A New, Improved IAEM
New association bylaws will expand board and create industry councils
By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 5/17/2004
New bylaws that will change the way the Intl. Assn. for Exhibition Management does business are close to completion, representing more than a year of work.
The IAEM board reviewed and gave tentative approval to the proposed changes at its late-April meeting. The new bylaws, currently under review by attorneys, are scheduled to be re-evaluated by the board at its Sept. 18-19 meeting, said Steven Hacker, IAEM president.
They call for the board to be expanded from 13 to more than 20 members, and for the creation of five industry councils, each designed to address the needs and concerns of a particular constituency. Two of the councils to be formed will deal with show organizers – one for companies with fewer than 10 employees and the other for companies with more than 10. A third will be for service providers, including general contractors, florists, electrical providers and other vendors. A fourth will be dedicated to convention and visitor bureaus and venues, and the fifth to exhibit and event managers.
"Each industry council will be designed to address the needs of members in specific segments," Hacker said.
The new bylaws are seen as a baby step toward uniting the fragmented tradeshow industry, now represented by four dozen varied associations, many handling very small, narrowly defined constituencies.
IAEM President Dennis Slater has made it his goal to bring some of those groups together, especially IAEM and the Society of Independent Show Organizers, whose memberships perhaps overlap the most.
The 76-year-old IAEM, which represents more than 3,500 individuals, describes itself as "the premier association for individuals around the world who conduct or support exhibitions."
The more recently established SISO, whose members produce more than 3,000 events per year, is dedicated to helping those members "maximize their profit potential and growth through peer support, strategic positioning, networking, educational programs, research studies and communications."
SISO Chairman Jim Bracken also supports greater cooperation between the two industry associations. "We're looking to do as many things jointly as we can. Most of the companies belong to both organizations," he said.
Bracken traces the groups' cooperation to last summer's joint statement opposing exclusives. It was followed by Bracken and Slater offering side-by-side for-profit and association perspectives at the Tradeshow Week Fastest 50 celebration in November.
But the associations are still far from being joined at the hip. For instance, IAEM recently signed a deal on its own with the China Council for the Promotion of Intl. Trade. Bracken said SISO plans to follow suit.
He added that both IAEM and SISO perform needed – but not identical – functions. While SISO caters more to senior executives, IAEM takes care of the educational needs of those lower on the totem pole.
Two other industry groups – the Greater Washington Society of Assn. Executives and the American Society of Assn. Executives – are scheduled to vote later this month to join forces.
Bracken said consolidation of industry groups makes sense. "We at SISO are very open to discussing it. I think everybody in all the associations would say let's talk about it. Everyone's concerned about duplication. It's a sensible direction to be going."
Bracken, chairman of VNU Expositions, said a unified voice would help tradeshows be recognized as a separate industry as well as aid in reaching out to bring exhibitors into the fold. He expects such an effort to take some time. "The impetus is really coming from IAEM right now," he said.
