(Pictured at the EDPA/EACA Midwest charity golf fundraiser for the Randy Smith Memorial Golf Classic at Maple Meadows Golf Club in Wood Dale, Ill., are, from left to right: Bill Haney, Derse Exhibits, Milwaukee; Larry Kulchawik, Derse Exhibits, Chicago; Don Svehla, Exhibit City News publisher; Neil Curran, H.B. Stubbs, Waukegan; and Jim Elser, Derse Exhibits, Waukegan. Exhibit City News Archives.)
Exhibit City News Recalls Stories that Shaped Our Industry
complied by Mark Hebert, Exhibit City News
We’re excited to bring back our “A Look Back at Tradeshow History” feature! If you’d like to submit your own industry milestones or historical highlights, please send them to Mark at Markh@exhibitcitynews.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Twenty Years ago this month:
Salt Lake City’s Salt Palace Convention Center underwent a 40% expansion, costing $52 million over 23 months. Announced on August 12, the expansion was fast-tracked due to pressure from Outdoor Retailer, the city’s largest convention client, which had considered relocating. The expansion secured the event’s stay in Salt Lake City through at least 2009.
Bill Gates and Craig Barrett agreed to deliver keynote speeches at the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Gates, as Microsoft’s chairman, speaks on January 5, while Intel CEO Barrett delivers the opening keynote on January 6. CES 2005, held January 6-9, focuses on new technology and connected devices, attracting over 2,400 exhibitors and numerous industry visionaries.
The USS Ronald Reagan in San Diego became the permanent home for a presidential museum dedicated to Ronald Reagan. The museum, developed in collaboration with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and designed by Bowman Design Group, was unveiled during a homeporting event on July 23, which included visits from Michael Reagan, Tom Selleck, and Nancy Reagan, marking her first public appearance since her husband’s funeral.
Twenty-Two years ago this month:
Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Convention Center, now known as the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, which works with six unions, was striving to solve its labor problems, large and small. A Wharton School of Finance study recommended placing all labor allocation under a single labor broker. The recommendations were based on reforms at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
People were talking about the swank accommodations in the meeting rooms and ballroom of the $105-million expansion of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, which opened on August 2. The renovation and expansion project were finished three months ahead of schedule and $17.5 million under budget.
Twenty-Four years ago this month:
A 2000 Salary Survey by the Trade Show Exhibitors Assn., TSEA, revealed that the gender wage gap shrunk by 11 percent in the last year. Female exhibitors went from earning 75 cents for every dollar earned by a male exhibit manager in 1999 to 85 cents on the dollar in 2000.
Spoon Exhibit Services, a full-service tradeshow and marketing company headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., opened a production and warehouse site in Las Vegas, Nev., to service new and existing customers who attend numerous shows in Las Vegas and other Western U.S. venues.
Twenty-Five years ago this month:
A devastating tornado killed Allen Crandy, 38, a foreman for Renaissance Management, when it swept through downtown Salt Lake City during set-up of the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, the city’s biggest tradeshow.
Champion Transportation Services, based in Northlake, Ill., launched a satellite operation in Las Vegas.
Twenty-Seven years ago this month:
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority launched its new website devoted to gaming, entertainment, attractions, and convention services and buildings. It is intended to attract visitors, show managers, and exhibitors to the city and its venues.
GES introduced its new “Linked Service Desks” program at the MAGIC show in Las Vegas. The new service uses a Local Area Network (LAN) to link all of the company’s service desks so exhibitors can receive service at any desk instead of waiting in line at an assigned desk.
