12 Tradeshow Executive • November/December 2001

One of the first lessons I ever learned whenI started in the tradeshow industry 20 yearsago was about the quality of characteramong those who respond to trouble for aliving. Working for an EAC company thaterected displays at shows, I knew my job

was to service companies that exhibited at shows by erect-ing and dismantling their displays. It seemed straightforward—check on the freight, count the crates, find the set-upplans, coordinate the necessary labor needed, and get itshow ready. Simple enough. But the lesson I learned then,and am reminded of each day, is what separates those whocan handle the simple projects from those who can respondto any crisis and solve any problem.

Like any industry, exhibit set-up and dismantle has itscapable, yet undistinguished workers, and it also has itssuperstars. I was fortunate to start out on a team of super-stars—individuals who craved a challenge. A commentfrom one of these superstars formed that first indelible les-son. He said: “I hate when the job is routine, and goesaccording to plan. I know the customer will be happy, butanyone can make them happy when all goes according toplan.It’s when things get seriously screwed up that I getexcited, because I know that’s why they’ve really hired us—to pull them out of the fire and make their show a success.”

It’s Comdex/Fall about 20 years ago. One of the largerexhibitors in the show approaches our service area at closeto 9 p.m. the night before the show is to open. Although heis a regular customer of our company, this exhibit managerhad instead opted for the lowest-priced service provider onthis show. The manager is at the end of his wits. The newdisplay looks great, but the standard furniture that’s beenprovided by the show contractor does not. The CEO is toarrive first thing in the morning and someone’s job could beon the line. No one else can find what this exhibitor needs.Can we help solve their problem?

When approached with this last-minute problem after losingthe biggest job of the year at Comdex, another service com-pany may have been vengeful. But this one responded inthe only way it knew how—it swung into positive action.

PERSPECTIVE BY JIM WURM

Our heros are always with us but we don’t always notice unless we’re in a crisis. “It’s when things get seriously screwed up that I get excited.”

EAC Heroes at Home in Crisis

Three stores are quickly identified that may carry the kindof furniture this exhibitor needs. But it’s years before theadvent of the specialty tradeshow furnishings company andthese stores are all closed. We take the exhibitor windowshopping, and locate the exact furniture needed. Two morehours of effort yields the name and home phone number ofthe store manager. We wake him up and convince him toopen his store at 2 a.m. so we can buy the furniture for theexhibitor. When the show opens the furniture is in thebooth, and the CEO gives the exhibit manager a pat on theback for a job well done.

“Heroes respond in times of crisis, because they’re uniquelyequipped for those times.” Before I heard that comment, ithad never occurred to me that someone could so preparethemselves for the unexpected that they could get boredwith the routine, or actually relish the thought of taking ona serious challenge. But the more I worked in thetradeshow industry in those early days of my career, themore superstars I met with the same can-do attitudes. Andthe more can-do attitudes I met, the more I realized thatthis was the job description of the EACs.

EACs get hired because they’ve never met an obstaclethey can’t overcome. If things always went according toplan, exhibitors could hire their requisite number of labor-ers from the service desk, and supervise their work in set-ting up the display. But, despite best intentions, themove-in process at tradeshows is full of unexpected wrin-kles and occasional crises. It’s these unexpected events thatlead to the development and ultimate flourishing of EACs.Exhibitors wanted professionals who they could count onin these times of trouble, and the EACs answered the call.Exhibitors have come to rely on service companies whoseattitude about getting the job done is “whatever it takes.”

The tropical depression near New Orleans had developedinto a full blown hurricane. All air travel in and out of theairport was suspended, and the last-minute shipment of thedisplay must go by ground overnight to make the show. Butthe wrong graphics get loaded into the display crate.Yearsbefore the cell phone era, the driver forgets his beeper. Butthe situation only appears impossible. A helicopter is char-tered to fly the route the truck will take to New Orleans.Within three hours the truck is spotted and flagged down.The graphics are switched and the show opens flawlessly.

Travel Technology

To overcome vast challenges, heroes focus on a positiveend-result and then find the next step.

Redefinement and Reassurance in Troubled TimesThe events of September 11 have redefined what we

mean when we say tragedy or crisis. The suffering that wasvisited on those who worked in the World Trade Center,and the Pentagon, as well as their family and friends trivi-alizes the impact felt in the tradeshow industry. Even so,the devastation rippled outward and triggered crises in ourconfidence, our economy and our faith in our fellow man.The initial response in our industry resembled that of manyothers—travel plans changed, strategic business planswere re-examined and altered, and businesses enactedcost-cutting measures to safeguard their companies.

At a time when our industry is usually gearing up for avery busy fall season, some convention centers fell eerilysilent, leaving all to wonder what would come next.Yet,through it all we continued to look for a better under-standing, for guidance on how to proceed, and for signs ofleadership that everything will be OK.

Ultimately, as we seek to formulate a forward-thinkingresponse in this time of crisis, we turn to those who arealways there in times of trouble.

Negotiations reach impasse. The EAC is told of the localunion’s intent to strike. The reserve gate is established at theconvention center, and the contractor flies its own staff, at itsown expense, to service the clients in the show. But the BAin this tradeshow town is a character from another era. Heshows up at the hall brandishing a revolver, and makingthreats about the repercussions for any contractor attempt-ing to work on the show. A win for this BA is shutting downthe show, or forcing the contractor to sign a contract that isnot good for the industry. But this EAC has done his home-work. The facility manager, the show manager and the offi-cial contractor are kept in the loop each step of the way.Ultimately, the trouble-making BA is removed from the halland the show is moved in without any inconvenience to theexhibitors.

If you want to find a hero, look for the one with theinternal confidence and the external focus.

We’ve all been changed by the events of September 11,and the EACs and other exhibit service suppliers are noexception. It is not work as usual for the can-do types inthe tradeshow industry. In fact, there are some who won-der if there will be a “usual” again. But this will not distractthem for long from the job at hand. More comfortable inpositive action than in negative contemplation, the EACsare doing, and will continue to do, what needs to be done.Show cancellations and general business interruptions

have created a new sense of urgency in their businesses.They are thinking about what they can do, or what ourindustry can do, to make exhibitor customers feel safe andsecure about their tradeshow plans. They know that thiswill present a huge challenge for our entire industry. Theyknow it’s a time when they need to reach out to one anoth-er, to find a way to work together, more closely than ever,for their mutual good, and the good of our industry.

In Times of Personal Crisis, EACs Step UpThere are no crises like those that touch us personally,

and there is no greater response to those crises than per-sonal giving.

Super Show Atlanta 1994 was scheduled to open tomorrow,and the Nike booth was not yet ready. “No problem,” saidthe EAC crew chief. “I’ll stay all night if I have to, but thisbooth will be ready by the morning, and it’s going to bebeautiful.” With the work finally completed at 2 a.m.,Randy Smith gets in his car to make the drive to his subur-ban Atlanta home. But the long hours have taken their tolland Randy falls asleep at the wheel. He dies instantly in theone car crash and leaves behind a wife and two young boys.

For evidence of how the members of EAC community pulltogether in times of crisis one need look no further than therecently completed Randy Smith Memorial Golf Classic. Theobjective of this event is to provide emotional and financialsupport to members of the exhibit service community whohave suffered a tragedy or face insurmountable medicalexpenses. In it’s seventh year, the RSMGC has become afixture in the can-do community of tradeshow workers.

The RSMGC is proof positive that in times of crisis—when people we care about are suffering—we can’t standby and simply wish them well. Those of us more fortunatemust step up and be counted. This year, more than 200tradeshow industry professionals set aside their own prob-lems to come together in Braselton, Georgia, to help outthe less fortunate. In doing so, they not only lifted the spir-its of those who are troubled, they gave themselves a muchneeded gift of mutual healing and support. The participantsat the RSMGC reaffirmed their faith in their fellow man,provided hope for the personal well-being of their col-leagues, and unselfishly gave tens of thousands of dollars toovercome the economic crisis of their colleagues.

If and when the time comes when I must battle a crisis,I know which guys I want on my team. They’re my heroes.When trouble comes, as it does, you can be certain theEAC community will be ready to respond.

Jim Wurm (jimwurm@eaca.com) is Executive Director of EACA, 2214 NW 5th St.,Bend, OR 97701, (541) 317-8768.

EAC Heroes at Home in Crisis

14 Tradeshow Executive • November/December 2001