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Members of the tent and event rental industry connected online Jan. 19–21, 2021, for a three-day virtual summit that offered dynamic education, networking and the annual Tent Rental Division (TRD) business meeting.
The summit was held live on the virtual platform, Remo, where attendees were able to experience face-to-face engagement opportunities and interact with vendors. “The professional education seminars created quite a buzz and a sense of interest as our members sorted out the changes in their business practices due to the pandemic,” said Michael Tharpe, TRD Steering Committee Chairman. “Our vendors also did a great job of providing useful product videos to address pandemic-related changes.”
Days one and two of the summit explored how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the tent industry over the past nine months and how the industry has adapted. In the opening educational session, Joe Langehaug of Losberger De Boer served as moderator for an interactive panel discussion on the business impact of the pandemic. Panelists included Nick Deninno, owner of Block & Roll, Steven Eisenstein, president of Classic Tents & Events, and Scott Woodruff, owner of Tent OX.
At its annual business meeting, TRD announced that the Code Committee and the ASTM Committee have merged into the Code/ASTM Committee. TRD is also working on a non-engineered tent study that will result in a tool that calculates the load at each guy to resist overturn due to horizontal wind force.
Day three of the TRD Virtual Summit included educational sessions focused on how the tent industry is preparing installers to get back to work. Mike Holland, CERP, president and owner of Chattanooga Tent Company, led a session about the importance of adding the “why” to the “how” when training installers.
In other sessions:
- Zach Wilson, president of The Greenwich Tent Company, and Warren Darby, founder and operator of Rent-E-Quip Inc., addressed the challenges associated with long-term rentals and provided solutions to implement during quoting and installation stages.
- Ben Anderson, managing partner of L2 Structures and American Pavilion, led a session on how to navigate finances in 2021 and outlined five key initiatives that every business should take to maximize long-term value.
- TRD code consultant Paul Armstrong discussed how the pandemic continues to cause changes in the way building and safety departments regulate tents and other membrane structures.
- Tommy Wilson, director of event services at All Occasions Event Rental, led a session on effective tent evacuation planning and how to have conversations with clients about inclement weather.
Attendees of the TRD Virtual Summit also enjoyed roundtable discussions and open networking, a young professional/young at heart happy hour, and a team-building virtual scavenger hunt. “Overall, this event catered to the needs of our members during these trying times. Everyone walked away with helpful hints for 2021 and beyond,” said Tharpe.
Save the Date for Tent Expo 2022
Join us in Daytona Beach, Fla., from Jan. 18–20, 2022, for Tent Expo 2022.
Tent Expo is the biggest show of its kind in North America for the tent rental and supply industry. Every two years, hundreds of CEOs, colleagues, installer and suppliers come together to network, learn, stretch their thinking and revel in new product innovations and techniques under awe-inspiring tent displays.