Record Attendance at SISO Conference
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 8/30/2004
The Society of Independent Show Organizers invaded Beantown in record numbers Aug. 16–18, with 341 people showing up for SISO's 2004 Executive Conference. Besides offering the usual education and networking, the event introduced attendees to the new Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
Ongoing construction of the Big Dig continues, but the project, which will take highways underground through downtown, is near enough to completion that SISO visitors arriving at Logan Intl. Airport and heading straight for the Seaport Hotel, across the street from the BCEC, got an idea just how convenient the new facility is.
A lobster dinner at the Charlestown Navy Yard on Tuesday night and lunch at historic Fenway Park gave SISO attendees a further glimpse into the city. "It was a nice trip," said Bob Stewart, senior marketing executive of Primedia Exhibitions.
On Monday, the SISO board of directors met to discuss a meeting its executive committee had the week before with IAEM, where the two groups began considering a merger.
Tuesday morning's activities were set back 30 minutes when the traditional round of introductions took nearly an hour. "As we were planning this, we had no idea there would be 340 people in the room this morning," said SISO Executive Director Mary Beth Rebedeau.
Also, retirements were announced at the meeting by two people deeply involved in SISO: Jim Bracken, chairman of VNU Expositions; and Joan Mather, executive editor of Tradeshow Executive (and former contributing editor of Tradeshow Week).
Denyse Selesnick, president of Intl. Trade Information, said the meeting was a swan song of sorts for her as well, since she will be handing over the reins of the SISO event planning committee to incoming chairman Sean Guerre, CEO of the TradeFair Group.
