A friend of mine ran his first marathon last fall.

He set the goal of successfully finishing the race almost two years earlier. He started with 5k races. I know the first few were more walking than running, as my friend was not an experienced runner, and had been a smoker for several years.

From 5ks, he went to 10ks and then two half marathons before tackling the final goal. When I asked why he started preparing so far in advance, he said his goals were to finish, finish with what he felt was a reasonable time, and to come away without any injuries. 

“How do you use technology in your trade show program?”

That was the topic at the last meeting of the Midwest Exhibit and Event Professionals. The panel working through the discussion was comprised of two seasoned trade show coordinators, a consultant and an industry supplier.

There was discussion about using iPads to gather prospect data, the pros and cons of wireless internet on the show floor, and the potential cost saving involved in using large monitors for messaging as opposed to static graphics.