Well, as of press time, we don’t know who won the election, but we pray that everyone puts the divisiveness of the campaign behind us and joins together as Americans. Now that the elections are over we need fast action on two fronts:
(1) to triple down on our efforts to bring back F2F industry faster than the bleak image in the crystal ball…saying mid-next-year at the earliest.
(2) follow through with PPP and other financial measures to help industry businesses stay afloat until the industry regains its footing…and orders start flowing.
Also of major note, is a proposal for the formation of a new industry organization called the Exhibitions & Conference Alliance (ECA) which will advocate for and promote the events industry so we no longer have to be “invisible” to our elected officials and health officials. They are asking all industry associations to maintain a commitment to support and fund this effort.
I will take this moment to remind everyone that nothing of importance usually gets accomplished without funding (MONEY). And when you are talking government policy issues… “it’s ongoing, and it ain’t cheap.” Rumor has it that $25,000 is the annual minimum requested buy-in to get a seat on the ECA Board.
We have seen many industry leaders, as reported in the pages of ECN, step up and donate heavily to the efforts over the past six months. But more needs to be done.
Unfortunately, in time of severe financial downturn, many companies ditch their memberships to industry associations…making it more difficult to represent and protect our industry from outside forces and competition. Please consider joining industry associations…the cost of membership is small compared to the benefit to your company and the industry where you work!
Don Svehla
Publisher, Exhibit City News
And From the Editor….
We’re looking forward to going to EDPA’s ACCESS in San Antonio. We truly enjoy the camaraderie, the friendship and the knowledge that we gain by attending both ACCESS and IAEE’s Expo! Expo! Louisville, our focus city for this issue, looks fun!
On our cover is Fern’s Jim Kelley as our story details how Fern, Freeman and others, are changing the way drayage and exhibitor refunding are being handled to jumpstart tradeshows in 2021.
“Booth Mom” Candy Adams, shares tips about exhibiting virtually, while Highway 85 Creative’s Guy Zwick explains why he thinks virtual will never replace F2F.
We want to congratulate Condit Exhibits on 75 years and hope you enjoy our Q & A with their VP of Sales, Jenny Koehn. And industry veteran Patrick Putzer, VP Emerald Carpets, talks about how important and safe carpet is for tradeshows.
Enjoy our wonderful columnists and our tributes to treasured industry folks who have passed away, Metro Exhibit’s Brian Phebus and retired Access TCA designer David Nau. We pray for a safe, happy, healthy holiday season for all – and that we may all get back to work soon! Hope to see you in Louisville and San Antonio!
Jeanne Brei
Editor-in-chief, Exhibit City News
This story originally appeared in the Nov./Dec. 2020 issue of Exhibit City News, p. 8. For original layout, visit https://issuu.com/exhibitcitynews/docs/ecn_nov-dec_2020
