At the Head of the Table

Natl. Restaurant Assn. Senior Vice President Mary Pat Heftman got Chicago officials to listen when she said it was time for a change

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 9/4/2006

When the Natl. Restaurant Assn. held a July 21 press conference to announce it would keep its Natl. Restaurant Assn. Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago through at least 2011, Mary Pat Heftman stood several steps behind her boss, NRA President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, at the podium.

Yet, as senior vice president of the restaurant trade association and NRA Show manager, Heftman's fingerprints were all over the agreement that had been ironed out between the trade association, Chicago tourism officials and the authority that runs McCormick Place.

In fact, for the previous two years Heftman had been the most visible tradeshow industry figure lobbying for reforms of labor practices at the major tradeshow venue, even going so far as to say her group would consider leaving Chicago — though it had been there for the last 57 years — if significant changes were not forthcoming.

Heftman is quick to say that many, many people were involved in getting what she believes will be substantial improvement in the way tradeshows are conducted at McCormick Place in the future, but there is little doubt she played a pivotal role. She also lauds local officials for understanding that the competitive landscape has changed and that they must take seriously the concerns of exhibitors, attendees and show managers.

Heftman spoke to Tradeshow Week Editor in Chief Michael Hart recently about the changes in the labor situation in Chicago, the NRA Show, the restaurant industry and her involvement in the tradeshow business.

Question: Do you consider yourself a tradeshow manager who happens to run a show for the restaurant industry, or a restaurant industry professional who happens to run a tradeshow?

Answer: First and foremost, I'd consider myself a tradeshow professional. However, after working at the NRA for 16 years, I greatly appreciate and enjoy the overall dining experience.

I know what is good and what needs improvement regarding food, beverage, décor and service. I like to experience the wide variety of cuisines and service types that the industry has.

You can't help but become a foodie along the way.

Q: Are you a foodie or a gourmet?

A: Don't put a blindfold on me and ask me to tell the difference between a French wine and a similar California wine. I don't know how to use a Szechuan peppercorn, but I do enjoy the experience that food service brings and the entertainment value.

Q: How often do you eat out?

A: At least five times a week ... At least.

Q: In the 16 years you've been watching it, how has the restaurant industry changed?

A: The sheer variety of restaurants and the use by consumers of restaurants. The restaurant industry is on its 15th year of consecutive growth. People are more adventurous. You're seeing chefs blend multiple cuisine types for what they call culinary fusion. You might have an American-Asian flair; you might also have Asian and Hispanic ingredients all in one type of menu item.

Q: What about the NRA Show? How has it changed?

A: Certainly, with the evolution of the Food Network, we have a number of different Food Network hosts that come to the show. They're out there looking for the next fun item.

We do a lot of interactive things with food and culinary activities. One of our most popular is still ice carving. People still love to watch the chefs create artistic creations out of half a ton of ice. What continues to evolve is the fun portion of the show.

Q: I can't believe the show is No. 29 on the Tradeshow Week 200 just because it's fun. What else are you doing to make it so successful?

A: It's also got to be professional. It's got to meet the needs and wants and help restaurants operators prepare for the next year, but people are more interested in going somewhere for professional development if it's going to be fun, than if it's going to be a stick in the eye.

Q: What is the No. 1 thing exhibitors ask of you these days?

A: They want service that is exceptional. They want a better experience at the exhibit hall, in the city itself, at the hotels.

That certainly was the impetus for why we have been very active with McCormick Place and the city of Chicago in regards to the experience exhibitors have in that building.

Q: How serious were you about possibly leaving Chicago?

A: Very serious.

There are challenges that are unique to exhibitors in McCormick Place and are not at some of the other facilities in the country. We couldn't ignore the fact that our exhibitors were challenged by their experience at McCormick Place in terms of move-in and move-out.

Our exhibitors are doing more shows all over the country. They can come to you with specific evidence of what's different, so it's hard to retain the reasonableness of why it should be different here.

Q: What then made you decide to stay in Chicago?

A: McCormick Place has committed to an overall operations review of all the products and services that are delivered both by them and those they don't necessarily have any control over.

It was the commitment of Chicago and McCormick Place to look at this, and (the commitment of) the different trade unions to start to drive some more flexible work rules.

Q: And is the idea to make it more cost-effective for exhibitors?

A: You can go anywhere and get somebody to drop their space rate. Really, you could. But at the end of the day, what does that do for you if the experience is not positive and productive for your exhibitors?

Q: So, it wasn't just the straight dollars-and-cents component that made you decide to stay?

A: Absolutely. There's far more to it than just what does it cost for a particular item in a particular city. You have to take all of those less-quantifiable assets into consideration.

Chicago is an outstanding city for our business in particular. You can't take for granted the transportation hubs for airlift or for rail, the hotel rooms, its sensational culinary and cultural assets, the business facilities. The building itself is an excellent tradeshow facility.

The only area they didn't rank as high competitively was the area of flexibility in work rules.

Q: One year after the first round of labor reforms at McCormick Place, what change did you see on the showfloor? What do you expect to see next year?

A: You really have to go back to '05 to see what is different. There were announcements made in early May of '05 by riggers that they agreed to reduce crew size.

We had approximately 200 companies that use rigging. So you touched close to 200 exhibitors in going from a three-man crew to a two-man and, in some cases, a one-man crew. That's significant.

Because we were the first show to see some of those work rule changes in '05, we didn't see any changes in '06 from '05. The difference in '07 will be with the definition of these crew sizes. For our show, all of our exhibitors should receive a reduced crew.

More importantly, it's the spirit and attitude in why it was done, understanding that things changed and there were more things an exhibitor could do in their exhibit booth. We hope the other trades will follow that same spirit.

Q: What reason is there to think the commitment you mention isn't just all talk?

A: The plastics industry show was just here (NPE 2006: The Intl. Plastics Showcase). When the riggers looked at the number of hours billed for the '06 show, and that included the new work rules, they were almost identical to the hours billed in '03 with the bigger crew sizes.

There's a direct correlation that can come out of this. These reduced crew sizes can help grow business.

Q: Do you really feel the Chicago labor unions are on board with this?

A: You can't wave a magic wand. There are agreements in place with certain rules in them. It will take time as those contracts come up for negotiation, and time to articulate them down to the membership and have them see what a difference it will make in the long run.

Q: You personally became the highly visible focal point for reforming labor rules in Chicago. Was it really a one-person show, or did you get much support and help, either overtly or behind the scenes, from other show managers?

A: There were certainly other tradeshow managers that were actively involved in discussions with McCormick Place, with the city, with labor.

Q: How did you get into this business?

A: I was fortunate enough to meet Tom Corcoran when I first got out of college. He introduced me to the Illinois Restaurant Assn. and opened the door to my first opportunity in the events and tradeshow business. I started on the Taste of Chicago, then I went on to their tradeshow.

At the time, Tom was director of the Natl. Restaurant Assn. Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show. He was such a great mentor that he was kind enough to leave the association and open his own business, which meant there was an opening.

I started here 16 years ago as a sales manager for the NRA Show.

Q: Would you consider the show a major revenue generator for the association, or primarily a service for members?

A: We are first and foremost driven to service our membership, helping their businesses grow. All its financial successes are poured back into driving a stronger, more effective food service industry.

Q: Has the NRA ever considered selling the show or contracting with a for-profit show management company to run it?

A: I can't say that we have. We have been very successful here, and we have the support of our board to continue to innovate and expand.

Q: How is it you can run such a large, high-profile show with such a relatively small trade association staff?

A: It's a belief in the industry that you're working for and serving. It's really a passionate interest in food and restaurants and being the very best that the industry has to offer.