Blog Viewer

Association Forum’s 26th Annual Holiday Showcase Tops Recent Attendance, Highlights “What If…?” Approach to Business Opportunities

By Melissa Walling posted 07-02-2016 18:52

  

Association Forum’s 26th Annual Holiday Showcase Tops Recent Attendance, Highlights “What If…?” Approach to Business Opportunities

CHICAGO (Dec. 23, 2014) - Association Forum’s Holiday Showcase® on Dec. 16—the Midwest's largest and most-attended exposition for meeting sites and business services—brought together more than 2,500 meeting planners, association professionals and supplier partners, topping the three-year high at the Hyatt Regency, Chicago. Nearly 130 CEOs and more than 1,400 qualified buyers attended Holiday Showcase 2014—representing more than half of the total attendees, according to preliminary reports.

While this year marked the 26th annual Holiday Showcase, the event proved its relevancy by providing a variety of new and updated experiences for the 2014 event:

  • Holiday Showcase headliner Mike Rayburn, CSP, CPAE, generously sponsored by Niagra Falls, used his musical and comedic talents to entertain and inspire the luncheon/general session crowd with his hilarious yet thought-provoking “What If…?” Experience, focused on helping attendees remove barriers to achieve personal and professional success. Rayburn also met with small groups all afternoon at the Association Forum Pavilion in the exhibit hall leading casual conversations on “What if…money were no object?” and “What if…you couldn’t fail.”

  • The CEOnly® Seminar, an exclusive half-day event for CEOs and executive directors of associations—generously sponsored by title sponsor Synchronicities and supporting sponsors Johnson Lambert and the Private Bank—featured a conversation with Sweet Baby Ray CEO Dave Raymond on lessons learned from his humble beginnings on Chicago’s West Side to building the best-selling barbecue brand in the country.

  • The Innovation Hub featured 30+ providers of business service solutions for finance and HR support, IT, marketing, communications, publishing, and more that included cutting-edge tools such as AMS, LMS and CMS systems as well as mobile apps and other resources.

  • The Holiday Showcase Happy Hour was held on the show floor for the first time to maximize business opportunities between exhibitors and qualified buyers.
    The second class of Association Forum and USAEs Forty Under 40® Awards honorees was recognized during the luncheon. This group of accomplished association and nonprofit professionals was honored for their demonstrated potential in leadership roles and their strong commitment to the association management profession.

  • The Holiday Showcase Exhibit Hall included more than 600 exhibiting companies showcasing top destinations and event spaces along with the business service suppliers that are essential for every meeting planner and association professional.

“This year saw some new and exciting innovations to keep Holiday Showcase at the top of the Midwest association market,” said Kenneth J. Fischang, CHME, CMP, CTA, president and CEO of Sonoma County Tourism and member of the Association Forum Board of Directors. “Excellent education sessions and a new CEOnly tract highlighted the morning. Also, the ‘razzle dazzle’ came back to the Holiday Showcase luncheon and general session entertainment.”

Association Forum Board of Directors Chair Frederick H. Grubbe, MBA, CAE, who also is president and CEO of The Appraisal Institute, added: "Holiday Showcase is my one-stop destination for meeting the people who ensure successful meetings for my members. Outstanding education, top-notch speakers and renewing ties with old friends makes it one of my most productive and rewarding professional days of the year.”

Although Holiday Showcase marked only 90 days that Michelle Mason, FASAE, CAE, had been president and CEO of the Association Forum, it was “the perfect venue for me to meet face-to-face with so many of our members, sponsors and exhibitors—and I truly valued that opportunity.” Mason added: “The feedback I received was very positive and focused on things we are doing well and opportunities to better engage our members and community moving forward. Understanding our stakeholders will be essential for Association Forum’s success in the future, and I look forward to any opportunity to hear it.”

Holiday Showcase 2014 was made possible by the Holiday Showcase Program Advisory Group, the Holiday Showcase Exhibit and Sponsor Advisory Group, the Association Forum Board of Directors and by the generous contributions of the Holiday Showcase 2014 Sponsors, which are:

Platinum Sponsors:
Choose Chicago
Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau
Synchronicities

Gold Sponsors:
Abila, Inc.
CommPartners
Niagara Falls Tourism

Silver Sponsors:

Destination Cleveland
The Private Bank
Visit Indy
Visit Orlando

Bronze Sponsors:

ALHI
ASI, Advanced Solutions International
CadmiumCD
Core-apps
Cvent
Destination Reps
Experience Grand Rapids
ExpoCad
Johnson Lambert & Co. LLP
Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority
Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau
NimbleUser AMS
Sonoma County Tourism
Visit Denver
YourMembership.com

Event Partners:
Abcom
BodyWorks
Oscar & Associates
SmithBucklin


About the Association Forum
The mission of the Association Forum is to "advance the professional practice of association management." Founded in 1916, the Association Forum serves 44,000 association professionals whose efforts serve more than 27 million members and generate $38 billion in global annual expenditures. Visit www.associationforum.org.

###

Back to News Releases

0 comments
273 views

Permalink