the May 2008 Issue in PDF Format - Trade Show Executive

News
Continued from page 9
Trade Show Executive to Launch Award Gala
to Honor the Nation’s Top Trade Shows
Carlsbad, CA - A unique event debuting
this Fall will salute the leading trade
shows in the U.S. and offer the media a
rare opportunity to learn more about our
$85 billion industry.
Trade Show Executive’s Gold 100 Award
Gala & Summit will honor the producers
of the 100 largest trade shows in the
nation as ranked by net square feet
of exhibit space. Ten organizers will
also receive Grand Awards in categories
ranging from “The Show with the
Highest Economic Impact” to “The
Top Brand.”
The Gold 100 ceremony and summit
will be held Sept. 17-19 at the seaside
Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Laguna Niguel,
CA, consistently rated as one of the
top hotels in the world. The event is
expected to draw 200 leading trade
show executives and more than 30
journalists to the by-invitation-only
gala and summit, as well as 350 to the
opening night reception. The award
ceremony will be broadcast live on Trade
Show Executive’s web site, by TSE’s sister
company, PrivilegedAccess.tv.
Television personality Bill Kurtis
will be the master of ceremonies for the
event. Kurtis, a former correspondent and
anchorman for the CBS Morning News, has
been called the “Walter Cronkite of our
generation.” Kurtis has become a fixture
on cable television as the host of the longrunning
true-crime series American Justice
on A&E, and producer of Cold Case Files
and Investigative Reports.
In addition to the awards banquet,
the event will feature a summit featuring
TSE’s Exposition Forecasting Board; a
Darlene Gudea
Diane Bjorklund
panel of Chief
Marketing
Officers from
the Fortune
500; a panel
on a timely
“hot topic;”
a celebrity
speaker; a
complimentary
golf, spa
and yachting
Bill Kurtis
excursion; and
goody bags
sponsored by some of the nation’s
leading luxury retailers.
The Gold Standards
“The top 100 trade shows have a
massive impact not only on the host
city but also in setting standards for the
exposition industry as a whole,” said
Darlene Gudea, vice president/publisher
& editor of Trade Show Executive. “The
Gold Gala will identify and honor the ‘gold
standard’ events – those at the forefront
of innovation, leadership, growth and
technology. Their strategies will stimulate
further growth in the exposition industry.”
Diane Bjorklund, TSE’s director
of events, noted that TSE is extending
invitations to the business media
nationwide. “The Gold 100 Gala & Summit
will provide journalists with a unique
opportunity to learn more about our
dynamic industry. They will also have the
opportunity to meet many of the leaders
of an industry that continues to thrive
despite current economic challenges.”
For further information, contact
Darlene Gudea, vp/publisher &
editor at (760) 929-9666 or dgudea@
tradeshowexecutive.com or Diane
Bjorklund, director of events, at
(630) 312-8915 or dbjorklund@
tradeshowexecutive.com
How the Winners Will be Determined
Trade Show Executive is accepting entries
for the Gold 100 Awards from organizers
of B-to-B expositions held in the U.S. in
2007. The 100 largest shows will be ranked
by net square feet of exhibit space. The
show manager must certify the net square
footage, number of exhibiting companies and
attendance.
Ten of the top 100 shows will be further
honored with the TSE Grand Award, in the
following categories:
n The Largest Show managed by an
Association or Society
n The Largest Show managed by an
Independent Show Organizer
n The Top Show Organizer among the Gold
100 (i.e. the association or independent
organizer with the largest number of Gold
100 shows).
n The Top Brand (the parent show must
be U.S. based and among the Gold 100;
other shows under the brand name can
be held in any other city in the U.S. or
overseas)
n The Show with the Most Dramatic Growth
n The Show with the Highest Economic
Impact on the Local Economy
n The Show with the Most Innovative
Practices
n The Show with the Highest Global
Participation
n The Show at the Forefront of Technology
n The Greenest Show
There is a maximum of two awards per show.
Trade Show Executive’s
And the Winner Is...
The top 100 shows will be
announced on June 16 in
Trade Show Executive’s
Eclips Breaking News
and on our web site.
Registration for the Gold
Gala and Summit will
then officially open. However, the ranking
of each show and the winners of the ten
Grand Awards will be kept confidential until
9:00 p.m. on September 18 at a Black-Tie
ceremony at the Ritz Carlton. At that time,
various industry leaders including a surprise
guest, industry association executives, key
sponsors and TSE editors will “open the
envelope” and announce the winners, similar
to the Academy Awards and Grammy
Awards.
10 May 2008 Trade Show Executive www.TradeShowExecutive.com