperately trying to come up with a kernel of a thought to write about.
Going back and reading through the columns, I realized two things:
1. For industry folks, it is a bit of an historical look at our industry and the issues—some serious, some not so much—that we’ve dealt with 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!
This story originally appeared as a truncated version in the Q4 2025 issue of Exhibit City News, p. 88. For original layout, visit https://issuu.com/exhibitcitynews/docs/exhibit_city_news_-_oct_nov_dec_2025/88.
