Supplier of the Year awards recognize the best of the best of Experient partners each year and are an opportunity for Experient to honor those suppliers who demonstrate outstanding character and integrity, provide innovative ideas and solutions and maintain high quality customer service.

“These individuals are an incredibly strong and dedicated group of suppliers that add value to our organization by continually delivering exceptional results and superior performance,” said Scott Durkin, Experient vice president, partner development. “They are our partners in the truest sense of the word, and share Experient’s devotion to value and customer satisfaction that enables us to deliver on our commitment of high quality meetings and conferences. We’re proud to have them as part of our team.”

Experient honored Adam Michelin – national account executive, SmartSource Rentals; Michele Oberst – director, national accounts, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts; and Barry Tester – senior manager, conference management, The Venetian® Resort-Hotel-Casino.

Michelin was recognized for his ability to engage all areas of Experient to grow the SmartSource business. He stepped in and supported Experient with every aspect of its strategic events, and simply never says no when called on to assist. He is an outstanding Experient advocate, and continues to look for new ways for both organizations to partner and drive new business together.

Tester has worked some of Experient’s largest events held at The Venetian since 2006 and has been instrumental in supporting one of Experient’s top clients. His customer service and forward thinking are outstanding, even when challenged with some of the most difficult events. Tester’s award was accepted by Chandra Allison, vice president sales for The Venetian/The Palazzo Meetings.

Oberst was selected by Experient nominators for her drive and determination in thinking “outside the box” and for her ability to remain engaged with the account even after its close.

Visit www.experient-inc.com for more information.

First of all… Mark Galstaun has been promoted to Vice President of Northwest Operations. Mark has been an integral part of Edlen’s growth in the Northwest market since joining Edlen in 1999 to open the Seattle branch.

Liz Brostrom has recently been promoted to the role of General Manager in the Seattle office.  Liz joined Edlen in 2008 after managing various technical services at the Washington State Convention Center

Felicia Gray has been promoted to Senior Event Manager in the St. Louis office.  Felicia joined Edlen in 2007 and has worked on such events as ACE Hardware, ASAE and the St. Louis Auto Show

Will Hyun has been promoted to Assistant General Manager at Edlen’s Mandalay Bay office.  Will’s customer service and management experience have served as an asset at Mandalay Bay, where Will has been awarded “THEaward” for exceptional service on numerous occasions.

Also from Edlen’s Mandalay Bay office, Michelle Arguello has been promoted to Senior Event Manager.  Michelle joined Edlen in 2009 with five years of industry experience and has also been a recipient of Mandalay Bay’s “THEaward” on several occasions

Julie Pazina has been promoted to Director of Sales in the Las Vegas office.  Julie joined Edlen in 2006 with nearly ten years of sales and management experience.  She is currently serving as President-Elect of the Las Vegas Hospitality Association and was named 2011 Young Professional of the Year by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events

For more information, visit www.edlen.com.

“Blofield products have been available in Europe for several years and CORT is the only U.S. rental provider offering this rather unique product to the event and tradeshow industry,” according to Kevin Dana, director of marketing and product development for CORT. “You really can use it anywhere, allowing planners more flexibility when designing furnishings for unusual and traditional event spaces.”

Blofield Air Design can withstand sand, snow and virtually any environment in which an event is held. The collection is now available across the United States for exhibit and event rental. The Blofield collection features chairs and loveseats available in black or cream.

More info at CORTevents.com.

“It is with deep regret that MC² must report the death of Keith Hishon, MC² account executive in our Detroit office. Keith passed away suddenly on Feb. 13. He is survived by his wife Penny and his children, Alexander, Abby, and Nathan. In the two years Keith was with MC², he had a positive impact on our business and on all of us who worked with him.  Everyone at MC2 will miss him as a friend, mentor and business associate. Our condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and industry associates.”

~ Rob Murphy, CMO, MC²

Editors Note: We covered Keith’s arrival at MC² about 2+ years ago with this post.

With the Second Wall filling up fast (only 8 spaces remained as of this writing), more interest has been expressed in the premium “rental spaces” that have recently been made available at the top of each Wall. Information on these space are available on the Wall’s Extras page.

Rob Cohen, VP of DS&L said “the addition of Mike to our account management team is a big plus… Mike’s 10 years of service to the display industries places another industry insider on the DS&L team who understands the demands and needs of our customers.”

Upon accepting this position, we learned from Mike that he was “excited to join the team of DS&L professionals who are known for their dedication to the industry and delivery of exceptional customer service. I look forward to expanding DS&L’s presence in the Nevada marketplace and working closely with industry professionals to assist in the creation of dynamic displays and environments”.

And there you have it. It’s always great to hear about a new job. More info at www.dslgroup.com.

TSB, since late in the early days, has primarily been the voice (metaphorically speaking) of its creator, Jeffrey D Brown. Fortunately, he’s not the only one who thinks there’s a more interesting side of the business that, at best, has been under-reported… if at all. And we’d like to tap into that vast common mindset and invite others to participate on Tradeshow Blues.

This is certainly a unique opportunity… but it’s not for everyone. How could it be? But, we’re required to state the obvious. So… if you think you’re interested, express that notion by contacting us. We’ll take it from there.

Visit the new Wall at classic.tradeshowwall.com

Differentiating from the standard square block wall (as in the flagship Tradeshow Wall), The ELITeXPO Wall utilizes a Seamless Asymmetric Wall Space design that provides a more abstract flow to the space. In the process, their Wall calls attention visually to multiple areas of their business including Exhibit Shipping and Storage, On-line Inventory Management, Install & Dismantle Services, Exhibits for Sale and Rent, Graphics and Flooring.

According to Brown, “There are many ways to use one of these Dedicated Walls. Except for a few parameters, we can design a wall just about any way we see fit… it’s a very creative platform. But the emphasis is always on the quality of the visual experience.”

Visit the new ELITeXPO Wall at http://elitexpo.tradeshowwall.com.

“The annual award is not a product of a committee decision or an in-depth analysis of magazines within a publishing cycle. It’s an award that’s built up over time,” said Lynn Keillor, a freelance writer for MMPA’s Fine Print newsletter.

In addition to winning this year’s Magazine of the Year Award, EXHIBITOR received a dozen individual awards, honoring the magazine’s editorial, design, and online excellence. Among those were five Gold Awards, presented for Best Cover Design, Best Editorial, Best How-To Article, Best Feature Design, and Best Special Issue.

“I know this is called the Magazine of the Year Award, but it’s less about what we’ve accomplished over the past 12 months, and more about what we’ve accomplished during the last three decades,” said EXHIBITOR editor Travis Stanton, during his acceptance speech. “Next year marks EXHIBITOR’s 30th anniversary, so this award is really a reflection of countless writers, editors, designers, art directors, sales reps, circulation coordinators, webmasters, and everyone else who has worked hard to make this magazine what it is today.”

This is the kind of thing that raises the tide for all ships… And we salute, applaud, cheer and congratulate Lee and all the fine folks at Exhibitor! Now… let’s party!