Tradeshow Week (www.TradeshowWeek.com),
the global exhibition industry newsmagazine published by Reed Business
Information, celebrated the U.S. and Canada’s fastest-growing shows at
the seventh annual Tradeshow Week Fastest 50 event, which took
place in Houston from November 13-15 and was hosted by the Greater
Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Catherine Crier, Emmy and duPont-Columbia award-winning journalist and
television broadcaster, emceed Saturday evening’s event at the Hilton
Americas-Houston where the American Wind Energy Association’s WINDPOWER
Conference & Exhibition was first revealed as the fastest-growing event
in the association category and later in the evening received top honors
as the fastest-growing show overall.
PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) was named the fastest-growing consumer show,
while ABC Kids Expo took the award for the fastest-growing for-profit
show. ABC Kids Expo is the first event to have earned the honor twice.
Previously, the show earned the same honors in 2005.
Margaret Pederson, president of Amirexx, was honored for her success and
contributions to the industry. Pederson is the current chair of the
International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE). From 2004 to
2005, she was the chair of the Society of Independent Show Organizers
(SISO). She is the only person ever to have held the top leadership
positions at both of the tradeshow industry’s largest associations. In
the past, honorees have included Chris Brown, executive vice president
for conventions and business operations at the National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB); Ned Krause, president and CEO of E.J. Krause &
Associates; and Peter Nathan, president of PWN Exhibicon Intl.
The weekend began with a welcome reception on Friday, November 13 at the
House of Blues, Foundation Room, followed by an executive-level
conference on Saturday morning at George R. Brown Convention Center
where Roger Dow, president & CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, gave
the keynote speech.
Saturday’s lunchtime discussion was led by Britton Jones, SISO chair,
and Vinnie Polito, incoming 2011 IAEE chair.
For more information on the TSW Fastest 50, visit www.TSWFastest50.com.
About the Tradeshow Week
and the Tradeshow Week Fastest 50:
Since 2003, the Tradeshow Week Fastest 50 honors the fifty events in the
tradeshow industry that have demonstrated the most significant growth,
based on net square footage, over the previous three year period. The
2009 TSW Fastest 50 winners were evaluated on growth from 2006-2008.
For nearly 40 years, Tradeshow Week (www.TradeshowWeek.com)
has been the premier weekly news magazine serving the exhibition
industry. Tradeshow Week also publishes three annual directories, six
targeted eNewsletters and two websites. Tradeshow Week is owned by Reed
Business Information, the largest business-to-business publisher in the
U.S. and a member of the Reed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE:
RUK) (NYSE: ENL), a global publisher and information provider.
