Events and interesting facts that have shaped the industry.
1891 – West Virginia decides to participate in Columbian Exposition
On March 14, 1891, the United States Congress provided an act to celebrate the 400 anniversary of Christopher Columbus discovering America. The act proposed an international exhibition of arts, industries, manufacturer as well as “products of the soil, mine and sea.”
The exposition was to be held in Chicago in 1893, but Congress wanted to ensure that West Virginia would be fully and credibly represented at the event.
“For the purpose of exhibiting the resources, products and general development of the state of West Virginia at the World’s Columbian exposition of eighteen hundred and ninety three, a commission is hereby constituted to be designated the Board of World’s Fair Managers of West Virginia…”
1910 – Wight Pusher Seaplane debuts at Olympia Air Show
The Wight Pusher Seaplane, a British plane produced by John Samuel White & Company Limited, was exhibited at the 1914 Olympia Airshow in March 1910.
The plane exhibited good take off, climb performance and endurance, and was subsequently ordered by the British Royal Naval Air Service. These planes drew so much success from the Airshow that they were used maritime reconnaissance missions over the North Sea.
Other products debuted at the Airshow included the Sopwith Bat Boats, British flying boats with a single engine. The Bat Boat was also considered the first amphibious aircraft built in the United Kingdom.
1947 – ISA debuts first-ever Sign Expo
The International Sign Association debuted the first-ever International Sign Expo in March 1947. The first expo had just a few hundred booths and a very small number of attendees.
Since the show debuted, the ISA International Sign Expo has broken records in exhibit sales an attendance, growing to more than 1,900 booths, representing 550 companies and attracting 19,000 attendees.
Tradeshow history as reported by Exhibit City News
1997 – National Manufacturing Week features new GES Services
From March 10-13, 1997, National Manufacturing Week debuted new services from GES. Among these amenities were new exhibitor labor stations, automated truck marshalling and new exhibits in the South Building of McCormick Place.
National Manufacturing Week was the epicenter for four concurrently running major shows, making it the largest annual gathering of manufacturing buyers and sellers in North America. The 1997 show welcomed over 2,000 exhibitors and covered 537,000 square feet.
Approximately 80 exhibitor designated contractors worked the shows alongside GES during National Manufacturing Week. These contractors serviced roughly 400 exhibitors.
2003 – EXHIBITOR Show debuts Dinner with Strangers
During the March 2003 edition of EXHIBITOR, attendees, for the first time, were able to participate in Dinner with Strangers. The networking event was held Sunday through Wednesday, and attendees, speakers and exhibitors were all able to participate.
Among the other events held at EXHIBITOR2003 was Trends Day, which featured a high-power panel of industry experts who identified key trends, as well as Trade Show Rookies Day, one of the most popular workshops in the history of the conference.
Overall, EXHIBITOR2003 offered over 160 seminars, as well as more than 250 exhibitors covering 50,000 square feet.
2010 – John Jastrem retires from post as GES president
On March 22, 2010, GES announced that it’s president, John Jastrem, decided to retire and leave the company. Paul Dykstra assumed the role while a replacement search was conducted.
Dykstra served as president and CEO of GES from 2000-2006, and was available to the company on a consulting basis after his departure.
“It has been a great experience for me to lead the team in revitalizing the Exhibitgroup/Giltspur organization by instilling a client-centric and winning culture,” said Jastrem. “I want to thank all of the employees across Viad who have worked so tirelessly over the past several months to create the combined GES organization and I wish them great success.”
