(photo of Al Mercuro in 2018 and the Governor Of NJ Phil Murphy)
by Thea Engst, Exhibit City News
Al Mercuro, like many others, fell into tradeshows serendipitously. “I got asked to be a stagehand at a Beach Boys concert in college,” he told me, which led to him running the entire concert series and getting a job out of college in sound and lighting.
After traveling the world with musicians and performers, Al landed himself in tradeshows. Now, after more than 30 years of working directly with clients for Genesis Exhibits, Al’s career has taken another unexpected turn. He sat down with me to discuss his new position as Strategic Marketing and Client Engagement Advisor with Genesis Exhibits, how he got into it, and what he hopes for the future.
During the 2020 shutdowns, Al found himself with more free time. “I took some certification classes I never had time for before, sat in on virtual meetings. It was good to hear people talking — not about negative stuff — but mostly the positive.”
Through those connections and classes, Al found opportunity for growth in the industry he was already a seasoned pro in. As a result, the company he’d been with for more than three decades created a new role just for him to educate, recruit, and create a better future for the industry he loves.
“I love giving back at my age, giving my experience and my time to help. During quarantine, it was easier because we had the time, but I still felt very strongly about doing it [after] as well,” he said. So as the world reopened, Al continued his new work. “That giving back, I find it extremely rewarding to help people and help recruit people.”
The first problem to address was the labor shortage, which began with layoffs during quarantine and is still a major issue. Al became a board member of the Exhibitions and Events Workforce Development Federation Inc., to help address the labor shortage alongside founder and President Laura Palker.
“[She] is leading the way to create apprenticeships and internships for companies to bring in younger people to fill this need. I am on the Board of Directors of this organization and have been working with Laura in marketing and social media promotions,” Al explained. “We’re finding opportunities to find and hire people through internships and apprenticeship programs.”
While it’s wonderful to see new, young people with fresh ideas entering the industry, Al noticed there was a lack in education available them. Al will be adding training new employees at Genesis Exhibits to his resume. He’ll be began sharing his invaluable 30-plus years of experience new hires, in hopes to better prepare them for the demanding industry.
Al doesn’t stop contributing to the industry he loves there; his heart also lies in creating sustainable practices. “I went to the first Earth Day celebration in 1970 as a senior in high school,” Al said. “And thought this was something my generation would run with but sadly — that was not the case. After seeing the amount of waste at live event including tradeshows, something needed to be done, to be more proactive. I proposed last year to the Sustainability Committee of the EDPA, of which I am a member, that instead of being reactive — as an industry we should be more proactive and come up with or own set of standards with or own sustainable materials and not have the clients have to ask. They accepted my proposal, and I brought in Glenn Hansen [CEO & Founder of REDUCE 2] as an advisor. That was rewarding as well — that this sort of felt like my time off during quarantine led to this, gave me the opportunity to spearhead this movement for the entire industry to follow.”
The groundbreaking work that this team put together is available now here.
“I’m leaving a legacy to help people find jobs and help companies hire people and educate the new exhibitors,” Al laughed and added, “I feel refreshed and excited with the new position I have because it’s something new after all these years. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!”
Something tells me this “old dog” has plenty more tricks to learn and even more importantly — to teach.
