The following article originally appeared in the "Letters to the Editor" of the Las Vegas Sun.

Exhibitions and events are an integral part of Nevada’s economy. Per the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, tourism, entertainment and gaming are a key driver of the state’s economy, accounting for 433,405 statewide jobs in 2019, 117% above the national average.

The tourism industry in Southern Nevada remains the biggest driver of economic activity in the region, with direct visitor spending in 2018 estimated at $34.5 billion according to Applied Analysis. In total, the Southern Nevada tourism industry is estimated to directly employ 234,000 workers, equating to 23.9 percent of the region’s total workforce and 26.7 percent of private sector employment in 2018.

According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) economist Dr. Allen Shaw, exhibitions and events contributed more than $100 billion to the US GDP in 2019. Dr. Shaw has projected an economic loss in the U.S. of upwards of $22 Billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its ripple effects on the U.S. economy. You can read the press release here.

The unprecedented public health crisis we’re facing right now has ground business meetings and events to a halt and put Nevadans who rely on spending from these events in peril.

Countless organizations in Nevada, including my own, exist to facilitate the business of face-to-face interactions in order to conduct business around the country and the world, and these events fuel the local economy, along with millions of jobs nationwide. The U.S. exhibitions industry and the businesses that support these events contribute so much to our
community, many of them small businesses, and we simply cannot weather this storm on our own.

Our broader industry has called on Washington to establish a fund to keep workers employed, provide emergency liquidity for businesses servicing events to remain open and increase funding for the Small Business Administration loan program. Congress must act today to ensure the Nevada business events industry and its more than 400,00 workers can
sustain themselves through this painful economic period.  

Edlen is dedicated to the safety and well-being of its employees, clients and customers. As your valued partner, I want to continue to assure you that as the Coronavirus situation rapidly evolves, we are working diligently to ensure that our employees have the most up to date information and resources to best serve you. Our business continuity strategy and plan has been updated by our executive leadership team to address COVID-19. This plan will assist our front-line managers in planning for and responding to a wide variety of critical situations/escalations that may arise.

Below is a sampling of our plan:

Risks / Staffing and Contingencies
In the event Edlen is required to replace a key member working on your show and/or in your facility, Edlen will proceed as follows:

Due to Edlen's size and position within the trade show industry, Edlen employs a large national support network of highly trained professionals at all levels of event production. This nationwide network of event management staff allows Edlen to support you or any of our 18 branches nationwide, without interruption.

Specifically,

1. Senior Management would be temporarily replaced by one of Eden's five Vice Presidents, all of whom are qualified to manage any branch in the EDLEN network. Further support would come from any one of Edlen's 18 General Managers. Outside support would remain in place until a qualified replacement is found and completely trained to assume overall management responsibilities.
   
   
2. Electrical Foremen are customarily replaced with senior electricians from our existing team. Edlen prides itself on hiring and training individuals who can handle a wide range of responsibilities. Our staff is cross trained in all aspects of producing and installing temporary utility services. This allows for a smooth transition should a key electrician be replaced. Over the past 15 years, every electrical foreman replaced in the Edlen network has been from within the company. As required, Edlen can also supplement our staff with a foreman from another Edlen office as most of our electrical team nationwide is a member of the IBEW and work as a
   credentialed Journey/Wireman electrician.
   
   
3. Senior Event Services Managers are customarily promoted from within the Edlen network of Event Services Managers. This can be done through relocation from another Edlen branch. As with our entire team, EDLEN prides itself in cross training its staff in all aspects of event production. By doing so, the loss of one individual has minimal impact on our overall operation. If the Senior Event Services Manager were not replaced immediately through promotion, executive management would take over temporarily until a qualified individual was hired.
   
   
4. Event Services Managers are customarily hired without direct experience. Edlen looks for friendly, outgoing people who enjoy a fast-paced environment as well as a face-to-face customer service environment. While our local branch searches for a new team member, Edlen will supplement Event Services Managers on your show and/or at your facility with Event Services Managers from other Edlen offices. All Edlen Event Services Managers are on the same page when it comes to the planning and production of events. This allows them to step into any office and start work without any “down time.”

In addition to our Risks/Staffing and Contingencies plan, Edlen's executive leadership team has outlined and continually discusses the following components that enhance our business strategy and continuity plan:

    • Protocol on hygiene & sanitation 
    • Travel and travelers
    • Quarantine & infection situations (situational planning)
    • What if staffing scenarios

We are committed to keeping all of our Edlen employees informed on the COVID-19 threat, including but not limited to virus symptoms, recommended travel restrictions, and most importantly precautions to be taken from a hygiene perspective to protect themselves, their families, and everyone on your show and/or in your facility.

Please know that we share in your vigilance to address all issues associated with this outbreak.

Sincerely,

Jim Wetterling
President/CEO
Edlen Electrical Exhibition Services  

The Los Angeles Convention Center releases a monthly newsletter that features a profile of a member of the LACC team. This month, one of the featured employees was Edlen's Foreman Jason Turgasen.

How long have you worked at the LACC and how did you get into your field?

I’ve been with Edlen for almost 6 years. I bounce around to different locations, but I’d say at least 80% of my time is spent at the LACC. I used to work in construction and work on the same site for 6-8 months at a time; in 2005, I started working as an electrician. I much prefer working with tradeshows because it’s something different every day.

What is your favorite event at the LACC?
MusiCares Person of the Year is hands down my favorite event. Tom Petty’s was the best one I’ve seen and Dolly Parton’s was a highlight too. We are on standby so we get to see everything including the rehearsals, which is cool because it’s a unique opportunity to see the people that I grew up listening to in a relaxed setting.

What is your favorite sports team?
I’ve been a fan of the Green Bay Packers my whole life. As a kid, I didn’t get a choice because my grandfather has owned season tickets for at least 20 years. I became a shareholder a few years ago when they did the expansion to Lambeu Field.

What do you do with your free time?
I like to camp and fish with my family. We also have a lot of animals: 1 dog, 1 cat, 2 snakes and 2 lizards. We’re getting chickens and goats soon; my daughters want to get the fainting goats.

About the Los Angeles Convention Center

The Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) is renowned internationally as a prime site for conventions, trade shows, and exhibitions. Owned by the City of Los Angeles and professionally managed by ASM Global, the LACC attracts over 2.5 million visitors annually.  The facility is an integral economic component to the Southern California area, generating economic benefits through attendee direct and indirect spending and sustaining over 12,500 local jobs. The LACC also remains an enduring symbol of environmental sustainability and social responsibility and is proud to be a LEED® Gold certified facility; the venue was recertified on the Gold level in 2015 making the LACC the first convention center of its size in the U.S. to receive LEED® EB:O+M Gold recertification. For more information, please visit lacclink.com.

About ASM Global

ASM Global is the world’s leading provider of innovative venue services and live experiences.  The company was formed by the combination of AEG Facilities and SMG, global leaders in venue and event strategy and management.  The company’s elite venue network spans five continents, with a portfolio of more than 300 of the world’s most prestigious arenas, stadiums, convention and exhibition centers, and performing arts venues. From Aberdeen to Anchorage, and Sydney to Stockholm, its venues connect people through the unique power of live experiences.

ASM Global’s diverse portfolio of clients benefit from the company’s depth of resources and unparalleled experience, expertise and creative problem-solving. Each day, the company’s 61,000 passionate employees around the world deliver locally tailored solutions and cutting-edge technologies to deliver maximum results for venue owners and amazing experiences for guests.  By consistently looking for new ways to envision, innovate and empower the spaces and places that bring people together, ASM Global elevates the human spirit while delivering the highest value for all stakeholders.  For more information, please visit www.asmglobal.com.

Edlen began providing service at Fort Worth’s Will Rogers Memorial Center in 2018. We were excited to work on the 99th Annual Fort Worth Kennel Club Dog Show. The iconic show has grown every year since it began in 1932 and now needed more power than was available on the show floor. Edlen was ready to take on the challenge.

As with all animal shows, the challenge lies in powering the grooming area, where powerful blow dryers, clippers and other tools are used simultaneously. For this particular event, approximately a third of the event’s exhibit space was utilized yet required more power than was available on the entire floor.

Edlen’s unique solution was to install a 400-amp hub a floor below and ran power up the columns in the exhibit space and into the rafters. The electricians then dropped the power from overhead. By working together with show management to reconfigure the event floor, Edlen was able to ensure power was delivered in an efficient and reliable manner while reducing labor expense.

Edlen’s out-of-the-box thinking and collaboration with the client made it possible to provide uninterrupted service for the entirety of the show. It also provides a long-term solution allowing the Will Rogers Memorial Center the ability to host the Fort Worth Kennel Club Dog Show for many years to come.

Edlen Electrical Exhibition Services, the nation’s largest independent electrical contractor to the convention and trade show industry, is pleased to announce that Julie Pazina has been appointed to Nevada’s Commission on Tourism. 

Julie was appointed by Governor Sisolak in September 2019 to serve as a member of Nevada’s Commission on Tourism. The Nevada Commission on Tourism is composed of the Lieutenant Governor, who serves as Chair, eight members appointed by the Governor, the Chief Administrative Officers of the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority and the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority and the Chairs of the Board of Museums and History, the Nevada Indian Commission and the Board of the Nevada Arts Council. Members of the Commission must possess experience and professional background in the tourism, gaming, travel or hospitality industries and are focused on promoting tourism in the state of Nevada both domestically and internationally.

Julie started her career at Edlen in 2006 and currently serves as the company’s national director of sales, overseeing sales in the Las Vegas market, as well as regional and national sales efforts.  She served on the Board of the Las Vegas Hospitality Association for six years, including her tenure as President in 2013. She is also a member of the Junior League of Las Vegas, is an active community volunteer and is a member of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, which named her its 2011 Young Professional of the Year and the 2019 Woman of Achievement. Julie also currently serves on the International Association of Venue Managers Convention Center and Industry Affairs Committees. Julie may be reached at  (702) 385-6911 or by emailing julie@edlen.com.     

Edlen Electrical Exhibition Services is the nation’s leading independent temporary utility contractor to the trade show, convention and special event industry.  Edlen is a national company based out of Las Vegas, servicing more than 5,000 events annually providing exclusive, preferred or recommended services in over 200 convention facilities nationwide.

The International Association of Exhibitions and Events^® (IAEE) announced today the first graduates of its CEM-Advanced Professional (CEM-AP) program, the latest addition to IAEE’s CEM Learning Program. The CEM-AP program applies to CEMs with at least 10 years of industry experience who have acquired 30 education/leadership credits through a combination of leadership activities and industry-related continuing education.

“IAEE’s Education Committee and Board of Directors have been deliberate and mindful of how we expand the IAEE Certification Journey,” said IAEE President and CEO David DuBois, CMP, CAE, FASAE, CTA. “The CEM-AP program caters to CEMs who have the knowledge and experience one acquires after a decade in the field, and now want to take their skills to a more strategic level.”

The first ever CEM-Advanced Professional course, Leading and Negotiating for Success, was held on 28 -29 April 2019 at the Lansdowne Resort and Spa. Nine CEM students attended the two-day inaugural program led by facilitator Dr. Sam Potolicchio, Founder and President of the Preparing Global Leaders Forum and Distinguished University Professor, Department Chairman and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Political Science at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. In addition to the two-day course, students had to complete a CEM Commission approved case study.

The following five individuals earned their CEM-AP status in 2019:

Diedra Crawford, CEM-AP, CMP

Industry Sales and Operations Director

Digestive Disease Week

Matthew Kalb, CEM-AP

Sales Manager

GES

Ryan Lovell, CEM-AP

Senior Account Manager

GES

Julie Pazina, CEM-AP

National Director of Sales

Edlen Electrical Exhibition Services

Necoya Tyson, CEM-AP, CGMP, CCEP

Director of Meetings and Conventions

American Traffic Safety Services Association

The CEM-APs were recognized during the Opening General Session at Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition being held Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. Click here for more information about the CEM-AP program and here for complete details about IAEE’s Certification Journey.

About IAEE

Trusted since 1928, IAEE provides quality and value to its members through leadership, service, education and strong relationships. IAEE is the largest association of the exhibitions and events industry in the world, with a membership of show organizers, exhibitors and exhibition suppliers. Organizers of more than 20,000 exhibitions and buyer-seller events around the world are members of IAEE, and the organization advocates and promotes the awareness of face-to-face exhibitions and events as the primary medium for business development and growth. IAEE provides relevant, timely, and innovative education to its members and the industry. IAEE recognizes its strategic partners: 4imprint, BearCom, Buttine Exhibition Insurance, Convention News Television (CNTV), Delta Airlines, New Orleans & Company, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Orange County Convention Center, Personify – A2Z Events, Streampoint Solutions and Synchronicities (Visit Anaheim, Visit Baltimore and Visit San Antonio). Visit www.iaee.com for more information.

Power of Excellence is a peer recognition program that allows everyone the opportunity to recognize fellow employees for their performance, internal and external customer service, leadership and accomplishments. This year, the winners are John Meeks, Gary Graham, Kayce Amato Sherrill, Ning Morita, and Tracy Meggers. Edlen thanks the recipients for their important contributions and for being important role models.

John Meeks, Applications Developer & Project Manager, Las Vegas

John Meeks joined our Edlen family in 2008 and has made a significant impact behind the scenes. For the last 11 years, John’s contributions have been far-reaching as he creates, updates, and fine-tunes internal and external software applications. Most recently, John spent thousands of hours customizing a complex productivity application. The project would not have been possible without him leading the team.

John’s leadership and commitment to produce quality results on any project he is involved with is outstanding. Thank you, John, for your very significant contributions to Edlen throughout the years!

Gary Graham, General Foreman, Seattle

Gary Graham celebrates his 10th anniversary with Edlen in October and has been in the electrical trade for over 35 years. While working at Edlen he has successfully built a team of accomplished, service-oriented and savvy electricians who are well versed in both the electrical and hospitality industries best practices. The Washington State Convention Center (WSCC) management and operations teams respect him greatly.  His expertise, compassion, professionalism and care for his team and the facilities he oversees is evident in everything he does.

“He mentors his electrical team both personally and professionally, and somehow still has time to review every upcoming event and help the Event Managers and management team with their questions and concerns,” shared Rae Podrebarac, 2016 POE recipient and Assistant General Manager of the WSCC.  "Gary is integral in gear and labor management and developing the next generation of foremen to help us manage our locally growing business. He is particularly safety-oriented, ensuring that all of our electricians uphold Edlen’s high standards.”

Kayce Sherrill, Senior Event Manager, Las Vegas

Kayce Sherrill, Senior Event Services Manager in Las Vegas, joined Edlen in 2013 as an Event Coordinator.

Kayce has always been known to go the extra mile, and she’s quite literally done that, as she travels on behalf of the company for many of the events the Las Vegas office produces in Reno, Nevada. Last year, Kayce traveled to one of Edlen’s newest branches, Fort Worth, to assist in the training the new team.

Shawna Moore, Assistant General Manager at Mandalay Bay, praised Kayce’s willingness to help solve time-sensitive issues on a major events. “I cannot express enough thanks for your assistance! You’re not only a time saver, but a life saver!”

Ning Morita, Senior Event Manager, San Francisco

Ning Morita celebrated her 7th anniversary with Edlen in July.

She came to Edlen with over 26 years of electrical trade show experience, having worked for two major general service contractors. Ning has been an integral part of the San Francisco event services team and is known for her patience, industry knowledge and keen eye for details. Ning has welcomed the opportunity to train new team members and her leadership has assisted in their successful onboarding. San Francisco's General Manager Yuhi Kim says she is "thankful to have a rockstar like Ning on the team. She can handle any event, big or small. Her many years of industry experience is a true asset and she’s made it a point to share her wealth of knowledge to our newest team members."

Ning loves a challenge and the San Francisco branch calendar provides many! From Moscone Center to the San Jose Convention Center and Santa Clara Convention Center, Ning knows them all. She has many repeat customers and they count on her year after year.

Tracy Meggers, Payroll Clerk, Las Vegas

Tracy Meggers celebrates her 2nd Edlen anniversary in October.

When Tracy joined the accounting team she integrated into the department and her position very quickly.  Tracy’s “can do” attitude always shines through. She is a natural problem solver who possesses exceptional customer service skills.

She has been, and continues to be, instrumental in the development of a new major internal application.  When the program was being developed she jumped in with both feet to help the implementation team. She helped write the User Guides, conducted nearly all of the training sessions on her own, answered numerous user questions through email and still managed to process payroll on time - a huge undertaking! Her grace-under-fire demeanor made the transition easier for everyone involved. The successful program roll-out would not have been possible without her help.