SMG Selected for New Stint as Colorado Convention Center Management
Denver, CO – Denver has decided it has a good thing going with SMG and has recommended that the incumbent managers of the Colorado Convention Center be awarded a new series of contracts totaling 12 years. 

Goodenough Replaces Reilly as CEO of Summit Business Media
New York, NY – Summit Business Media President Andrew Goodenough added CEO to his title on July 30, replacing William Reilly, who will continue as chairman of the board of the publishing and events company. “I am delighted to report that Summit, in less than two years, is off to a great start and has taken its place as a major B-to-B media company with more than 26 magazine titles and 100 live events,” Reilly said.     

Southern California Weathers 5.4 Earthquake
Carlsbad, CA – A moderate earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale shook a wide area of Southern California Tuesday, but did not disrupt operations at the region’s major convention centers.The quake was centered nearly 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles but was felt as far away as San Diego. There were no immediate reports of damage at any of the venues after the shaking subsided. The last major earthquake in the Southern California region was the Northridge earthquake 14 years ago.

dmg Sells Consumer Shows to Investment Firm
Larkspur, CA and Little Rock, AR – There’s more proof that the business and financial profile of the events industry continues to attract new investors. Marketplace Events LLC, which has been formed by Stephens Capital Partners LLC, acquired the entire North American consumer show portfolio of dmg world media on July 24 for $53 million. Not only does the acquisition of 38 shows in 27 cities give Stephens entrée into the exhibition industry, it gives the company the largest consumer show platform in North America any way you look at it – revenue, market coverage and number of consumer events. The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI) represented dmg world media in the transaction.

IAEE Provides List of U.S. Consular Officials for China Visas
Dallas, TX – Getting Chinese exhibitors and attendees to trade shows in the United States is no simple task; however, knowing the right person to call at U.S. consulates in China can be invaluable for event organizers. The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) has made available a comprehensive list of names and contact information for the consular officers who handle trade show visas at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the consulates in five other major Chinese cities.

ASAE Raises Concerns about Cost of Airport Fingerprinting
Washington, DC - The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) is weighing in on a new high-tech plan for identifying international visitors as they leave the United States.
     The ASAE and other travel-oriented associations urged the Department of Homeland Security not to leave beleaguered U.S. airlines holding the estimated $3 billion bill for deploying a sophisticated electronic fingerprint scanning system at U.S. airports, collecting the digital scans of thousands of passengers daily and then promptly sending the images on to the DHS.
     The biometric fingerprinting, which is part of the DHS’ US-VISIT program, is another facet of the balancing act between homeland security and the international business travel that is critical to the association and trade show industry. “A lot of organizations have international members who travel to meetings in this country,” said Jim Clarke, ASAE senior vice president for public policy. “We all want to enhance traveler compliance, but we also want those travelers to come here in the first place.”

Bludworth Named COO of Service Contractor George E. Fern
Cincinnati, OH - Aaron Bludworth will join the George E. Fern Company as chief operating officer (COO) after nearly a year at GES Exposition Services in Las Vegas where he served in a dual role of vice president of corporate events and vice president of sales. He begins his new position on Monday and will soon relocate his family to Cincinnati.
    “I am very pleased with my experience at GES but a great opportunity came up at Fern which I couldn’t pass up,” Bludworth told Trade Show Executive. He will report to the board of directors of Wachovia Exhibition Partners (WEP) which oversees the George E. Fern Co., headquartered in Cincinnati; Champion Nationwide Contractor headquartered in Boston; and Immersa Marketing in San Francisco. Bludworth’s position is a new one and he said there would be no changes in personnel.

Global Spectrum, Messe Schweiz Get Miami Beach Nod
Miami Beach, FL – The Miami Beach City Commission gave its preliminary approval to a move to turn over management of the Miami Beach Convention Center to a partnership between Global Spectrum and European organizer and venue operator Messe Schweiz.
     The 5-2 vote came after Global Spectrum executives pitched their case directly to the commission in order to counter the recommendation from city staff and a selection committee to extend the contract with SMG, which has run the center for the past 18 years.
     The deal will not be officially sealed until the commission votes on the actual three-year management contract. The city could still negotiate a new deal with SMG if the talks with Global Spectrum and Messe Schweiz fall apart.

John French Steps Down as CEO of Penton Media
New York, NY – John French announced Thursday he was stepping down as chief executive officer of Penton Media, Inc., but would remain on the publishing company’s board of directors and would assist in the search for his successor. French became CEO in 2006. He said his decision came after consultations with the board about the company’s evolution and future leadership needs. “New leadership from the CEO position will help bring new thoughts and new ideas to Penton,” he said. Last month, French announced in a memo that the company was eliminating 42 jobs and extending a hiring and salary freeze. He added, however, that Penton’s Exhibitions Group was performing well and had launched three new trade shows.

Trade Show Executive Magazine Wins Four APEX Awards Including Coveted Grand Award
Carlsbad, CA – A great team effort brought Trade Show Executive four APEX awards for articles written in 2007, including a Grand Award for its outlook on executive compensation in the coming year. Now in its 20^th year, the APEX Awards for Publication Excellence, organized by Communications Concepts, Inc., drew 4,497 entries in 110 categories. Other notable winners included The Walt Disney Company, United Business Media; Time, Inc.; and United Airline’s Hemispheres magazine.
     The article on executive salary packages was part of TSE’s redesign issue, which launched in December 2007. That issue received a separate APEX for being among the “Most-Improved Magazines and Journals” in the nation. TSE’s tribute to the late Robert Krakoff, former CEO of Nielsen Business Media, Advanstar Communications and Reed Business, ran in the May 2007 issue and received an APEX  in the “Interviews and Personal Profiles” category. The story featured a timeline of Bob’s major accomplishments as well as personal reminiscences from 15 leaders of the trade show industry who had worked with Bob. TSE also received an APEX in the “How-To Writing” category for “Buyers Be Where?” published in October 2007.

Convention Centers 2008: A State of the Industry Report from Trends to Metrics
Carlsbad, CA - Convention centers have often been a source of “green” for their communities through the economic impact of the expositions they host. Now these venues are going green in another way. Convention centers are devising unique programs to shrink their environmental footprint and help brighten the shade of green of the trade shows in their buildings. Whereas in the past two decades, the focus has been on expansions and new builds, environmental consciousness is one of the biggest trends impacting convention centers today, according to the 2008 edition of the World’s Top Convention Centers (WTCC) published by Trade Show Executive magazine June 30. The directory provides a statistical overview and key data on 300 North American facilities and links to nearly 200 leading overseas venues.

Allstream Gets Naming Rights for New Toronto Conference Center
Toronto, Ontario - The new stand-alone conference center that will open next Summer at Exhibition Place in Toronto will be christened the Allstream Centre under a 10-year sponsorship agreement announced June 24. MTS Allstream Inc., a Canadian communications services company, signed a 10-year agreement with Exhibition Place that includes signage plus a technology showplace area inside the building. The building will be formally named Allstream Centre – A Conference & Convention Centre at Exhibition Place.

Hi-Tech Rentals Acquired by PRG
New Windsor, NY – Trade show audio-visual company Hi-Tech Rentals Inc. was acquired by Production Resource Group (PRG) on July 2. The deal expands PRG’s reach into the exhibition market and enables Hi-Tech to tap into PRG’s market-leading position in the entertainment industry. Al Dyess, Hi-Tech president, will remain at the helm of the Hi-Tech Rentals operation.

Affinity Events Acquires 12 Boat, RV Shows 
Maple Grove, MN – Affinity Events has acquired a dozen boating and recreational vehicle (RV) consumer shows in a pair of deals with MAC Events, LLC and Mid-America Expositions, Inc. Terms of the sales were not announced, but Affinity said it would retain the local management of the shows through an agreement with the two sellers.

Will Airline Woes Hurt Trade Show Attendance?
Carlsbad, CA – The U.S. airline sector was wobbled by soaring fuel costs at the start of the Summer, leaving trade show organizers to wonder if the combination of fewer flights and higher ticket prices would cut into their attendance. The answer was not immediately clear as the exhibitions industry tried to find some solid clues among the tea leaves. But at the same time, show organizers were becoming increasingly concerned that budget-conscious companies could send fewer attendees to their events, or skip them altogether.  “The deterioration of air transportation is the No. 1 threat to the industry's stability and growth,” said Steven Hacker, president of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE).