New Orleans is ready for the 22,000 golf and club industry professionals and 850 exhibitors that will converge on the New Orleans Morial Convention Center Feb. 5-7 for the 2009 Golf Industry Show.
It is the second-largest convention scheduled for New Orleans in 2009. Early registration indicates 672 exhibitors have signed on, accounting for 247,500 square feet of exhibit space. Show officials are looking to ride the momentum from the 2008 Golf Industry Show, which set attendance records in Orlando, with another strong showing in 2009 at the central stop of its three-city rotation of Orlando, New Orleans and San Diego.
The Golf Industry Show is a trade show designed for golf course superintendents, owners/operators, general managers, chief operating officers, architects, builders and others in the golf and club management industries. The Golf Industry Show is presented by:
• Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA)
• National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA)
• Club Managers Association of America (CMAA)
The three presenting partner organizations will also hold their annual education conferences in conjunction with the Golf Industry Show.
• GCSAA Education Conference, Feb. 2-7
• NGCOA Annual Conference, Feb. 3-7
• CMAA World Conference on Club Management, Feb. 5-10
The following groups are participating partners:
• Golf Course Builders Association of America (GCBAA)
• American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA)
• National Golf Foundation (NGF)
"The Golf Industry Show partners vowed to return to New Orleans after having to relocate in 2006 due to the damages caused by Hurricane Katrina the prior year," said GCSAA CEO Mark Woodward, CGCS. "We are excited to return to New Orleans and we look forward to a very productive Golf Industry Show and education conferences.”
"Attendees see the value of having the facility's leadership team together to enhance decision making," NGCOA CEO Mike Hughes said. "Exhibitors appreciate the efficiency of interacting with key facility leaders at the same time under the same roof."
"The education and networking opportunities are unmatched," said CMAA CEO Jim Singerling, CCM, CEC. "In these challenging economic times, one cannot afford not to attend."
The 2009 trade show floor layout is designed to benefit every member of the golf facility and club team, and is segmented by products and services into three distinct areas: golf course solutions, clubhouse solutions and range and outdoor facility solutions. The trade show floor also will feature three networking parks, an interactive construction project, an indoor range, a new product showcase, a buyer/seller marketplace and people movers.
The Road to RICHE$ offers daily $500 cash prizes and a $5,000 grand prize to GCSAA Class A, Superintendent and C members, club owners/operators and club managers who scan their attendee badge at each trade show kiosk.
Team Day is Friday, Feb. 6 and will kickoff with the Golf Industry Show General Session that morning. Stephen M.R. Covey will present "The Speed of Trust." Following the General Session will be a USGA Green Section Education Program about the economy and helpful ideas for golf facilities. There will be no competing seminars scheduled that afternoon as golf course, facility and club management teams are encouraged to walk the trade show floor together.
The Golf Industry Show is teaming up with New Orleans Habitat for Humanity to host a series of volunteer work days (Feb. 3-4), before the trade show opens, to help build homes in some of New Orleans' most devastated areas.