by Marlena Sullivan, Editor, Exhibit City News
I am pleased to announce that the Quarter 1 2025 issue for Exhibit City News is officially live, today January 3rd. You can access the edition by the link on our homepage or here. For those of you who will receive our physical print, look forward to it in the coming weeks.
A year has gone by since I began here at Exhibit City News. I have successfully gotten six magazines under my belt (including this one). This Quarter’s Publication, however, is nearer to my heart, in many ways.
When I first started at Exhibit City News, I was inundated with a plethora of new terminology, a vast array of new concepts, and a deep sense of anxiety, unsure of what I had just gotten myself into. I won’t lie and say it was easy because it wasn’t. I wanted to do well, but doing well when it felt like you were being swallowed by a storm, is a difficult thing to achieve.
As quickly as I learned to be overwhelmed, there were a whole host of hands to pull me upright and push me forward. Mentors who were ready to drop everything to answer my questions, stand by me, and see me thrive. People who saw my success as something worth fighting for. Experts who were willing to take the time to talk to me and welcomed with open arms.
Flash forward to the Quarter 4 Launch party in November. Almost a whole year under my belt, still knowing I have much to learn, but unafraid to grow into that. And I met a man. He was new to the industry, and when he saw me engaging with the people who had helped me, it inspired him. He felt that he too could do what I did, and that there was a place for him here.
I realized in that moment that I could one day also be a mentor. I could facilitate someone else’s growth and offer them the support and guidance to feel that tradeshows can be a home. Even though I am only beginning my second year, the seeds have already been sown thanks to the careful cultivation of those who came before me.
That is Changing of the Guard.
In this issue you will find a variety of topics that speak about hiring, changing businesses, and overviews of lives who have made a place for themselves. However, this issue is about hope. It is about dreams. It is about change. It is about creating spaces to facilitate the growth for the new talents who will one day become the old professionals who will raise a generation after them.
We are a forest. With every generation, as we care and tend to the area, the trees grow stronger, and the ecosystem continues to grow. All old trees will fall one day. However, the legacy they leave behind provides the nutrients, space, and support for new trees to grow. While it is our job to ensure things aren’t forgotten, it is also our job to ensure progress can be made.
Change is always scary. I won’t pretend it’s not, but we are in this united: New and Old Guard. Let us cultivate this forest, together.
