by Jim Obermeyer
If you’ve read this column in the past, you’ve read about the annual EDPA ACCESS Conference, held every year during the week following Thanksgiving. You’ve read about how this event is the premier event for the exhibitions and events industry, drawing around 350 of our industry’s top players together for keynote speakers, educational sessions, and lots of networking opportunities.
You’ve also read about how much this event means to me, and how it has impacted my businesses, my career and my personal friendships with industry peers. You’ve read about what it meant to me to bring colleagues from my companies to experience this with me.
And here I am, having just returned from the 2024 EDPA ACCESS Conference, held at the Grand Hyatt Indian Wells Resort in Palm Desert, California, December 3-5, 2024. All at once, I am totally exhausted, yet totally energized and inspired about our industry’s future.
As an industry, we have faced a lot of challenges in the last five years. From a total shutdown, loss of an experienced workforce, and massive changes in our client contacts. We have focused on advocacy for our industry to our government, rebuilding the workforce, educating our new workforce and our clients and building a sustainable future. There is still a lot to do. But after seeing the passion and energy I saw in the group of people at ACCESS, I have no doubt this industry will prevail and return stronger than ever.
At one point I found myself just standing on the sidelines of one of the networking events just observing the interactions among the group. This group has changed a lot in just the last five years. There are so many new faces, so many younger faces, so many first-time attendees, so much diversity in the audience. This is a wonderful thing. It has brought a reinvigorated, re-energized and renewed passion for what we do as an industry. I guarantee you that everyone left this event fired up about our future.
We learned, we laughed, we caught up with old friends and made new ones, all in just a few days. We celebrated young professionals who are making significant contributions to our industry through the EDPA Class of 2025 Future Leaders. We gained insights into our industry and made meaningful connections that will drive our businesses into the future.
After almost 20 years of attending this event, I have to say that I think this year’s version was by far the best. From the planning and execution of the event by the entire team that put this on, to the selection of keynote speakers and session topics, to the integration of networking opportunities throughout the event, down to the selection of the awesome venue.
But more than that, what really made this event such a success was the people who came and participated. And by ‘participated,’ I don’t mean just showed up and sat in chairs in the audience. This group was heavily involved from the start; the energy in the room was palpable, and the activity and conversations that took place throughout the entire event never slowed. If you were there, I’m sure you felt it. If you were not there, now you know—don’t miss this year’s event at the Ritz Carlton, Ameila Island, Florida, December 2-4, 2025. I guarantee you will come away fully energized about this industry.
See you on the show floor.
Jim Obermeyer has been in the exhibits and events industry for over 40 years, both as a corporate tradeshow manager and exhibit house owner. He can be reached at jobermeyer903@gmail.com
This story originally appeared as a truncated version in the Q1 2025 issue of Exhibit City News, p. 16. For original layout, visit https://issuu.com/exhibitcitynews/docs/ecn_q1_2025/16.
