The Association Formerly Known as IAEM

Members vote to change name to Intl. Assn. of Exhibitions & Events

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 12/11/2006

"Membership has spoken," outgoing Intl. Assn. for Exhibition Management Chairman Sandy Angus said, during the Nov. 30 luncheon at Expo! Expo! IAEM's Annual Meeting & Exhibition here. And this is what they said: Change the association's name to Intl. Assn. of Exhibitions & Events. (The acronym, IAEE, is to be pronounced "IA double-E.")

The name-change measure passed with a 79.5-percent majority vote. IAEM President Steven Hacker said members cast more than 400 ballots, representing about 30 percent of the voting membership. (IAEM has approximately 1,240 member organizations.)

IAEM attempted to push through the name change at last year's annual meeting in Atlanta. However, many members said they were caught off-guard by the proposed change, and the group declared the vote invalid because a clear quorum had not been present for the vote.

In April the association said that it would give members the opportunity to vote again, and allowed member groups the opportunity to either submit mail-in ballots to IAEM's Dallas office by Nov. 20 or vote at the polling booth in the San Diego Convention Center during the meeting. One individual from each company was designated to cast a ballot.

IAEM leaders, including Angus and Hacker, spoke at regional chapter meetings to personally address members' concerns before the vote. "I found little resistance to the name change at those meetings," said Angus, who is also director of London-based Montgomery Exhibitions.

The change will benefit the association in a multitude of ways, Angus said, such as expanding the reach of the organization and making the industry more appealing.

"There is absolutely no doubt that events (are) where it's at," he said, noting that outsiders often find the word exhibitions alone "sedentary and not very exciting."

Angus noted that the United Kingdom-based assn. of event organizers this fall changed its name from the assn. of exhibition organizers.

Also during the luncheon, Angus passed the gavel of leadership to Cygnus Exhibitions President Jeff Price, who said the new name represents "an association of the industry as a whole."

Following the name-change announcement, Tradeshow Week spoke to IAEE members on both sides of the fence — and some who didn't vote at all.

Although he was "kind of ambivalent" about the name change initially, Larry Schur, president and COO of ABC Kids Expo, called IAEE "a good move."

Phil McKay, president and CEO of Boston-based PPM Media, is in the same boat.

"I absolutely love it. I think it includes the entire industry," he said. "It opens up so many new opportunities and avenues."

Ditto for Jim Bracken, chairman emeritus of VNU Expositions.

"The name change sends a signal that they are getting traction and moving ahead," he said. "I see it as a major, positive indication that good things are happening that will benefit all of us in the industry."

And American Pet Products Manufacturers Assn. senior vice president Andrew Darmohraj said he understands "the need of associations to identify new constituencies and try to serve all the groups they represent."

Those not so fond of IAEE said the new name wasn't necessary and is too all-encompassing.

"We're trying to please everybody," said Karen Tejera, president of Fort Wayne (Ind.) Shows, who voted against the change. She added, "I didn't see the necessity of doing it."

Nancy Johnson, president and CEO of Denver-based Collectors Extravaganza Corp., also preferred the old IAEM.

"I joined it as a management organization. ... I like the word management," she said.

And then there were those IAEE members who didn't care about the outcome.

"I don't think it's a big deal," said Cal Events President Chris Jacobson, who didn't vote.

Christine Carchia, director of operations for PCBC, also declined to vote.

"I didn't feel strongly for it either way," she said, adding, "Now that it's done ... I'm more comfortable with it."

Voters also approved two other measures on the ballot, putting the organization under Texas nonprofit law and inducting a new slate of officers and directors.