Industry partners exhibiting at this year’s Carolinas GCSA Conference and Trade Show in Myrtle Beach, SC will enjoy a new benefit to help streamline their experience. For the first time, pre-registered trade show attendees will carry a personalized “tag” as part of their name badge. Exhibitors who download a special application for their smart phone will be able to automatically capture basic contact information from the tags of visitors to their booth.
“We think this technology will be a big help to exhibitors who sometimes find it difficult to keep track of who comes by their booth and who might need follow-up,” says Carolinas GCSA Conference and Trade Show committee chair, Steve Hamilton, CGCS from The Dunes Beach and Golf Club. “Not every superintendent carries a card which can make it tough for exhibitors to remember who’s who when they get busy. Now they can have a record captured automatically onto their phone.”
Hamilton stresses that the information generated by the tags will be no more than is available in the Carolinas GCSA membership directory. This generally includes facility name, address, phone numbers and email. “We feel this is a very important benefit to all our vendors who exhibit at the show,” Hamilton says. “Using this emerging technology will help ensure that exhibitors get the most out of their time at the show and that is critical.”
The tag program will be presented free thanks to a partnership with Precision Laboratories and their local Carolinas distributors, which is part of a broader support program from Precision. In 2012, Precision Labs and their Carolinas distributors have committed $14,000 to help the Carolinas GCSA’s research and advocacy efforts. The money will be delivered in installments throughout the year.
“These donations represent our ongoing support to your association and causes that are important to our industry,” says Don Spier, Precision Labs vice-president of turf and ornamentals. It is expected that 2012 partnership funds will be shared evenly between ongoing research efforts and advocacy work, which is becoming increasingly important to ensure golf industry interests are represented at the regulatory level.
Spier paid special thanks to Precision Labs distributors, including Corbin Turf’s Rocky Dreibrodt, Eastern Turf Equipment’s Adam Ancherico, Green Resource’s Jonathan Annas, Southern Ag’s Mike Presnell and Vereen’s Mike Johnson.
Precision’s district manager for the Southeast region, Bo Barefoot, was instrumental in coordinating the tag program and next year’s funding support. “I hope we may continue to work with the synergy that has allowed each of us to create value for our organizations to date,” he says.
Carolinas GCSA executive director, Tim Kreger, says the tag program received “overwhelming” support from the board of directors. “Anything that improves the trade show experience for our industry partners and for attendees is a good thing,” he says.
The free application for smart phones that will allow exhibitors to make use of the new tags is available at: www.gettag.mobi.
