Marshall Yard:

Kevin came back early from his weekend home because he was “DEPRESSED” as Lauren put it…she brought him back to the hustle and bustle of the exhibit house chaos, but seriously, as we sit here this evening watching Crossroads, I think it is all about the music…mind you Lauren, he is from Mississippi and likes to hear the blues and not rap music.  You all know my feelings about  Stevie, well, Kevin feels that way about Ry Cooder’s blues.  

That swampy sound of the slide guitar has Kevin in a twist, down with those snakes and alligators, he feels right at home! Can a turtle get depressed, I actually have to agree with Lauren, yes, I think they can.  Let me tell you, I have brought Kevin home now for several weekends, and his little trade show exhibit mascot spirit seems to be taking a beating. Initially I thought that it would be good for the little fellow, but he just seems to sink himself deep in the water and not even the meanest of blues tunes brings him out to feed in front of his weekend collegues.

I thought I was doing Kevin a favor bringing him home on weekends, for the heat lamp and the feeding, but heck, if it is going to get this boy singing the blues, I ’spose it is best to leave him be. I noticed the fact as well as Lauren that he sat himself in the deep blue sea of the aquarium that I bought him that he is not quite as active in his weekend environment.  I can truly hear Kevin quoting Crossroads characters, “if you are going to be a janitor..mop my room.” 

Well, we get back to the Janitor..and I have visions of walking around the ISSA trade show, and thinking oh my gosh, how many more exhibits with bathrooms and toilets, and toilet paper, or fuffy smelly good stuff can I see, the answer to that, unless you are in the exhibit house business, or in the janitorial supply rep business, you can never imagine…and let me tell you, urinal cakes, make and extremely funny gag gift.

Kevin continue’s to eat, and continue’s to grow, with the addition of lettuce and spinach lately, he asked what other grub he could be munching on, which in turn got us thinking about;  The World Wide Foods 2007 Trade Show which will be held at McCormick place on October 24th-26th, 2007.   

If your company has anything to do with the Food & Dairy Industry, this is a place to be to promote your business solutions.  With over one million square feet of exhibit space, and over a thousand suppliers, the opportunity for networking is fantastic.   On hand will be the latest and greatest in processing software, supplies, and much more.  I really did not grasp all the topics that could be covered at an expo such as this,  Safety of Food Handling, Chemicals that are used in the packages, from candy bars to fast food french fry packaging and last but not least responsibilities to customer needs when deliverying products. 

There will be hours of education for anyone in the industry from plant managers to quality control professionals.  Exhibiting at Worldwide foods has proved to be a value to several of exhibitors past.   The AMI Expo and IDFA Expo will be hosted within the confines of McCormick Place as well, AMI will be focusing on Meat, Poultry & Seafood - I told Kevin there would be no turtle soup served! The IDFA is focused on the Food, Dairy & Beverage. 

With key decision makers and heavy hitters attending the expo, it is a great place to network and get your products knowledged and get a bite out of the competition.   Why not spice up your exhibit booth and draw in the attention of the prospects that are waiting for you at the Worldwide Food 2007 Trade Show. 

Oh yet again,. Kevin pooped in the cooler, remind me, not to load that one up with Corona’s anytime soon.  The ride home was an adventure.  If I get in an accident, whats going to happen when Kevin flys out of the cooler? I thought of that while driving and paying more attention to him trying to escape the mini six packer’r that he is packed in for his venture to my house. 

Who would ever look in for a turtle being transported? Not me? Any paramedics out there that would? Hmmm….a cooler that looks like it was pooped in? I doubt the first thought would be what was in there other than some food.  A sloppy cooler carrier?

Turtles can carry salmonela, so it is a good habit to get in to always wash your hands after you touch them, or handle anything.. such as the disgusting cooler! I got him home, and chose a few more rocks from the garden, which mind you, I got eaten by mosquito’s while trying to pick the right ones for his weekend visit to my house, its like a volleyball team of mosquito’s out there, and we the humans are their ball!

Kevin-loveD the spinach that I fed him, his mommy told me I could..and that made him a bit more active on his weekend hiatus!

Kevin dug out some pictures of Catalyst Exhibits, Inc. annual Dog Day from a few years back and wanted to share a few tid bids on Pet Care and the Global Pet Expo Trade Show 2008. This year the trade show will be taking place on February 14th-16th, 2008 at the San Diego Convention Center.   In 2007 there were over 760 Exhibitors that attended and took up over 230,000 square feet of exhibit space. 

If you are attending the expo as an exhibitor, keep in mind that this is over a 41 billion dollar business.  With pet’s becoming part of our families, and being subjected to many more environmental issues, you will want your exhibit to make an impact, you’ll want your exhibit to be what you want your products to be.  Build a better trade show image with a great marketing program, attending trade shows can be time consuming, finding an inspired exhibit company can help make that process a bit more simple.  Allowing you more time to focus on the your prospects, and making them feel comfortable with your knowledge of the products & services you are exhibiting. A innovative exhibit company helps you intertwine the details of your product, services & knowledge blending them together for you in an eye catching, creatively cool trade show display.

Kevin wanted me to share with you his excitement from the other day.. WORMS! He loves eating worms, trust me, we have no shortage of rain so the pickings in the parking lot are great.  The more plump the better in his book.  He asked that I share with you some things not to feed your pets;

Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pet
- Alcoholic beverages (Stanley my cat would be very upset at this one - he finds open beer delightful)
- Avocado
- Chocolate (all forms)
- Coffee (all forms)
- Fatty foods
- Macadamia nuts
- Moldy or spoiled foods
- Onions, onion powder
- Raisins and grapes
- Salt
- Yeast dough
- Garlic
- Products sweetened with xylitol

Kevin took a little trip into my office yesterday while his 40 gallon habitat was cleaned of turtle dookie, a chore that the girls need to do about every two weeks.  Yeah..yeah.., I will get to CES Trade Show 2008  in a moment, but for all you turtle surfers, I’ve gotta give you a little tip; I thought you needed to completely empty the tank, but one of the ladies..(haha) if you could hear her mouth..you’d understand, told me that you actually don’t empty it completely, it does need to have some level of bacteria left in it.  

CES Trade Show 2008 will be held January 7th-10th, in Las Vegas with Bill Gates kicking off as the keynote speaker.   While Kevin was in my office, he took a liking to the keyboard, and the questions about technology started flying out his little muppet mouth.

Catalyst Exhibits, Inc. represented four clients at CES last year, the custom exhibits that were designed for CES ranged from 30′ x 30′, 55′ x 60′ and a meeting room that was 4200 square feet.   Exhibitors at CES range from Home Networking, Gaming, Audio Visual and Wireless Technologies, just to name a few.  Emerging technolgies are coming forth at lighting speed, and as we sit at our computers its not surprising in the least that they are outdated, and considered dinasours.  Actually, the moment they shipped from the factory, they have been put on the endangered list.

Kevin was digging through some old files and found this amazing.  The funky trade show display that went up at RSNA 2006 for Siemens Medical, (Kevin was watching old time tv, hence “funky” he thought he could start a trend and bring back some of the old phrases) anyhow,  he couldnt belive the transformation before the doors open at the trade show.  Siemens Medical ups leads by 32%!

Giving you a before and after - it is amazing the hours of preparation that go into the exhibit building and the process.  Not only do trade show displays need to go up at the convention center - but they also need to be built in the exhibit house to make sure everything is exactly where it is supposed to be.  Just don’t give Kevin any power tools, he may end up putting holes where they shouldnt be.

Intersting stories on: exhibit booth

Kevin went home today a little before lunch, my 15 year old son drove me to work and I held a very active Kevin in his little tiny cooler.    Boy, I must say..Kevin is a pig! I changed his water each day he was here, being its a hiatis, I didnt do the entire filter thing, and he made a mess of the tank!

I think his next stop will be with Mark Lynch..and they can throw back some Irish brew, or whatever those shanty Irish are drinking these days., I’d ask mom, she comes from the wrong side of the Irish tracks, but she gave up drinking, since her kidneys went out several years ago!
P.S….deb..sorry you thought he was a dead mascot..he was just on a little over nighter!

I brought little Kevin home yesterday, Lauren kindly packed his bags and we decided instead of being alone on the weekend with only JR to keep him company that we would do a satellite station here at my house.  Giving Kevin a break from the exhibit house and any trade show talk, he is sitting quietly in his weekend home. 

It appears he is a little confused about his new surroundings, but he has eaten and he has been sun bathing on his new rock.  I am not sure what he is truly thinking other than, what are those funny furry things that are staring at me from the floor.   My two cats….Stanley (who loves to drink beer) and Carly who is called the itty bitty little kitty, weighing no more than 3 pounds..she was the runt!

Back before trade shows and exhibits entered Kevin’s life, his time was spent in the lazy hazy parts of southern Mississippi.  Expo ’se Mississippi is more of an area that it is a town.  Named for its first settler, Harry Expose, where he was the postmaster and store keeper.  Kevin would lolly gag outside the store waiting for any bit of mail that would come his way and listen to stories about Harry.   Speaking of mail - don’t forget about the National Postal Forum Tradeshow which will be held in Anahiem California, May 18th - 21st, 2008.  Great event for any one involved in the “business of mail” seems it would benefit anyone that leverages the use of mail to drive business and marketing to check out the website!

Harry Expose married Lucy Burrell as  it appears from records in January of 1884.   Little else is known about the man.  Perhaps Harry and Lucy are buried in one of the small cemeteries that are near the Gulf & Shrimp Island Railroad, with only 10 headstones and several unmarked graves we may never know.

Kevin spent alot of time at nearby waterways in Holiday Creek and Pearl River, actually he loved to Surf, and would like to remind everyone that the Surf Expo Trade Show is coming up in September, once again at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida. 

I understand some are interested in learning where Kevin actually came from - he was a bit reluctant to give out the information but true enough, and it sure is fitting - Kevin came from Southern Mississippi a little town he called Expo ’se - I think he was spinning the story to fit his current run on the trade show circuit, but low and behold, he was telling the truth, just got his grammar a little screwed up, but I told him I would run with it!

Stay tuned for some updates from down south, we are going to try to track some of Kevin’s relatives.

Kevin is at it again, the little Mississippi Map Mascot, while researching Orange Groves last week, stumbled upon the Performance Raching Trade Show.  Kevin recruited our “Only One Man” Patrick - our portable exhibit guy into a road trip! The Performance racing Trade Show will be taking place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida - December 6th-8th, 2008.  Last year, there were over 1400 companies that exhibited and with over 1,000,000 square feet of exhibit space.   Kevin read that the requests for larger aisles at this trade show did not fall on deaf ears. 

Patrick and Kevin decided to hunt down an old tour bus from the 1970’s for their wheels this past week. They thought it best to do a trial run, so that they are sure the bus will make it to Florida through our blustery northern winter weather.   The tour bus is a MCI Coach Bus, well belive me you, Patrick and Kevin stocked it full of the amenities, they made sure the turtle food was in stock and that there was plenty of cold one’s in the portable fridge!

MCI stands for Motor Coach Industries, which is located in Illinois, and was started in 1933.  I asked Patrick if he had any background information on the wheels he borrowed for a friend, and he said he was not sure, but rumor has it that a famous singer from the 1970’s may have used it to travel across the country before they were well known.   I belive it over $350,000 for a brand new MCI Bus these days, so the economical solution for Patrick and Kevin was to borrow this one. Since Kevin may be maxing out someone’s credit card, I don’t think they would take to kindly to that sort of charge.

Being that Kevin was a turtle, he didn’t think he could handle the excitement of a performance racing car and decided on the bus.  He heard through the grapevine that Patrick may end up in a ditch if the power under his foot was too much!

IBIE - International Baking Industry Expo Trade Show will be held in Orlando, Florida this year, Kevin - heard about it and immediately sought out a bakers hat, and decided he needed to do a little research.   He booked his ticket through cheap tickets, we are yet to know, who’s credit card he used, so that he can attended the event. 

The IBIE International Baking Expo will take place October 7 th , 2008, he is excited, he is looking forward to visiting the orange groves down there? It made me, wonder, as well are there any left with all the construction? When he google’d Florida Orange Groves, he found a winery.  Well, I think I know where Kevin will be hanging out, he does tip one back from time to time in the wee-hours of the night. Deb caught him and joined in, and boy..the both of them sure had hangovers the next day.  

Back to the IBIE Trade Show - this is one spicy event.  With over 20,000 in attendance, the amount of exhibit space is really impressive at 1,000,000.  With new technology in the forefront of every profession it is a showcase for the latest and greatest in the baking industry, from baking equipment right down to the ingredients that are used in common recipes.

This event has not been held in Florida in the past, this will be the first time.  The Orange County Convention Center is right in the tourism district, and at the moment of this writing, my own son is down there for a National Youth Gathering, which will house some 30,000 kids from the Lutheran Churches across the Nation. 

There is alot of information pertaining to the Orange County Convention Center procedures if you will be attending a trade show there or if you are going to have an trade show exhibit at the show.  It is twelve miles from the airport, and belive it or not there are events book at the OCCC up until 2028, good god, how old will we all be.

Kevin was insulted when one of his on-lookers suggested he practice up on his cooking, since he looked so adorable in his chef’s hat, they suggested Turtle Soup. Turtle Soup is a delicacy in Louisiana, and it does seem to be somewhat of a process to prepare, and not forgetting it could contain one of Kev’s Cousin’s from neighboring Mississippi  Oh the nerve, I would imagine it came from the design group, if I had to guess.

Kevin Perry is one of our many outstanding exhibit designers and felt his thunder was stolen, because our Mascot Kevin is outshining him here! So here is an introduction to our design department and the inner thoughts of Kevin Perry:

Let’s start at the beginning. He was born the 20th day of August in 1978 and the world has never been the same. His childhood was filled with Big Wheels, Match box cars and other shenanigans young boys get into.

Fast forward to 1999 when Kevin started taking classes at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, working toward his degree in Industrial Design. While attending MIAD, he started dating a beautiful girl named April. Kevin married April after graduating from MIAD.

He was a happy and energetic lad looking to make his mark, but the exhibit house he started working for wasn’t what he thought it would be. He needed to get out of there and work for a better company.

Then came the day when he received a voice mail from a man with an Irish accent, Mark Lynch. Mark informed Kevin that Catalyst was looking to hire another designer. He started at Catalyst March 12, 2007.  Why Catalyst you ask?

Fabtech International is coming November 11th - 14th to our back yard in Chicago. Being that Fabtech is going to be in Chicago, Kevin decided he was going to find out just what this welding industry was all about.  He visited McCormick place, but was more enthralled with the new Soldiers Field, news is he didn’t have a field pass, and was out there trying to kick a field goal. 

He went out on the streets, and the little fella forgot his googles, boy, you can lead a turtle to water, but you can’t make him swim! Anyhow, he went to interview some of the welders, and they did tell him safety first!  Being as loveable as a turtle can be though, they opted to talk with him. 

Fabtech has an attendance of over 25,000 and over 900 exhibitors already signed up.  The industry professionals look forward to the array of products that are displayed in varies size exhibit booths.   Kevin thought the most interesting sounding event of the entire trade show would be the Job Fair, he is currently not real sure he likes just hanging out in the sales department, because its to quiet, since Nancy has been on the trade show circuit for some time now,  Deb has behaved herself. 

Therefore he opted to go downtown, the train ride was a bit rough, but he parked his ride at the Barrington Train Station where there was a kind public works gentleman waiting to help him with the fairboxes.  He couldn’t stretch his legs far enough to insert the dollar bill.

He found himself talking with some of the professionals in the industry, metal forming, fabricating, and welders.  He most liked the metal forming, he was interested in the possiblilities of bending and shaping such material in almost any way you can think.  If he could walk on metal with more ease, he would be heading home to design a new structure for his tank for when he grows, FROM THE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF FOOD he is consuming.  Which brings him to his lunch, he suggests if you get a chance to check out some of the local restaurants downtown, one in particular, he loved was Ron of Japan’s, he sat around a large table and ate ton’s and ton’s of egg sauce. 

Kevin suggested if you can afford it to stay at the Loews Blue’s Hotel, its an electic place, and spins I Dream of Jeannie with the Morrocan theme. If you don’t have the money at least stop in the bar and visit the little room that truly reminded him of I Dream of Jeannie.

Kevin is growing, and growing, it’s a wonder why, the little mascot eats all day.  Recently we switched over his food, we purchased one with more protien.   If you are interested in Turtle Food you can find a variety.

Kevin has also been scurrying around the front of the tank since we purchased a new rock, unlike our exhibits, this is a more simple design for his ease of use. Which for the first 5 days, he was adamently not wanting to use, but the previous rock, GOT to small since he has become so large.

Its fun to see everyone stop by and talk with Kevin, as if he was human. His closest cube mate Lauren, often blows him kisses, and disgusts our Account Manager for Siemens, Nancy Galford. At one point, the cleaning of the tank almost made Nancy crawl under her desk. After she found out they used her garbage can to facilitate Kevin for a short spell, she ordered a new can. Come on Nancy, get with the program!