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SPONSORED BY and we have offered this medium to do so. Although it's been slow to get started, we think this will provide a great service to the industry. BOB: Sustainability is highly important in your industry sector. What programs do you have in place? JIM: Tis is a huge topic for our industry, especially in the beverage and bottled water areas. Six or seven years ago, we launched a "Look for the Green Logo" program, where we provide an online icon and on-site signage to our exhibi- tors if they offer green solutions to the attendees. When we started, maybe 15% or our exhibitors qualified, and today it's between 60 and 70%. BOB: What was your finest moment on the job? JIM: My finest moment started out as one of my worst moments. In 2004, PMMI became its own general services contrac- tor, creating Pack Expo Services (PES). Te primary objective of PES is to lower the cost of exhibiting and offer excep- tional customer service for our exhibitors at PACK EXPO events. Tat first show was a great challenge and, while our exhibi- tors had a great experience, we lost about $2.5 million in the process. We never launched PES to make money, but we were not looking to lose money either. We as staff wanted to continue the pro- gram but had to convince our wary board to let us move forward in spite of the loss. Between Chuck Yuska and myself, we were successful in getting one more chance. We retooled the way we were structured and turned PES around, so that seven years later, we are still in busi- ness and improving each year. We have not paid off the original debt but have reduced it almost every year while main- taining a high level of customer service for our exhibitors. Annual revenues for PES currently range from $12 to $16 mil- lion, depending on the show's location. BOB: Hindsight is 20/20. Can you recall a decision you made in the past that you would like to do over? JIM: Yes, during the second or third year, when we were managing the general service contracting, one of the bigger challenges we had was with the 83,000 square yards of aisle carpet we needed. Te original company we hired had to double its price aſter two years, so we had the bright idea of using recyclable carpet from another company. Tis was a big thing in Europe at the time. It was a di- saster from the very beginning! Te car- pet never really laid down correctly and when the cleaners came on the morning of opening day, they inadvertently ripped up the carpeting as they were cleaning it. When you lay normal aisle carpet, it is taped at the seams and not along the edges. Tis carpet had to be taped along the edges so the cleaners could do their job. Even worse, aſter four days of 65,000 people walking on it, you could read the floor ports underneath the carpet. It was coming up everywhere and we had to put tape across the top of it to hold it down. We can laugh about it now, but at the time it wasn't fun, believe me. BOB: What defines a successful show for you? JIM: A show that meets all the following goals: budgetary, quality of attendees, and space sold. Also, generating good buzz is a plus. BOB: How did you get started in this business? JIM: I answered an ad to sell advertising space for Eisenhardt & Associates, but I got the job to sell trade show space instead. I sold exhibit space for a show called Design Expo with Jill Brookman, former publisher of Exhibit Builder Magazine. At that point, I'd never been to a trade show. My dad advised me to go get a real job — fast. Fortunately, I didn't listen to him. BOB: Who were your mentors? JIM: I've been in this industry for 20 years and had only two jobs. I'm not sure I could name just one or two people as mentors, as I've been fortunate to work with really great people who inspired me with their creativity and leadership. And it's not just my bosses, but also my co-workers espe- cially here at PMMI (and even some com- petitors), who are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. I have also learned a lot from vendors and suppliers whom I have worked with over these years. BOB: What do you value most in your associates? JIM: I value their creativity — their abil- ity to take problems or issues and create opportunities from them. BOB: What is your secret extravagance? JIM: It's not necessarily a secret, but I have a passion for golf and baseball, in particular the Chicago Cubs. BOB: What's your prediction for the fu- ture of face-to-face in the decade ahead? JIM: It's very strong in every respect because people want face-to-face. We tried to launch a dot.com at the height of that craze, thinking maybe people might buy capital equipment over the Internet. Wrong. Today, we actually over-promote face-to-face since all of our research, as well as that from CEIR (Center for Exhibition Industry Research), tells us everyone coming to our events wants to network with peers. Contact Jim Pittas at (571) 612-3211 or jpittas@pmmi.org Columnist BOB DALLMEYER, CEM, has been chairman of both the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) and the Trade Show Exhibitors Association (TSEA), as well as a former director of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR). In 2006, he was inducted into the Convention Industry Council's Hall of Leaders and received IAEE's Pinnacle Award in 2008. Contact Bob at (323) 934-8300 or bdallmeyer@tradeshowexecutive.com www.TradeShowExecutive.com | May 2012 39