It has been my pleasure to serve as President of AWFS for the past five years and now I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all our members, our Board of Directors, and our staff for the support and encouragement given to me during my tenure. It was a tumultuous five years. We started off with a bang, only to immediately be followed by the worst economic downhill slide in recent United States history. Our challenge was to continue to serve our members and the industry with the same outstanding benefits and Trade Shows on a highly reduced budget. We modified our way of doing business to meet the necessary lower operating costs while still providing our member companies and the woodworking industry two great, highly productive, Trade Shows as well as maintaining the vast majority of our member benefits. We strongly believe we are on the uphill side of this economic disaster the woodworking industry has had to endure and the exhibitor signups for the upcoming July AWFS Trade Show in Las Vegas support this. Both exhibitor booth sales and attendee registration are tracking way ahead of both the 2009 and 2011 Shows.

 Now, we feel we are back on track and looking forward to great things in the near future beginning with the installation of Wade Gregory as the AWFS new President. Wade comes from big industry on the supply side of woodworking and can offer the AWFS Board new and exciting direction. He has vast experience in leading Associations and brings with him a clear vision of where AWFS needs to go and will establish the most efficient path to accomplish those goals. Please welcome and support Wade Gregory as the new President of AWFS.

 As I write this article, our offices are in total disarray as we prepare to move about 20 miles or so south on Interstate 5, in less than two weeks. Our new offices will be located in Anaheim, a literal stone's throw from Angel Stadium (or at the very least, the parking lot). For me, leaving these offices means finally having a commute that is actually tolerable for the first time in nearly a decade. Yet, I can't help but reflect on the last six years that we've spent in this location and the incredible highs (and many lows) that our Association and its wonderful volunteers and incredibly loyal and dedicated staff members have experienced over that time period.

We moved to our current Commerce, CA location back in January of 2007, right before we produced our largest show ever, just in time to celebrate AWFS®Fair's 50th Anniversary that same year. By our next show, in 2009, the world and our industry was a very different place. The fact is most of the time that the staff and I have spent in this location has been during a period of crisis and consolidation. None of us certainly ever dreamed of the challenges that were in store as we started to unpack our boxes that we transported from our previous location on Rickenbacker.

That is why I cannot help to also think that the timing of the current move is truly symbolic. Don't get me wrong, there is really never a "perfect" time to move, and as my staff will attest to, certainly not five months prior to our "big event". Yet, as indicated in the latest trade show article, this is the very first time since 2007 that AWFS®Fair is back in growth mode. The mood around our office is lighter and more upbeat than it's been in years. I can sense that same optimism with our board of directors and many of our members as well. It's really nice feeling that way again. As a result of this optimism, this move really feels like a great new beginning as I can't help but look forward to 2013 and the great things that our staff, in cooperation with our board and committee volunteers, will accomplish in the coming years.  

Today the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority unveiled its plans for the Las Vegas Global Business District.  This overarching vision will be the next evolution of the trade show business in the destination.

It is our goal to provide you with the greatest possible experience during your events, and we are committed to making sure that Las Vegas is years ahead of the competition.  We have spoken to many of you about your needs and wishes for our facility and are developing the plan with that input in mind.

As part of this vision, the Las Vegas Convention Center will receive a major renovation that includes additional exhibit space, meeting rooms, and general session space.  We will also leverage the facility's designation as a World Trade Center site to further establish Las Vegas as an international business center, providing you with greater ability to promote attendance at your events as well.

We will also be developing a centralized transportation hub at the Las Vegas Convention Center that will improve connectivity throughout the tourism corridor for all modes of transportation.

We are in the initial stages of this project, which will be developed in phases over several years.  The first phase, over the next two years, will include design and budget development, improvements to the current space at the Las Vegas Convention Center - featuring additional restaurants and food outlets, evaluating land acquisitions around the convention center, and presentation of the overall project to our board of directors for approval.  The LVCVA will issue up to $150 million in commercial paper for this phase.

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