EDPA MAY NEWSLETTER
Letter from EDPA President, Amy Sondrup
Every day brings news that another in-person trade show has been added to the calendar. As one of my team members said, “Comebacks are for celebrities trying to restart dormant careers. The event industry isn’t making a comeback—it’s making a recovery.” Everyone reading this newsletter knows that the recovery will take time and will test our resilience—again—but we can’t deny that the future looks positive.
A big thank-you to all of you who have renewed your membership for 2021. For those of you who haven’t paid your 2021 dues, please make this a priority so that EDPA can continue to deliver on our four pillars of advocacy, education, networking, and good works.
How are we activating these four pillars?
By continuing our advocacy efforts in pushing for the expansion of the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program.
By bringing the industry educational programs that update everyone on developments leading to the recovery.
By providing networking opportunities, particularly with our one-day event, ENGAGE, on Thursday, June 10, at the Atlanta Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
By working closely with the EDPA Foundation to expand our good works when positive contributions are more important than ever, and industry families are in need.
And speaking of ENGAGE, we have a super program planned for the day. Read more about it here. And while you are on the site, click the sponsorship link. We need your support, and there are sponsorships in a price range that can fit any budget.
All tickets for ENGAGE 2021 are $199. Plus, on Friday, June 11, the first-ever EDPA ENGAGE Golf Scramble will be held at the Stone Mountain Golf Club. Tickets are $150 per golfer and include a round of golf, a cart, and a box lunch. Rooms are available at the resort for $139/night during our event, and you can book your room on the ENGAGE site.
Personally, I have been overwhelmed by our membership’s energy and commitment to our industry’s recovery. I am beyond proud to be the EDPA president and to work with such an amazing group of people. See you in Georgia!
Don’t Miss the Critical Content at ENGAGE 2021
Join us June 10th for EDPA’s in-person day of education and networking at the Atlanta Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Speakers/Sessions Just Announced!
Click here to see full program details
Ian McGonnigal
Founder – Experiential Executive
Are You Still Wearing Your Business Pajamas?
As we emerge from the pandemic and the great pivot to virtual events, what happens next? What do we do now? In this session we’ll talk about the evolution of virtual and hybrid events, and what we can expect moving forward. Most importantly, we’ll discuss actions you can take to ensure your business is positioned for success, no matter what happens next.
Tom Wittenberg
Industry Relations & Events, HP
Pivoting and the Future of the Hybrid Event
The HP Large Format business, heavily reliant on events for leads and revenue in the past, managed to quickly shift to virtual engagement with prospects during the pandemic, and end 2020 with record levels of revenue. How did they make the pivot, and from learnings and data, how will events/trade shows be transformed for the future? Join in for an honest look forward through storytelling, learnings, interaction, and data.
Hillary Cartwright
Principal, The Event Ally
19 Health & Safety Tips for Getting Back to Live Events During COVID-19
In this session Hilary will share 19 things you can do to keep your staff and attendees safe on-site at your live event. This will include everything from tips on how to design the event, how to properly staff, and what communication plans are needed. She will also discuss the vaccine and how that will play into our event planning. The 19 Tips shared will be actionable items for you to bring to your team so we can keep moving our industry forward.
Randal Acker
President and COO, EXHIBITOR Media Group
Your Business in the Changing World of Trade Shows and Events: Insights from an Aggregation of Industry Research and Conversations
This session will include research and data about the future of trade shows and events. We will explore what corporate sales, marketing professionals and their supplier partners are thinking about our changing industry and how that might impact your business decisions for a post-COVID recovery.
Michael McMahon
President & CEO Hill & Partners
EDPA Member Company Recovery Opportunities & Challenges
A panel discussion that explores industry recovery. EDPA member company recovery survey results will be shared along with insights from Future Leaders.
JANE GENTRY
CEO - Experience Fusion
Rebuilding Your Team in a Post-COVID World
Today, we have more jobs than people. And, as the market returns, many business leaders in Experiential Marketing find that the staff they were forced to let go of during the pandemic have moved on to other careers. Jane will share how the most successful companies are changing their approach to finding the skill sets their businesses require and how you might benefit from a new outlook on staffing your organization.
REGISTER TODAY!
Register for the event and golf outing today by clicking here. We have a limited number of hotel rooms available at the resort for just $139/night during our event so don’t delay.
All tickets for ENGAGE 2021 are just $199 – register now. To make the ENGAGE experience twice as nice, we have scheduled a golf scramble for the following day June 11 - golf tickets $150.
EDPA Welcomes DJ Heckes to the EDPA Board of Directors
EDPA has named DJ Heckes, CEO of EXHIB-IT! to its board of directors. DJ opened EXHIB-IT! in 2000 and has helped many businesses achieve success through her marketing and strategic development consultation. She has received several industry awards for her work and authored two successful books on marketing and business. As a small business leader, DJ is active volunteer within our industry and chambers of commerce in New Mexico and Texas. She is passionate about the event and exhibit industry. “Our business is about people. That’s the lifeblood of our industry and EXHIB-IT!,” Heckes said.
Make plans to join the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA) on June 1-2 for this year’s Legislative Action Days.
A lot has changed in the past 12 months – even though it feels as if time has moved slowly. Staffers come and go on the Hill, and with a new administration comes new priorities.
For ECA, the priority is the Hospitality and Commerce Job Recovery Act (HCJRA). This bill brings jobs back by providing recovery measures for the convention and trade show industries and their workers through restart credits.
If you’d like to learn more about this legislation, visit the ECA site to hear what HCJRA means to the business events industry from Herve Sedky, ECA Chair of the Board and CEO of Emerald Events, and Tommy Goodwin, ECA VP of Government Affairs.
On June 1, ECA will host a program that is designed to give you the tools you need to effectively advocate on behalf of the industry. Who to contact, how to contact and what to say. This program will be hosted online and is open to all, at no cost.
On June 2, ECA will break into smaller groups for in-depth video conferences with key legislators. Each group will have designated spokespeople and we will provide training. Whether you are new to advocacy or a seasoned pro, we invite you to participate in these important meetings.
You can sign up for one or both days here. ECA is setting up the June 2 video conferences now, and will need all attendees to register by May 21, 2021. Once you register, the scheduler, DC Flyins, will arrange meetings based on your schedule.
Don’t miss this opportunity to speak your voice, share our story, and help save our industry.
Register today
Contact with questions:
Nicole Bowman, MBA
Executive Director, Exhibitions Mean Business
nbowman@iaee.com
Tommy Goodwin
VP, Government Affairs, Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance
tommy.goodwin@ecalliance.us
EDPA International
Event Title: EDPA International Members Quarterly Call
Event Date: Tuesday, May 25
Event Location: Zoom
Event Time: 10:00AM EST
Event Description: The EDPA International Alliance Committee is inviting all EDPA International Members to join their quarterly educational and networking calls. For any questions, please contact Paco Collazo (paco@happyprojects.us) or Jamie Zavoral-Brown (jzavoral-brown@brayleinoevents.com).
Went Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/6959497226?pwd=VzIwSGg2UjMvN2RKbWh5bXp2aDBBdz09
Meeting ID: 695 949 7226
Passcode: 4G7KeV
MIDWEST
Event Title: Midwest Spring (Back to Work) Meeting
Event Date: May 26th
Event Time: 4:00PM CST
Event Location: Zoom
Event Description: As our industry ramps up, Lynette Spencer, LCSW will help us get back to work with confidence. Lynette is the Founding Partner at Action Consulting & Therapy, LLC and Chairperson at the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council.
Registration Link: https://zoom.us/j/93203132040?pwd=K25VRnpSYXRYdk1GcEczVXhybHVOZz09
Meeting ID: 932 0313 2040
Passcode: midwest
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,93203132040#,,,,*0555845# US (Chicago)
Southern California
Event Title: Happy Hour
Event Date: June 3
Event Location: Zoom
Event Time: 4 pm PST
Event Description: Happy Hour to make industry connections, discuss trade show news, and have an excuse to drink wine at 4 PM!
Registration link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/edpa-california-june-happy-hour-tickets-154333085413
Southern California
Event Title: EDPA's Webinar Discussion on Employee Retention Tax Credits Have you taken advantage of the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC)?
Event Date: June 24
Event Location: Zoom
Event Time: 2pm (EST)/ 11am (PST)
Event Description: Kelli Glasser, President & CEO Exhibit Concepts will lead a discussion and share key information on ERTC.
Registration link : https://www.eventbrite.com/e/join-edpas-webinar-discussion-on-employee-retention-tax-credits-tickets-154289878179
EDPA Great Lakes Chapter
Event Title: The Exhibitor Perspective on Moving Forward
Event Date: Tuesday, May 25
Event Location: Zoom
Event Time: 3:00-4:00PM
Event Description: The EDPA Great Lakes Chapter is hosting a Zoom call to look at the resurgence of our industry from the exhibitor’s perspective. We have two esteemed guests, Don Schmid from Pfizer and Robin Gathman from DES, joining us to lend insight into how their preparation has changed and what WE can do to help.Page: http://edpanortheast.com/events. Registration link is provided below. Please RSVP by May 21.
Registration link: https://forms.gle/PeJPwa8dc8r1Yusr8
Las Vegas
Event Title: EDPA Las Vegas Chapter 18th Annual Tradeshow Industry Education Scholarship Golf Classic
Event Date: Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Event Location: Bear’s Best Las Vegas, 11111 West Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89135
Event Time: 7:30AM Shotgun Start – 2:00PM PDT
Event Description: Our Annual Las Vegas Scholarship Golf Classic is ON and scheduled for the second show day of World of Concrete. Please join the Las Vegas Chapter of EDPA, working in conjunction with the EDPA Foundation. We will have a great morning of golf at the beautiful Bear's Best Las Vegas Golf Club. This year it is about getting the opportunity to be TOGETHER as part of the industry that we LOVE. There are SOME sponsorship opportunities if you are able to give in that way to benefit the EDPA Scholarship Foundation. Sign-up here>> https://www.123signup.com/register?id=ktppn.
Please email Jen LaBruzza (jen@classicexhibits.com) or Mike Sunseri (msunseri@dslgroup.com) with your email address and/or questions.
NorthEast
Event Title: Virtual Meeting: Cocktail Making Class
Event Date: May 27, 2021
Event Location: Zoom
Event Time: 4:00-5:00PM EST
Event Description: Join us for a free cocktail making class. Information and ingredients are posted on the Events Page: http://edpanortheast.com/events
Texas
Event Title: Trivia Night – First Wednesday of each month
Event Date: June 2nd
Event Location: Zoom
Event Time: 5:00PM CST
Event Description: Competitive Trivia Quiz with a prize for 1st place
Registration link: Happens during our usual Wednesday Zoom, only the 1st Wednesday of the month. Email Matthew Little at mlittle@nuvistaonline.com for an invite.
Texas
Event Title: Weekly Happy Hour
Event Date: Every Wednesday (Wellness Check)
Event Location: Virtual via Zoom
Time: 5:00 – 6:00PM CST
Event Description: Casual Conversations about life, the industry, with adult beverages for those who wish to partake.
Registration link: By Invitation – if interested in joining contact Texas Chapter President, Matthew Little @ mlittle@nuvistaonline.com
WOMEN IN EXHIBITIONS
Event Title: Bi-weekly Zoom Share
Event Date: Starting January 20, 2021, and continuing bi-weekly on Wednesday throughout the year.
Event Location: Zoom
Time: 1:00 – 2:00PM PDT
Event Description: If you are a woman in the exhibitions industry please join us for our bi-weekly Zoom calls. Topics are timely to our current events and are always highly informative and insightful. Registration and details can be found on the Women in Exhibitions LinkedIn Group. Please request to join for access to the Zoom registration link.
Registration link: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/151235
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