NAED Eastern Region Conference 2012

The GMP team headed south to Hollywood, Florida last week to produce the National Association of Electrical Distributors Eastern Region Conference. The meeting was held at the Westin Diplomat and included an opening general session 

featuring Fox News correspondent Kirsten Powers. We had a great show, although our Jonathan Yeaworth had to spend the night in the hospital following load out. We were worried about him for awhile, but he's home now recovering and doing much better. Thanks to Tom, Becky, Karen, Lesley, and the staff of the Westin for taking such good care of us!

NAED in San Diego

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTORS WESTERN REGION CONFERENCE - SAN DIEGO

This week we produced the National Association of Electrical Distributors Western Region Conference in San Diego. This was the second meeting of three regional conferences this year. The meeting was at the San Diego Marriott and Marina, one of the largest hotels in San Diego and a property we've worked in many times in the past. The setting is spectacular, and the weather was a welcome relief from the cold, rainy days we've been experiencing in Nashville. It was a great week, and we're looking forward to our next show in Marco Island next month!

Here are some shots from the General Session. This is a conference of about 500 attendees from the electrical products industry, including some of the world's largest manufacturers for electrical equipment.

NEW ORLEANS HOSTS NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTORS

GMP & NAED GO TO THE BIG EASY!

Our GMP team spent part of this past week in the Big Easy producing the general session for the Eastern Region Conference of the National Association of Electrical Distributors. NAED is one of our favorite clients, and this was our 40th+ conference working with them over the past 11 years (we lost count, but I think that is close!) Like most association events this year, attendance was down from 2008, but the tone among attendees was cautiously optimistic. Keynote speakers shared thoughts on the economic outlook for the construction industry. It looks like recovery is going to pick up speed in 2010, although it appears the rate of improvement will be slower than any one would like. Our production team included Gary Musick, Jonathan Yeaworth, Jim Sheridan, James Davis, Johnny Jones, and Sean Yeaworth. Congratulations to Libby White, a new addition to the NAED communications staff. She's filling in for Stacey Brown who's out on maternity leave. Great job, Libby!!

One of the perks of working in New Orleans is the cuisine. We had dinner in the French Quarter both nights we were there. The food is awesome! Ask Jim Sheridan about the seafood platter he had...it was ENORMOUS! And a good time was had by all.

We created a simple set that consisted of a center AV screen flanked by four banners that reflected the branding used on the association's website.

LED floor mounted lighting bars were used to change the color wash on the set pieces.

We will use this same set in the next two NAED regional conferences. Graphic panels are very cost effective and can often be repurposed outside of the meeting environment.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTORS 

2009 ANNUAL LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

We just returned from producing the 2009 Annual Leadership Summit for the National Association of Electrical Distributors. The three day meeting was held at the Westin Diplomat in Ft. Lauderdale. The Westin is a fantastic convention hotel right on the beach -, and it even has a ballroom that overlooks the ocean. As with most meetings this year, attendance was down due to the economy. However, the NAED staff did an amazing job of creating a program filled with great speakers and presentations on everything from the economy to political issues impacting the electrical distribution industry. NAED is one of my favorite clients, and this was our 45th meeting to produce for the association over the past 15 years (I think that's right...I sort of lost track after awhile!). Here are some shots from meeting.

This was the general session set up just prior to doors opening.

Here's the awards banquet set up. Each year the association closes their convention by honoring the outstanding achievements of their members.

This is a close up of the third general session. NAED invited several industry professionals to participate in a panel discussion related to important industry issues from a political and legislative perspective.

This is the view from the balcony just outside the ballroom. This is the Hallandale Beach area in south Ft. Lauderdale.

Here's our production team and our clients on stage just after the closing session. We had a great week together!