April Newsletter 2023
Last Call for EDPA’s ENGAGE2023 Tickets!
April 23rd 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Copper & Kings Distillery – Louisville, KY
Join EDPA for our annual mid-year event ENGAGE2023. Our event is taking place Sunday, April 23rd prior to the opening of EXHIBITORLIVE. Be part of one of the industry’s best networking opportunities, ENGAGE2023. Connect, learn, and have fun with other EDPA members.
Ticket Prices for EDPA Members $150 (Non-Member $200).
Don’t wait – get your tickets today for ENGAGE2023!
Thank You ENGAGE 2023 Sponsors
Sponsorships Still Available
Contact Nick - sales@edpa.com (or call 1-866-806-3372) to reserve your sponsorship today!
Exhibitor Group & EDPA University Affiliation Program Opens Doors for Students at EXHIBITORLIVE
For nearly two decades, Exhibitor Group and the EDPA University Affiliation Program have provided an exhibit space for Bemidji State University and FIT/NY design students to introduce themselves and to share their portfolios with prospective employers at EXHIBITORLIVE. The students also use this time to attract design companies to sponsor them for internship opportunities to augment their curriculum.
“If education is our foundation, and design is at the center of creating memorable experiences, then we must bring it all together to inspire our industry,” said Dan Raynak, President and CEO of Exhibitor Group. “EXHIBITOR has a longstanding relationship with EDPA’s University Affiliations program, Bemidji State University, and the Fashion Institute of Technology, to help provide valuable exposure on the EXHIBITORLIVE show floor for these future industry leaders, where they have the opportunity to present their design portfolios to hundreds of potential employers. We are proud to carry on that tradition again this year in Louisville.”
EXHIBITORLIVE is about bringing the trade show industry together to Learn, Interact, View, and Explore, and our industry is about creating dreams and memories through experiences. Each year, before EXHIBITORLIVE officially opens the doors to the exhibit hall, EDPA provides a guided tour to meet different types of exhibit industry suppliers, EDPA members, and supporters of the program. The purpose of the tour is to see the exhibit hall in what may appear to some in a state of chaos and anxiety. The students also learn to be aware of what they design, as someone has to build it. This period of installation is a reality check that most will not see until the show opens the next day. Fork lifts, ladders, carpenters are gone and replaced with the smiling faces of booth staff reps eager to showcase their services with lights on and monitors flashing.
“The insight the students gain from attending EXHIBITORLIVE is invaluable," said Dana Esposito, EVP, Strategy, BlueHive Exhibits, and a co-chair to the EDPA University Affiliations Committee. "We are so thankful to OCTANORM and EXHIBITORLIVE for providing a space designated for the FIT and BSU students. This is an important opportunity for the students to network for their future and to practice showing their portfolios. The students pay to travel to the show and participate in educational tours, and it is a big deal all around! This partnership has become more important through the years, as many of these students will be members of our future workforce.”
We invite you to meet the next generation of designers from BSU and FIT at EXHIBITORLIVE, April 23-27, 2023, at the Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC), in Louisville, KY.
Find out about opportunities to get your company’s message out to our industry.
Email Sales@edpa.com for more information.
FIT Graduate Exhibition and Experience Design Students Available for Summer Internships!
FIT's Graduate Exhibition & Experience Design students are eager to connect with members of the Experiential Design industry and have a wide array of skills, such as concept development, rendering, drafting, prototyping, lighting design, branding and graphic design—to name a few. Students are looking for summer internships and future positions. Please check out their portfolios HERE. They are excited to use their skills to contribute to your company!
If you are interested, please contact the students directly or reach out to Christina Lyons, Chair FIT Graduate Exhibition & Experience Design (christina_lyons@fitnyc.edu)
EDPA Future Leaders @ExhibitorLive
If you'll be in Louisville April 23-26, we'd love to see you at one or both of these exclusive Future Leader gatherings:
Arriving Saturday or early Sunday? This informal meet and greet for young professionals (anyone under 40) will be the perfect way to start your week at Exhibitor - we'll meet at 2pm on Sunday, April 23 for drinks and some food at Neighborhood Services, before heading together to EDPA Engage, hosted at the Copper & Kings Distillery.
The Neighborhood Services Restaurant, located inside the Omni Louisville Hotel, 400 South St., Louisville, KY, is right next the Louisville Marriott which will have shuttle buses running to Copper from 3:45-5pm.
Check out the restaurant here:
https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/louisville/dining/neighborhood-services
Arriving later to the party? No problem! Come for an evening of golf, drinks, food and fun as Future Leaders (anyone under 40) come together at Louisville's Top Golf on Tuesday, April 25 at 6pm.
Meet up with fellow young professionals for an evening that's sure to create memories and industry connections - the Top Golf Louisville is (approx.) 15min Uber/Lyft drive from the convention center and downtown hotels in Louisville, and you just have to ask the Hostess/Check-In station for the Future Leaders group.
Check out all that Top Golf Louisville offers, here: https://topgolf.com/us/louisville/
EDPA Northeast Chapter Makes an Impact at
Career Fair for the Trades
table drapes and promo materials and headed to Media, Pennsylvania for a career fair at the Williamson College of the Trades.
The accredited junior college is home to approximately 280 students who are required to live on campus and conduct themselves under the virtues of the school: with Faith, Integrity, Diligence, Excellence and Service. (Students attend on full scholarships that cover tuition, room, board and textbooks.) With academic programs for trades including carpentry, electrical, landscape construction and management, machine tool technology, masonry and power plant technology, students graduate in just three years with an Associate in Specialized Technology degree.
For Ashley Balassone, Director of National Accounts at CSI Worldwide and EDPA Northeast Chapter President, Kayla Gott, Senior Account Executive at Agam and Northeast Chapter Secretary, and Ben Solberg, Production & Detailing Specialist at Hill & Partners and Northeast Chapter member; the experience was just as rewarding for themselves as it was for the students they met.
The event, identified by EDPA’s Future Workforce Committee for its opportunity to engage with future professionals of the industry, was well-attended by the College’s students who came prepared with printed resumes and a thirst for learning what they could do with their impending specialty degrees.
“The students were pretty overwhelmed by the amount of opportunity and job offerings within the events industry,” reported Ashley. “None of them were familiar with the industry; their only experience being career fairs and ‘tabletop’ type events.”
“Seeing their excitement in sharing not just one job type but an entire industry of interrelated and intertwined roles for companies across the country was telling of the promise of the future of this industry,” added Ben.
“The three of us together were a perfect instance to illustrate the impact of a career in this industry,” said Kayla. “My company being a custom manufacturer of framing systems, Ashley’s specializing in labor management and Ben’s creating exhibits and event experiences, we were able to share how our roles differed and how they related in putting on an event.”
There was a true moment of connection between young professionals all around as the students and EDPA members jived over the new machinery that the school had received that the students were eager to try out.
And it wasn’t just talk about entry-level shop positions or summer internships currently available in the trades. With so much of their own careers still ahead of them, Ben, Ashley and Kayla spoke to experiences of older members of the industry having turned a trade skill like carpentry, electrical or machining into a career path that led to upper management positions in sales, operations and business administration.
In total, these three EDPA “Future Leader” delegates collected 21 resumes from students interested in job and internship opportunities, and who seemed more than willing to relocate for a job to get in the door of the events industry. The majority were pursuing degrees in carpentry, machinery and masonry, with a handful in electrical.
With industry education, support and advocacy as main pillars of the EDPA mission, and the Future Workforce and Future Leaders committees empowering EDPA members to get involved in shaping the future of the industry, the Northeast Chapter took this career fair as an opportunity to rise to the occasion.
This will certainly not be the EDPA Northeast Chapter’s last opportunity to get in front of students, and we’re always looking for ways to engage the industry’s future professionals. Check back regularly on our list of events for an upcoming career fair near you, or if you know one you’d like to attend on behalf of the EDPA Northeast Chapter, let us know by emailing info@edpanortheast.com.
If you want to learn more about Future Workforce and Future Leaders, including how you can get more involved with on behalf of your EDPA Chapter, click here: https://www.edpa.com/future
EDPA All Chapters
Event Title: Chapters Collide 2023
Date: April 24, 2023
Location: 8Up https://www.8uplouisville.com
Time: 9:00 - 11pm EST
Description: Join us for our third annual EDPA Chapters Collide event on the rooftop of the 8UP Elevated Drinkery & Kitchen in Louisville, KY to mingle with new and familiar faces.
Registration Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/530722123157
Sponsorship Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/535241099537
EDPA Texas
Event Title: Know Before You Go – Exhibitions Day
Date: April 18, 2023
Event Location: Zoom
Time: 5:00 - 6:00pm CST
Event Description: Know Before You Go – Legislative Action Day (Exhibitions Day) – You won’t want to miss this informative event to prepare for Legislative Action Day, formerly known as Exhibitions Day, like a pro. Speakers Chris Griffin, Tommy Goodwin, and Dasher Lowe will be reviewing the topics that we will be discussing on Capitol Hill and letting people know how to register.
Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/legislative-action-day-know-before-you-go-tickets-604044582607
Event Title: Trivia Night
Date: May 10, 2023 – SoCal Chapter Challenge
Location: Zoom
Time: 5:00 – 6:00pm CST
Description: SPONSORED BY CLASSIC EXHIBITS - Join us for a fun evening and test your trivia skills aiming to win a $50 Amazon gift card. All are welcome!
Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86951770992?pwd=K2N5bzgzMkZNNjZsU2Q0cjZjOVBDZz09
Meeting ID: 869 5177 0992/Passcode: 264690
Free for all, email Noelle Webster at noelle.webster@willwork.com for a calendar invite.