by Emily Olson
Tucked in the back of the show floor, next to Lancaster Management Service’s tiki-themed booth, was one of the highlights and biggest draws of EXHIBITORLive: Lancaster’s dunk tank. Bo Zimmerman, an account executive at Lancaster, who also was tasked with helping visitors dunk his colleagues, said in an interview on the show floor, “I’ve never seen a dunk tank at an event like this before.”
The dunk tank wasn’t just a carnival-like way to attract people to their booth. Instead, it was a fundraiser for the Randy Smith fund, which raises money through charitable events for families in the exhibition industry who have experienced tragedy or insurmountable medical expenses. A small donation at the booth allowed donors three chances to dunk the city managers or Lancaster account executives taking turns in the hot seat—rather, cold sea, as was revealed in an interview.
Tyler Raymond, national operations affiliate manager for Lancaster, was gracious enough to grant an interview through chattering teeth. “The water is about 55 degrees,” he said, “but it’s only knee deep, so they’re being nice to me.” Cold water, wet clothes and a show floor’s frigid AC makes for quite a self-sacrificial combination. It’s incredible what tradeshow professionals will do for their struggling colleagues.
Zimmerman said of the dunk tank, “This has been a great way to bring more positivity and fun to our booth and to the show as a whole.”
