EACA Showfloor Buzz

Vol. 6, Issue 47, December 3, 2003

Hello to all EACA members and friends! The Showfloor Buzz is published each week to keep EACA members abreast of the most recent developments in our industry. More importantly, we hope the Buzz creates a sense of community and collaboration that is vital to our industry's success.

EACA NEWS

Steve Johnson, President, Renaissance Management and Immediate Past President of the EACA has recently been elected to the Board of EDPA. Congratulations, Steve.

UBC Holds Planning Meeting for 2004 Leadership Training Conference. The United Brotherhood of Carpenters began its plans for its 2004 Tradeshow Leadership Training by hosting a meeting of its Conference Advisory Committee in Las Vegas this week.

While the conference agenda is still in the works, we can tell you that the UBC Tradeshow Leadership Training is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 8-9, 2004 in Las Vegas and will take place at the UBC International Training Center in Las Vegas, NV.

Freeman Companies Hires Schwan, Schedules Worker Training Session. As part of an effort to renew and invigorate its commitment to delivering quality customer service, the Freeman Companies have recently hired George Schwan to conduct training programs for trade show workers across the country.  The first training program has been scheduled for Boston in conjunction with Teamsters Local 82. The Boston training program will take place on January 12-13 and will take place at the Hynes Convention Center.  EACA members should note that while Freeman is taking point on this training effort that all contractors that employ Teamsters to service their clients in Boston are encouraged to participate and attend. If you'd like to receive more information on how you can participate in this training please email the EACA (jimwurm@eaca.com).

EACA-ESCA Adopt Carrier Standards Document. The EACA has recently issued a joint news release with ESCA signifying the joint adoption of the Carrier Standards of Performance document that has been in the works for the past two years.

"The Carrier Standards of Performance seeks to define the level playing field of exhibition transportation services on the showfloor," said EACA Director David Mihalik (President of EliteXPO Cargo Systems) who was the initial author of the Carrier Standards. "Today's announcement is a great step forward for EACA transportation members, for ESCA contractors and for our entire industry of exhibitors who acquire exhibit transportation services. Hopefully this document will signal the beginning of new era of collaboration and cooperation among all industry suppliers of exhibit transportation services," Mihalik said.

Local 510 negotiations slated for March 2004. As a heads up for EACA labor companies in San Francisco, negotiations for the new contract with Decorators Local 510 are scheduled to begin in March, 2004.

EACA PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

Congratulations to Jim Adlesick.  Jim Adlesick of Armageddon Security is to be congratulated on his achieving the CEM (Certified Exhibition Manager) from IAEM.

DEAR SHOWFLOOR BUZZ

Baby You Can Park My Car

James Anthony, you can't take next week off, how will I know were to park @ the Anaheim convention center w/ out you?  Happy Thanksgiving brother and I look forward to seeing you @ EDPA.

Rich Johnson

Renaissance Management

New Additions at IMTS

In case you haven't heard, Caren Francis (Show Operations Manager, IMTS) and her husband Mark gave birth to John Patrick Francis on Tuesday at 5:57am - he weighed in at 8 lbs.10 oz.  The family are all doing well.

Lee Anne Orange

IMTS

EACA CHAPTERS

Bay Area Chapter Announcement

The Bay Area Chapter of the EACA reports that the new 510 training program is off and running after members recently voted to have a .10 deduction per hour to fund such a program.

Bay Area EACA members are also encouraged to attend a meeting of all contractors in the area to discuss upcoming contract negotiations with Local 510 during the Silicon Valley TEN show in January 2004. The time and date of this meeting to be announced later.

Las Vegas Chapter Announcement

The Las Vegas Chapter of the EACA will be participating at the EDPA Winter Meeting at Caesars Palace, and will man the EACA booth at the EDPA Expo. All Las Vegas EACA members are encouraged to attend.

EACA TIP OF THE MONTH

End of Year Credit Alert!!

The 4th quarter is often a hectic time as you close out the year and prepare for the next one. As a result, it is often tempting to make collections a "January" priority. While this may be the easiest solution, it may not be the right one.

The economy in the 4th quarter is very cash intensive for many industries. Companies are optimistic that the 4th quarter will result in an infusion of revenue, making it possible for them to get "back-on-their-feet" and start the New Year running. Due to this optimism, many companies are more willing to pay priority debts. Unfortunately, a majority of these companies will not realize their hopes, thus creating even greater delinquency.

With this in mind, it is vital that businesses set some time aside as early in the 4th quarter as possible to review those accounts that have reached the red-flag stage (Ignoring your demands, breaking promises, ignoring phone calls, refusing to sign a personal guarantee), with your collection partner. In this way you ensure your claim becomes a priority with your delinquent customer before it¹s too late.

While it is true that "time is money", the small amount of time you will invest in turning over delinquent accounts is clearly justified by the potential revenue your professional partner can help you recover.

NCO Financial Systems, Inc., the official collection agency of the EACA, has a variety of customized outsourcing services to meet your needs. NCO also offers members preferred rates on all collection accounts, outsourcing, complimentary demand letters and many other services to help improve your bottom-line. To learn more about NCO Commercial Services contact Christopher Moore at 800-987-0011 or christopher.moore@ncogroup.com.

INDUSTRY NEWS

FREEMAN DECORATING OPENS NEW CUSTOMER SUPPORT CENTER Dallas, TX FreemanDecorating opened the doors (and the phones) to its new Customer Support Center in Dallas this week, with the goal of simplifying the show service experience for exhibitors across North America. The Center is headed by manager Brenda McCord, a 28-year veteran with The Freeman Companies, and supported by five full-time experienced exhibitor service specialists. The staff has close to 90 years of combined experience working with exhibitors on shows of all sizes.

Construction on McCormick Place West to Begin in Early 2004. Preparations are underway for an official ground-breaking on the McCormick Place West Building project. The new addition to McCormick Place will add 470,000 square feet of exhibition space and 250,000 square feet of meeting space to the existing McCormick Place facilities. When completed, the West building will become the fourth facility at the McCormick Place campus and is scheduled to be available for occupancy in early 2008.

IAEM Winter Meeting Discusses Show Organizer Issues. The International Association for Exhibition Management (IAEM) is hosting its Annual Winter Meeting in Las Vegas this week (Las Vegas Convention Center) and are investigating a number of issues of particular concern to association show management.  One of the top issues on their list is the recent trend of third party organizations to solicit show attendees and exhibitors for room reservations, usually with offers of less-expensive hotel rates. Steven Hacker, President of IAEM, believes this practice to be "... the equivalent of picking someone's pocket..."The bottom line of the concern is that show organizer organizations will owe hotels thousands of dollars in attrition damages if they fail to meet their room block commitments.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Seven days without laughter makes one weak.

--Joel Goodman

Publisher's statement. The Showfloor Buzz is a publication of the Exhibitor Appointed Contractor Association (EACA) which is dedicated to "raising the level of service excellence on the showfloor."  This publication is sent free of charge to all EACA members each Wednesday.  Annual subscriptions are available to non-members for $49.95. Please send subscription requests to jimwurm@eaca.com.

If you have news from the tradeshow floor that you feel is important to the success of our members, or our industry's customer, the exhibitors, please forward it to the EACA @ 541-317-8768 or email us @ jimwurm@eaca.com

Thank You.