The Expo Group’s Show Manager of the Year Award nominations are open until September 30. RETHINK the way you say THANKS by nominating a deserving show manager today.
Before he was The Expo Group VP of Client and Facility Relations, he was one of The Expo Group Show Manager of the Year award winners! Rob Brice shares what the SMOTY Award meant to him as we encourage everyone to consider who they can nominate for this same caliber of experience Rob had!
How did your life change professionally after you won the SMOTY award?
I was promoted to run the entire Public Safety Group tradeshow division for Cygnus Business Media.
Did you enjoy the SMOTY Awards event?
Very much. I was able to bring my wife and daughter and that made the award ceremony even more meaningful for me. It also meant a lot for me to be able to thank Ray Pekowski during my acceptance speech for giving me my start in the buisness.
Where is your award right now?[
On my desk, where I see it every day.
What qualities do you think a good show manager should have? Why?
A good show manager must be flexible, honest, fair, and know their limits. Flexibility is what live events are all about. When things don’t go according to plan, or you want to change the plan to optimize unforseen circumstances, you need to be flexible enough to embrace the changes you need to make. Honesty and fairness go a long way with your exhibitors and attendees. If you have rules, stick to them and enforce them equally, across the board. It’s definitely hard to tell a customer “no,” sometimes but it’s much easier than bending the rules for some and not others. In addition, always empathize with your customers and try to help them get what they need without breaking your rules. Knowing your limits means knowing when you need help and asking for it. You literally can’t know everything. Do what you’re best at and delegate the tasks that are best left to those with more talent in any particular area. A good show manager is definitely an excellent human resource manager.
Tell me why you think the SMOTY awards are important.[
The SMOTYs are important because they give your peers another outlet to recognize great talent. The independent review board assures everyone that this is a truly merit-based award that can stand next to any other award in our industry.
What would you say to people who are reluctant to nominate someone for a SMOTY award?
Great talent deserves to be recognized. There are so many great show managers out there who may never be recognized for their talents and skills. You may think potential nominees are modest and don’t care about awards but, trust me, everyone enjoys being recognized for the job they do.
What projects are you currently working on?
I am using my knowledge of both the client and vendor sides of our business to enhance The Expo Group’s already lengendary customer service though one-on-one contact with both our show management customers and the vendors that we partner with around the country. Customer retention is a key element to our success as are great relationships with our partner vendors and it’s my job to make sure we maximize both and to look for new ways to help our customers perform at a higher level.
Remember to RETHINK the way you say THANKS! Nominate a deserving show manager today!