Showfloor Buzz – January 15, 2021

EACA News

EACA Board Holds Elections, Expands Board for 2021. By-laws updated to reflect association growth
At its December 2020 Board meeting the Exhibitor Appointed Contractor Association (EACA) held its annual elections for 4 Director positions for terms that had expired and updated its By-Laws to expand its Board of Directors for an additional 4 new EAC Director positions.

April Hurley of The Expo Group was re-elected for a new term with the Board and Bruce Green, Coastal Int’l, Chris Casconi, Willwork and Matthew Little, Nuvista were elected to the three EAC Director vacancies.   Elections for the 4 new EAC Director positions resulted in the addition of Les Bunge, Laser, Durl Jensen, CDI USA, Jason Eisenhut, Employco USA and Noelle Webster, Willwork.

Please be sure to reach out and welcome our new Directors.

EACA Webinars   The EACA has scheduled the following webinar program:

  • Venue Plans for 2021  The EACA will be conducting a live webinar on Friday, January 22, at 1pm ET, 12pm CT, and 10am PT, to discuss Venue Plans for 2021 with our panel of esteemed Facility Management.   Click here to view full program
  • ECA Update.    On February 5, the EACA will be talking with the leadership of the newly formed Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA) to review plans for 2021.

What Are Member Plans for the New Round of PPP?  In an effort to stay abreast of the needs of our members during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the EACA is interested to learn about your experiences with the first round of PPP and plans for the new round. To that end we have authored an EACA Pulse Survey on Survey Monkey.   We encourage all members to participate so we can better serve your needs.

EACA Member News

Employco USA Offers Healthcare Insurance Solutions.  Employco USA reports they have seen health care insurance premiums increase as much as 40% in Chicagoland due to COVID-19 claims.  Employco can assist EACA members to reduce your health insurance premiums through their aggregate buying power. They also offer clients customized employee benefit options, including: Dental, Vision, Life, 529, 401(k) plans, LifeLock, and more.

OSHA Safety Training in Play in 2021.  As we’ve reported earlier, the Nevada state legislature has passed a law requiring all those that work on the showfloor anywhere in Nevada must have taken and passed and OSHA Safety Training Course.   Showfloor workers are required to take the OSHA10 course and managers and supervisors must take the OSHA30 course.  These courses are available online from the Local 631 Training Center for local workers.

IBT To Offer OSHA-10 Training to All Others. The Int’l Brotherhood of Teamsters are offering OSHA-10 certification for all trade show professionals who reside outside of Las Vegas.

FDA Approves Fully At-Home COVID Test. <CNN>  The US Food and Drug Administration recently gave emergency authorization for the first Covid-19 test that can be fully taken at home.  The Covid-19 home test was developed by Australian company Ellume and is sold over-the-counter and produces results that can be read at home.

The authorization allows it to be sold in places like drug stores, where a patient can buy it, swab their nose, run the test and find out their results in as little as 20 minutes.  The test uses an analyzer that connects with a software application on a smartphone to help users perform the test and interpret results, the FDA said.  Ellume expects to produce more than 3 million tests in January.

Industry News

EXHIBITORLIVE Reschedules for October 31-November 3. <Exhibit City News>  The producers of EXHIBITORLIVE have released an update with the new show dates at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas as Oct. 31–Nov. 3, 2021.

EXHIBITORLIVE conducted surveys to both segments of our EXHIBITORLIVE marketplace: corporate marketers and the suppliers that serve them. While it is disappointing to us that COVID-19 will continue to make our gathering for EXHIBITORLIVE difficult and nearly impossible,  we continue to work toward gathering again. As such, we are happy to announce that our venue partners at Mandalay Bay have found an opening in their calendar that will allow us to host the event Oct. 31 – Nov. 3, 2021.

NPE Cancels May Show in Orlando  <Exhibit City News>  After consultation with medical and legal experts, Officers of the Board, the NPE executive committee, exhibitors, and the association membership, the PLASTICS Board of Directors decided to cancel the in-person components of NPE2021, scheduled for May 17–21, in Orlando, Florida, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Randy Pekowski Named to ESCA Board  <TEG Exposure>  The Expo Group, an exhibitions and events partner that invests in growth, announced that Randy Pekowski, President & COO has been elected to the Exhibition Service Contractors Association board of directors.  With more than 25 years of experience in trade shows and events and as President since 2006, Randy Pekowski has led The Expo Group in realizing double-digit organic and acquisition annual compounded growth.

PCMA Acquires CEMA <TSNN>  The Professional Convention Management Assn. (PCMA) has acquired the Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA), the premier community for event marketers, as a new, wholly-owned division.

The deal between the two organizations was signed after CEMA members voted overwhelmingly in favor of the acquisition. According to PCMA officials, the move will propel both organizations into an exciting new chapter as businesses and organizations adjust to the evolving role of business events in an omni-channel world.

Sands CEO Adelson Passes Away <Exhibit City News> Sheldon Adelson, chairman/CEO and founder of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., which he grew into the largest network of casinos and resorts in the world, passed away on Jan. 11.  Adelson’s venture into the network of casinos and resorts was made possible from the sale of Interface Group, his show management company that produced Comdex and other information technology events.