The Powers that Please

One of my duties (and a distinct honor) while in Atlanta is to serve as a member of the AmericasMart Advisory Board. It’s at our Monday morning meetings that voices from around the industry join with those of AMC to continue shaping the future of the shows.

Lemme tell ya, lots of good comes from these meetings. Continually expanding broadband access, AmericasMart University, and special travel rates for attending reps are just a few things that sprang from conversations begun at this table. The people around it are committed, brutally honest, and determined to be the best of the best, period.

Here are a couple of highlights from conversations with fellow members I think you’ll appreciate:

Sunday Saved
Most attendees know that downtown Atlanta lost all water Sunday afternoon when a water main blew, however few know how close AMC came to shutting down the show as a result. With the mandatory four hour limit approaching that would have required emptying the buildings, Virginia Gorday averted disaster by engaging the mayor’s office, the fire department, and a whole lot of maintenance staff to carefully monitor the problem, babysit pipes, and release valves as water returned to the system. In buildings this big, you can’t just turn on the tap like an outdoor spigot; there’s a carefully choreographed ballet required to get things flowing again...and Virginia’s the grande dame of pirouettes.

Dorothy and Toto Fly Solo
During the dry spell on Sunday, a handful of buyers and vendors asked me what would happen in a real emergency, like when a tornado visited Atlanta a few weeks ago (as if not having functional bathrooms after those three glasses of iced tea at lunch didn’t qualify as an emergency???). So, as Jeff Portman and I are headed back to Building One after the meeting, I asked him. Here’s the direct quote (with his permission):

“You see these buildings [while motioning to One and Two]? They’re frickin’ bunkers. That one too [motioning to Three]. Built entirely from steel and concrete. You can’t knock the things down. Frickin’ bunkers. Seriously.”

Turns out the staff was actually inside them during the tornado, with no bobbing, weaving or swaying involved. The only damage was in leaky windows and glass in the skyways, which is remarkable, and proof positive that he’s right. These things are frickin’ bunkers, which makes me frickin’ happy, in a big way.

Pretty impressive when you consider the amount of damage done to the adjoining Westin, where approximately 100 guest rooms saw their windows blown out.

Greener Days
The Mart’s a big place. Which means a big carbon footprint. Understanding the importance of reducing the latter while growing the former, AMC has committed to Green Hours, running July through September when power usage is at its heaviest. By resetting building hours during non-show times, the mart reduces energy use by a whopping 400,000 kilowatts, or 628,000 pounds of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The new plan doesn’t impact business hours; those still stand at 10:00 a.m. ‘til 4:00 p.m. From now on, though, the building itself will shift an hour earlier, to 7:00 a.m. ‘til 4:00 p.m., which works well for everyone.