Cincy Meetings Expo Showcases What's New to Meeting Planners, Influencers

Expo Encourages Local Meeting Planners and Corporations to Hold Events in Cincinnati

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. October 14, 2008

CINCINNATI, OH, April 25, 2006. The Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau is orchestrating a major, first-of-its-kind trade show in the Grand Ballroom of the newly expanded convention center in May to encourage local meeting planners and area corporations to hold their upcoming meetings and events right here in Cincinnati USA.

The first ever Cincy Meetings Expo on May 3, 2006 is expected to attract several hundred local meeting planners and business influencers and encourage them to book their upcoming meetings and conventions in Cincinnati USA.

The Expo will showcase the expanded and renovated Cinergy Center to local meeting planners in advance of the official grand opening on June 22, and also show off meeting facilities and services of interest to local meeting planners. With sold out booth space for 95 exhibiting CVB members and partners representing local meeting facilities, restaurants, hotels, attractions and meeting services, the event will show attendees what's new after several years of new developments in the city and ask them to consider Cincinnati first as they plan upcoming conferences and events, instead of looking outside the region to hold their meetings and conventions.

Attendees at the Expo will be able to explore the exhibitor floor, participate in behind-the-scenes convention center tours and city tours that showcase Cincinnati's compact downtown and hotel choices, attend a luncheon featuring keynote speaker Marvin Lewis, head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, and network with their peers at a social event following the Expo.

"The Cincy Meetings Expo is an innovative solution that lets us directly showcase the convention center and what's new in Cincinnati USA to an extremely influential audience," said Dan Lincoln, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau. "At the Expo, we are speaking to our neighbors, friends and fellow professionals and encouraging them to hold their upcoming meetings and events here in town. With more than $2 billion in capital improvements downtown and along the riverfront, there are countless new destinations that define our region. This Expo brings everything together under one roof," he added.

Local support plays an enormous role in bringing new meetings and convention to Cincinnati USA - which is why business influencers are also encouraged to attend the Expo. A business influencer is a Cincinnati USA resident who can influence where a meeting or convention is held - whether on a board or a corporation, or an influential member of a civic or professional association who knows regional or national representatives that might have some say in where meetings are held.

Any meeting planner or business influencer who is interested in helping generate economic impact in Cincinnati USA can still register to attend the Expo online at CincyMeetingsExpo.com until Monday, May 1. Walk-ins are also welcome, but please note space is limited on convention center and city tours. The Expo events are free to attend and the cost of lunch is $25.

Several leading local corporations provided sponsorship dollars and support, assisting with content and execution of the event. Many are the same corporations that came together in support of the convention center expansion as the project was being considered.

"We are determined to get the best possible return on investment from our new convention center, and an outstanding place to seek business is right here in our own back yard," Lincoln said "Cincinnati's great corporations recognize the magnitude of the economic impact that meetings and conventions bring a region, and they, like the CVB, want to build a robust and healthy economy around the new convention center."

Platinum sponsors (at least $15,000) for the Expo include the following:

. Business Courier, Media

. Cinergy Center, Show Space/Location

. Definitive Solutions Company, Inc., Creative

. George E. Fern Co., Show Floor Contractor

. Ovations Food Services, Inc., Event Food and Beverage

. Partech Lighting Systems, Lighting

. Prestige AudioVisual, Audio Visual

Gold sponsors (at least $5,000) for the Expo include the following:

. Cincinnati Hotel Association, Breakfast and Notepads

. FASTSIGNS Downtown, Signs and Banners

. Kamera Art, Photography

Silver sponsors (at least $1,000) for the Expo include the following:

. International Special Events Society - Cincinnati Chapter, Networking Reception Lounge

. Jones the Florist, Floral

. Winegardner & Hammons, Inc., Event Tote Bag

Global Spectrum and Ovations Food Services, the new management and catering firms for the convention center, also will showcase their capabilities at the Expo.