Winter 2005

The 2004 holiday season was as busy as ever at the George E. Fern Company’s Cincinnati office. For nearly 30 years, the staff has designed and decorated the annual American Financial Corporation’s Christmas Party held at the Cincinnati Music Hall, one of Cincinnati’s historic treasures. The exterior of this large building was adorned to scale with oversized garland and wreaths; the 4-foot bows appear normal-sized from a curb glance. The 6,000 attendees were greeted in the foyer by several animated deer in snowy forest sets. This “natural and rustic” theme continued into the main auditorium where the 90-foot wide stage was decorated for a private performance by Faith Hill.

The interior décor package of the Music Hall Ballroom included custom-decorated trees, wreaths and beverage stations constructed from the George E. Fern Company’s Octanorm display rental system called. There were multiple hand-pleated buffet tables with traditional decorative festoon, which is a curved garland of flowers, and rosettes, rose-like arrangements made of ribbon, all elegantly crafted by Donnie Bennett, Jr. in the Cincinnati office.

Another large holiday project contracted by the George E. Fern Cincinnati office was for Game Day Communications and The Event Team to develop a holiday display for the Carew Tower, an art deco building constructed in the 1930s in the heart of downtown Cincinnati.

“This was a very large decorating project,” said Jim Holcomb with the George E. Fern Company. “We had over four truckloads of vintage props that had been stored in the sub-basement.” “This new annual project for the George E. Fern Company is a perfect way to close each year,” said Don Emerson, account executive. “It exemplifies our decorating skills, which most people have lost sight of over the years.” For the 2004 display, the Fern team debuted a refurbished mechanical bear band. The characters were electronically updated and displayed on a custom stage in the round, complete with artificial snow and traditionally decorated trees. Part of the collection included a 40-foot Christmas tree as well as a 6-foot ornate “Santa Chair” which was hand-restored and upholstered by Mark Dahms, Sr. of the Fern Cincinnati office - his diligent work was very well received by Santa himself.

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The George E. Fern Company is always looking for ways to ensure that their clients’ shows run smoothly and as stress-free as possible. Whether it be with expanding services for the exhibitors or creating an event to remember for show management, the George E. Fern Company is driven to see that their clients are happy and their events are successful. Designed to make the exhibitor move-in process easier, customer service kiosks with touch-screen monitors will soon be available on the show floor. Exhibitors will be able to order furniture, carpet or other items for their boothes and check on the status of their freight. These kiosks will provide quicker access to an exhibitor’s information and will speed up the process for on-site order entry. The touch screen will be very easy to use; anyone familiar with using a computer or online shopping will have no problem using these new kiosks. The system will be menu driven, taking the exhibitor step-by-step through the ordering process. Once the exhibitor is finished, a message will be generated out to the service desk, where members of the George E. Fern Company team will prepare the exhibitor’s order and deliver it to the booth. The new kiosks are scheduled to be up and running by December 2005. For more information, call Dave Thompson in the Cincinnati office at 513-621-6111.

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Members of the George E. Fern Company staff at the 2004 IAEM EXPO! EXPO! This meeting was held December 1-3 in San Antonio, Texas. Back row (from left to right): Tom Drullinger, Dave Thompson and Dick Shelley. Front row: Sheila Pannell, Greg Pignatiello, Carolyn Hodge and Mike Cox

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The Chattanooga Convention Center, located in the heart of downtown Chattanooga, Tenn., recently constructed an expansion and renovation. Nearly two years ago the convention center doubled its size, increasing in size to 298,000 gross square feet. The convention center has easy access with 11 loading docks, no pillars and everything located on one level, making moving in and out very easy for service contractors as well as exhibitors. “We are feeling the benefits of the expanded space. Our future bookings are up,” said Steve Genovesi with the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Chattanooga is a great city and it is wonderful to have a state-of-the-art convention facility capable of hosting larger shows.” From the Chattanooga Convention Center, you can walk to world famous attractions and dine in over 35 popular restaurants. There are 2,000 hotels rooms that connect and or surround the Center with 6,000 hotel rooms 5 to 15 minutes away.

The convention center and area hotels offer incredible affordability. Recently the International Association of Exposition Managers (IAEM), rated Chattanooga 5 th in the country for affordable hotel rooms and food and beverage. The Convention Center boasts skylit atriums, as well as skylights in the new exhibit halls. The purpose of the atriums is to bring natural light to all levels of the prefunction space, while skylights in the exhibit halls minimize the need for artificial light during the day. Shields provide a deflection of sunlight during summer months when the added heat is unwanted.

“The newly remodeled and expanded convention center is a terrific facility for The George E. Fern Co as well as exhibitors and show management,” said Nick Stammler, an account executive with the George E. Fern Company.  “With all of the exhibition space the Chattanooga Convention Center now has, and it’s accessibility to hotel rooms, restaurants, and attractions, Chattanooga has really positioned itself quite well.  People truly must see the city of Chattanooga to believe how nice it really is.”

The city of Chattanooga is only a day’s drive from half the U.S. population and has a lot to offer visi tors. The 15-block, vibrant/safe downtown offers over 30 restaurants, shops and entertainment. Chattanooga has grown to be one of the top tourism destinations in the southeast with of some of the highlights include the Walnut Street Bridge, the Tennessee Aquarium, the Bluff View Art District, the Creative Discovery Museum, Lookout Mountain and Ruby Falls For more information contact the contact the Chattanooga Convention Center at 800-962-5213 or the George E. Fern Nashville office at 615-256-0357.

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