Trade Show and Corporate Event Managers See the Newest the Industry Has to Offer
WASHINGTON, DC, July 14, 2005 - Trade show and event meeting planners spent the past three days in Washington DC seeing the latest products and services from 176 exhibitors, attending thought provoking conference sessions and networking at exciting events during TS2 2005, a trade show and conference for the trade show industry.
It was a standing room only crowd at the opening session on Tuesday when Bob Harar, Chairman of National Trade Productions, the Alexandria, VA based trade show management company who purchased TS2 in the fall of 2004 said, "Welcome to the new TS2. New means new tracks, new attendees, new energy and a new commitment," Harar added. "This is a new beginning and a first step to making TS2 the premiere event in the industry." The new TS2 showed a 17% increase in verified exposition and conference attendees.
During the opening session Sal Cavallaro, Chairman of the Trade Show Exhibitors Association (TSEA) presented several awards and introduced Andrew Dudek, who will take over as the new Chairman of the association. He also introduced Steve Schuldrenfrie, the new President of TSEA and invited the attendees to visit the association's booth which featured the 2005 Focus Award Winners and provided attendees with information about their CME program.
Following the business of TSEA, Satirist Bob Hirschfeld provided comic relief to an enthusiastic standing room only crowd. He joked about business communications and shared the stage with "Chip the Robot" who led the crowd onto the show floor during the opening at 11 a.m. Throughout the two day event, the exhibitors showed off their products and services to interested trade show and meeting planners. Many of the products were attention grabbers like a waterfall of logos, oxygen bars, robots, virtual golf simulators and t-shirts with working LCD panels.
TS2 was also the place for many of the industry giants to co-locate events. The IAEM-DC Chapter hosted a luncheon; the AMA-DC Chapter hosted a special networking program; EACA hosted their annual conference; EDPA hosted a board meeting; J. Spargo & Associates hosted an exhibitor workshop; and Reed Exhibitions' hosted their Exhibitor University. The TS2 preferred partner program was also a huge success that drew many attendees from dozens of Tradeshow Week 200 events.
The 2005 Best of Show winners were announced during the show. Each of the 176 exhibits on the show floor were judged by a prestigious panel of judges who reviewed brand identity & product presentation; exhibit environment; exhibit personnel effectiveness and overall "wow" factor.
Overall Best of Show Award was presented to Kentucky Trailer Technologies and to RES Exhibit Services; Best In-line Grand Award was presented to Roadway Express, Inc.; Best Island Grand Award was presented to Skyline Exhibits; and The Best In-line Honorable Mention Award was presented to Heritage Exhibits-Chicago. NTP and TSEA congratulate all the TS2 Best of Show Awards Competition Winners.
At the close of the show on the second day, Chris Caracci from the Disney Institute delivered a motivating and inspiring speech to a packed audience. He said that The Walt Disney World Resort and its longstanding reputation for incredible service and friendly employees is not "magic," it is sound ideology consistently applied in business. "Providing world-class service is the key to increase your profit and customer satisfaction is directly related to a positive interaction with your employees," Caracci said.
There was no shortage of fun during TS2. Attendees packed into "Tequila Beach" on Tuesday night and enjoyed the opportunity to network with old friends and make new ones. On Wednesday night TS2 attendees were wowed by four event planners during the TS2 Block Party that took place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Pink Inc., Hargrove, Chris Meierhoefer Special Events, Inc., and Event Mall set up four fun and exciting themed events for a truly unique event.
The closing sessions of the TS2 conference took place on Thursday, and a final press release with attendee figures will be available by Monday, July 18. TS2 2006 will be held July 25-26 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, IL. TS2 is owned and operated by National Trade Productions (NTP), a leader in the production, management, and marketing of trade expositions, conferences and special events and sponsored by the Trade Show Exhibitors Associations (TSEA). For more information about attending or exhibiting, please contact NTP at 703-683-8500, o! r visit the TS2 web site, www.tsea.org/ts2.
About National Trade Productions
Celebrating its 29th anniversary, National Trade Productions is a leader in the production, management, and marketing of trade expositions, conferences and special events. NTP has expertise in a variety of industries, including security, transportation, government, communications, health care, public works, information technology, education, manufacturing and engineering. NTP also has the industry's longest history of launching and producing events for the federal government, including GOVSEC, U.S. LAW, and FOSE. NTP's creative division, Creative Solutions Group (CSG), offers associations, show organizers and corporation's leading edge design and creative services to complement NTP's legacy of marketing expertise. CSG is a full service agency that specializes in marketing strategy and campaign development, copywriting, graphic design, branding and identity, and Web development. For more information on NTP call 703-683-8500 or visit www.ntpshow.com.
About Trade Show Exhibitors Association
TSEA, sponsors of TS2, represents more than 1,600 members from the United States and abroad. The mission of the association is to enhance the expertise of professionals in exhibit and event marketing by providing knowledge, resources, and networking opportunities to industry professionals who use the trade show and event medium to promote and sell their products, as well as those who provide them with products and services. For more information about TSEA and its benefits, contact 312.842.8732, e-mail tsea@tsea.org, or visit us on the Web at www.tsea.org.
