ORLANDO — Trade Show Executive’s (TSE) annual Fastest 50 Awards & Summit took place April 30-May 2 in Orlando, bringing leaders from the fastest-growing shows of 2024 to the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) and Hyatt Regency Orlando.
Programming included a full-day Education Summit, the annual Fastest 50 Awards Gala and plenty of receptions and meals to network during. This year’s event also featured a trip to Wild Florida, where attendees got an up-close look at the Everglades ecosystem.
Networking Highlights
The annual Chairman’s Dinner, hosted by TSE Chairman and CEO of United Service Companies Rick Simon, took place at Russell’s on Lake Ivanhoe, giving early arrivals the chance to mingle in a scenic up-scale dining setting.
At an off-site trip to Wild Florida, attendees were treated to an airboat ride through the Everglades, a Central Florida must-see, and had the chance to see and meet some native and exotic animals. A special highlight was the chance to feed a pool of hungry alligators.
The Welcome Reception, sponsored by Visit Orlando, OCCC and Hyatt Regency Orlando, brought the attendees to a scenic outdoor spot at the Hyatt Regency for crisp cocktails, elegant food stations and delectable desserts.
Educational Takeaways
In a session called Current State of Affairs: Tariffs, Taxes and International Bans, Oh My!, Tommy Goodwin, Vice President at the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance, discussed current political issues and how events professionals can help ECA.
Key Takeaways:
- Tariffs are inherently inflationary and are already decreasing business travel in the U.S. ECA has established a Tariff Resource Center on its website to help organizers understand their impacts and join its efforts, and Goodwin added that they can get involved by checking out ECA’s Advocacy Network, which offers a variety of creative solutions.
- The tax cuts that were passed in 2017 expire at the end of the year. To extend those tax benefits will cost around $4.6 trillion. ECA is determined to protect the industry from increased taxes as Congress figures out this issue.
- The ECA is focused on partnering with the federal government to recruit and train the industry’s next generation of workers, turning 529 plans from college saving plans to career saving plans and expanding Pell Grants to include skilled workforce training.
SISO Presents: What Keeps Leading Organizers Up at Night, moderated by SISO CEO Vinnie Polito, featured Marie Browne, Senior Vice President at RX, Jenn Heinold, Senior Vice President of Expositions for the Americas at AVIXA and Kelly Comboni, CEO of Clarion Connect.
Key Takeaways:
- To attract and retain attendees, Comboni shared that Clarion Connect is focusing on creating small, niche environments within shows and listening to what customers want. Heinold shared that AVIXA interviews audience members to find and address pain points, and Browne shared that RX is increasing the service level offered to attendees and exhibitors, working towards a frictionless environment.
- AVIXA rented the Sphere in Las Vegas for an event. It created a rare, memorable experience for exhibitors and attendees, driving a registration spike. They also sold VIP suites to sponsors, which helped with the cost.
- To stay ahead of competitors and deliver on its promises to customers, Comboni added that Clarion Connect is looking at a “Meaningful Connection” score. This could be a connection to content or a peer.
In International Perspectives: What Matters to Your Shows, Dan Cole, Senior Director of Exposition Sales at AVIXA, moderated a conversation between two international business development professionals. Indira Franca, Vice President of International Business Development at Emerald, and Alice Mathu, Vice President of Business Devlopment and Partnerships at IAAPA, discussed the current geopolitical situation and how events participants are responding.
Key Takeaways:
- As an organizer dealing with several industries, Franca shared that international participants are feeling uncertainty about the U.S. market and the costs of their products.
- Mathu shared that international participants at IAAPA events want to know whether tariffs are going to impact buying decisions.
Dan Cole, Senior Director of Exposition Sales at AVIXA, moderated a conversation between Indira Franca, Vice President of International Business Development at Emerald, and Alice Mathu, Vice President of Business Devlopment and Partnerships at IAAPA
- To tackle the tariffs, IAAPA is using an economic outlook survey to see how its event participants could use support and Franca explained that Emerald created a company-wide forum bringing together sales, commercial and brand leaders from different portfolios to monitor changes, share insights across industries, and provide a centralized hub where information is continuously updated and shared both internally and with their partners.
For those looking for education focused on scaling growth, the North American Veterinary Community’s (NAVC) Joe Sorrentino, MBA, CMP, Chief Events Officer, and Summer Graziano, Vice President of Marketing, offered key tactics.
Key Takeaways:
- For its 40th edition in 2023, the team behind the NAVC Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX) drove attendance by transforming the show’s entire experience, leaning into a 1980s theme in honor of its founding in 1983. They also integrated technology, allowing virtual access after and during the event, the ability to ask questions from anywhere and personalized recommendations through AI tools.
- According to attendee surveys, entrance fees were a major challenge — in line with the 2023 show’s 1980s theme, VWX’s team dropped their fees significantly, calling it “throwback pricing.”
- Sorrentino and Graziano advised organizers to not forget the human element of an event experience and explained that a tangible theme creates buy-in from participants, a more cohesive experience and culture, and anticipation and the fear of missing out.
In a special look at the May 2025 Power Lunch, RX’s Marie Browne sat down with Mary Beth Shaughnessy, Event Vice President, ISC Security Events at RX, to discuss her career journey and the enhancements she’s bringing to the ISC portfolio.
Key Takeaways:
- Shaughnessy started at RX 15 years ago as a temp — she was quickly moved into a part-time customer success job, which taught her about the trade show business, and afterwards joined the ISC events portfolio, becoming a full-time employee and rising through the ranks. She shared that being an extrovert and being able to work across departments were key to her success.
- Shaughnessy works to identify new sectors to drive growth, leans in on her relationships and listens for trends and issues, and always looks to evolve to keep her shows successful.
- Shaughnessy and her team also rely on post-show surveys and focus groups to shape the event and optimized its VIP and education programs to drive success.
Moderated by Kimberly Hardcastle-Geddes, Putting the New in Newtopia Now — Rebranding and Repositioning an Established Event, featuring Danica Cullins, Executive Vice President, Health & Nutrition at Informa Markets, and Jessica Rubino, Vice President, Content and Summits at Informa Markets’ New Hope Network, discussed the show’s launch and success strategies.
Key Takeaways:
- After ending Natural Products Expo East and deciding to introduce a new show, Informa Markets used surveys and focus groups with buyers and exhibitors to position Newtopia Now for success and craft its vision — people craved connection on a deeper level and a sense of community.
- Natural Products Expo East had a strong brand identity, and the more people got excited about Newtopia Now, the more Informa Markets was able to overcome it. Rubino added that the show’s ambassador program was a large key to its success, bringing in important members of the natural products industry to spread the word.
- Cullins explained that it’s hard to describe something new without using buzzwords and conveying the show’s vision was a challenge that Informa Markets rose to; at the final Natural Products Expo East in 2023, it added enhanced content like a block party introducing Newtopia Now and more “bread crumbs” to give it a launchpad and get people curious and excited.
Part of this year’s program also featured tours of Coverings, which took place at the OCCC April 29-May 2. Prior to checking out the show floor, TSE’s Managing Editor, Maddy Ryley, spoke with Jennifer Hoff, CEO of Taffy Event Strategies, the producer of Coverings, and President of Trifecta Collective, about this year’s show, the logistics behind a heavy-freight event and what the team is doing differently to enhance attendees’ and exhibitors’ experiences.
Key Takeaways:
- Hoff shared that a powerful aspect of Coverings is its booth design, which she compared to a museum experience. The event gives six awards to celebrate exhibitors who push the envelope: three best of show awards and three best display awards.
- Coverings personalizes the attendee experience through various themed stages and has the Coverings Lounge, a place to celebrate the industry, the Galvanize Women’s Lounge, a Rock Star program and more methods to build community.
- Partnerships and collaborations are also important for Coverings’ success. The show works with numerous women’s associations, having them develop content in its Galvanize Women’s Lounge, and stone and fabricator groups from around the world.
Closing out the Fastest 50 Education Summit was a candid conversation between Sheldon Kaye, Vice President of Events and Technology Management at ConvExx, and Carrie Ferenac, President of CNTV, about the realities of show launches.
Key Takeaways:
- Kaye was inspired to launch Food Truck Owners Expo (FTO Expo) after recognizing demand for an event that didn’t exist — the majority of food truck owners fail within the first year — and advised show organizers to be creative and find niches that are going unfilled.
- Research was vital for FTO Expo’s success and Kaye and his team reached out to food truck owners to discover their needs and build a database, and used AI as a planning tool. Kaye stressed the importance of knowing a show’s audience and where they are at. Most food truck owners use Facebook and most of the event’s marketing is done on the platform.
- The biggest thing Kaye has learned is to take risks and try something different, saying that you will never know where you could end up, even if hurdles are inevitable. In the current climate, Kaye would contemplate launching an event internationally, though this could prove to be a logistical challenge.
Fastest 50 Grand Awards
TSE’s Fastest 50 Awards & Summit capped off with the anticipated reveal of the Grand Award winners, recognizing the fastest-growing shows in a variety of metrics and industries.
This year’s winners can be found here: TSE Fastest 50 Grand Award Winners Revealed
The TSE 2025 Trailblazers also shared in the spotlight, garnering industry recognition as they collected their crystal trophies on stage. Trailblazers will be highlighted in the June 2025 edition of TSE with an in-depth group profile.
To get in-depth coverage of this event, subscribe to TSE Magazine here.
