By Jeanne Brei
How did you get into doing I&D? What was your career path like to becoming a city manager? Did you have a mentor in the industry?
Tom Jazwiecki, Lancaster Management’s Orlando City Manager, says, “I started doing I&D in Reno as a part-time job to get out of the cold Wisconsin winters. I worked my way to management positions by creating relationships while working on the floor for many different labor companies, which lead to management opportunities.” He adds, “I had many mentors and took something away from all of those relationships and used them to become knowledgeable in all aspects of the tradeshow labor business.”
Greg Matthews, Sho-Link’s Orlando City Manager, says, “I started in 1987 with a couple of friends who I was visiting in Miami. What started out to be a weekend getaway ended up being the very beginning of a career in the tradeshow industry. I started as a freight laborer at the NMMA boat show in Miami Beach. Then I joined local 1175 Sign and Display. I worked for Gelco Inc. as assistant warehouse manager, then as show floor manager as GC in 1991. I quickly saw that the teachings of my father gave me the edge to excel in this industry. After a few years working the freight department, I began working as I&D labor. About a year later, I became a lead man, and a few more years later I began to travel as a supervisor in 1995. In 2017 I was at the right place in my career and with the right company. I became City Manager with Sho-Link, Inc. in the Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville areas. I have enjoyed and learned many things through the convention and tradeshow industry.” Matthews adds, “My mentor has been Rob West, who was a city manager here in Orlando. He opened the door for me to join a wonderful group of people.”
Walt McCreary, Momentum Management’s regional director of field operations, says, “Like everyone else, a friend [got me involved]. I was traveling with bands as a roadie, and one day one of the guys says, ‘Want to work a tradeshow?’ Not knowing what he was talking about I went to work. From that point on, I’ve never left and that was over 30 years ago.” McCreary adds, “A mentor, Frank Lasley, who recently passed, decided to start up an I&D company, Delta Management Group. I was with Frank in New York at the time, and he asked, ‘How would you like to be my manager in the mid-Atlantic?’ That’s how it started, I had been in the industry for only four years at that time. The last five years in Florida, I’ve worked as Momentum’s director of field operations.
Robin Elkins, Czarnowski’s field services manager, says, “Straight out of high school I started working in the rock-n-roll industry. I traveled the world not only catering to rock stars, but I also set up the stage at each venue and ran a stellar light show for each performance. After doing that for a few years with the extensive traveling, I wanted to be home more, and a rigging buddy of mine told me I would do well in the tradeshow industry since I already had extensive knowledge and experience dealing with different venues, set crews and large crowds. Well, long story short, I worked my first tradeshow and built my first booth in I&D and was instantly hooked, and for the last 35 years it has been my passion and career!” Elkins adds, “Originally, I started out as a union employee through IATSE locals 631 & 835 here in Orlando for many years, and I worked in every department on the show floor, not only to get the job done, but I was intrigued to learn and master each task so I can understand how all the moving components came together to make a successful event. When I was ready to move up in this industry, I was picked up by Will Cottrell, my mentor, who has since passed away, and we went to a few different companies where we excelled our talents in the I&D world, which led us to working for Czarnowski. I became a lead I&D man for Czar for many years, traveling the country and working with many high-profile clients. A position eventually opened up at Czar looking for a city manager and I was chosen to run all of Florida. I could not have been happier in this position, working for a wonderful and welcoming company.”
What do you wish exhibitors and exhibit builders knew that would make your job a lot easier?
“Communication is the key to mutual success for all parties,” Jazwiecki says. “When you become aware that you are going to have a job that requires labor, it’s critical that you notify the labor company. You don’t necessarily have to provide all the information. The labor business is tough these days, and the longer a manager has to assemble a labor force for a show or event gives them the edge in securing a good crew.”
Do you have any advice for people wanting to enter the industry? Any advice for the industry to get more people involved to end the labor shortage?
“The best advice I can give someone just starting out is to always show up on time and pay attention to your lead person and how they handle themselves around a customer,” says Jazwiecki.
“My advice is to start at a young age, develop your skills and be eager to learn,” says Matthews. “We are just now starting to develop a younger group of workers that will be the backbone of this industry as we slowly retire and move on in our lives.” He adds, “I find the best way to get the staff and labor back into the industry is word of mouth. We do our best to invite people with any construction or assembly background to try their skills at I & D work. Sharing your knowledge with a young person is very valuable to our industry to teach the correct way to do things. Remember that safety is always first!”
McCreary says, “My oldest son, Walter McCreary, 34, has been in the industry since he was 17 years old. Walt currently works as a project manager at Kubik Exhibits. I would say to everyone, ‘Learn something new every day, learn and figure out what you’re good at to succeed.’ It’s a great industry, the industry is one big family.” He adds,“Here in Orlando, we started searching for guys during the pandemic—that’s what it takes—most don’t know anything about tradeshows, so you’ve to go and find them. If everyone keeps pulling them in we’ll all be in good shape. It may take a while but the industry is strong and we’ll get back to where we were before the shutdown.”
“I have always stated that the tradeshow industry is not only an exciting one but also an untapped industry where you can really make a name for yourself and become successful,” says Elkins. “Since I have mentored many, many people in our industry, I always advise the new people to find themselves a mentor in the business who they feel comfortable picking their brain about how to do things properly and learn everything they can, but I also cannot stress enough to newbies that the success they acquire will come from coming to work on time and truly giving an honest day’s work. What I tell people when I am recruiting is that this is not your normal 9 to 5 job. It is hard work, long hours and working in different venues and cities. But it is the best part-time job where you can always pick shifts up that coincide with other jobs and daily life. Even if not on a full-time basis, anyone can be successful in this industry if they work hard.” He adds,“Being a football coach for many years, I would tell my boys all about my job while we were at the field. All these years later I have actually recruited a handful of my old players who grew up under me. I know their abilities and their strengths, so when it came time to add labor, I knew what each one would bring to the table in order for our shows and clients to be successful. Sometimes we just have to think outside the box when it comes to finding the right people to recruit. These newbies know I am not just gonna hand them a job, and education is an important tool to level up, so in order to have ‘skin in the game,’ I stress the importance of wanting to be a leader in our industry. All my new recruits take college classes to gain the knowledge on the business side of our industry. Today’s laborers are tomorrow’s industry leaders!”
As a city manager, do you think you have an iron fist/skin or a sympathetic ear or both? How do you handle your crew’s medical or financial issues, or if they have tragedies in their lives? Any techniques for managing and supervising that you’ve learned over the years?
I believe there needs to be a balance in managing a company,” explains Jazwiecki. “When needed, a good manager has to take charge of the crew and lead by example. When unfortunate situations fall upon a worker, it’s always best to listen and evaluate the situation. I’ve found that if it’s possible to help someone in need of financial or emotional help, it’s best to help them out. The employee will gain respect for you on both a professional and personal level if you show your human side.” Regarding his techniques for supervising, he adds, “Involving the leads from the beginning of a project is critical to success on the show floor. I feel it’s best to trust your leads in their decision-making and give them all the tools they need to succeed. Micromanaging a project is not a good way to operate. Always remember that you appointed the lead to a job because they’ve earned their position through years of experience and knowledge and you’re paying them extra to do it. I always like to say that I’m running the city, but the leads and key workers are what makes it successful.”
“I believe I come across as both,” says Matthews. “I can be very stern and understanding, I explain my expectations to my crew. I have been blessed to have people who are skilled, diverse, excited to work and mostly reliable, and they have good skills. We all have a few who just won’t get it. But in the majority, our team is mostly supportive of each other. When I have crew members who have financial or medical issues, I do get involved to see if and how I can assist; even listening sometimes helps. The crew is the reason we are here. We are a company made up of people. Not just tools and equipment. We all need each other at some point. We are a big family out on the show floor.” He adds, “There are many skills I have learned from others before me and some who I worked for. Everyone develops their own technique and style of managing others. I always use the truthful and straightforward approach. Sometimes the news isn’t always good. Having respect, discipline and the desire to help others is what it takes. And if you have great skills, that’s the best package you could ask for.”
McCreary keeps his advice short and concise, saying, “Stay engaged with your team; everyone on the team is a very important piece to making it work once you’re at show site.” Elkins explains, “One of my biggest philosophies of managing massive amounts of employees in the tradeshow industry is to never ask anyone on my crew to do anything that I wouldn’t be willing to do myself. You have to be the manager the crew trusts and looks up to, but you also have to have a system in place where your crew not only believes in you, but buy into your system knowing it’s the best for them in order to be successful at completing their job. At the end of the day, the job has to get done and if you work to keep your crew in a good place, whether it be with the right communication or giving kudos where deserved, morale will always stay high and each job will end in success.”
Looking back at your career, what’s your overall impression of the I&D industry?
“The benefits are many in this industry,” says Matthews. “The life experiences are great when you have had the privilege of traveling this great country, meeting amazing and wonderful people, and enjoying your work to the fullest.”
Elkins adds, “I have worked in the tradeshow industry now for 35 years and have seen so many changes over the years, good and bad, but through it all, it has been a very rewarding and successful career. Most days are obviously better than some, but at the end of each and every day I truly strive to give my clients an exceptional experience where they want to keep coming back to Orlando time and time again and maintain that working relationship with Czarnowski. Also I strive to keep my crew excited about wanting to give their all because without our clients, we wouldn’t be us! I absolutely LOVE what I do and the company I represent.”
