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Planner's Perspective

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Rick Munisteri
Director of Meetings and Conventions
International Art Materials Trade Association (NAMTA)
Huntersville, N.C.

Describe your event.
We held our 58th International Convention and Trade Show in the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. The host hotel was the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. It is a buying show for the art materials industry. We had 172 exhibiting companies in 391 booths, with a total attendance of 1,700 people.

Why did you decide to host the meeting in Reno?
Reno was an affordable West Coast destination for us.

What surprised you the most about Reno?
The wide variety of restaurants and how easy it was to get around the city, since it is very compact.

What did your attendees seem to enjoy the most?
The attendees liked the compactness of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. It was a great facility for the trade show. They enjoyed the wide variety of activities that the area offered, from golf to skiing.

What would you have done differently in retrospect?
The hotel was planning an expansion of their exhibit space when it was the Reno Hilton. When the expansion did not happen, we contracted with the center for the trade show. Had I known that the expansion would not happen I would have contracted with the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, which is adjacent and about to be connected to the convention center.

What were some of the unique off-site venues that you used for events or meetings?
We held our president’s reception at the National Automobile Museum. It was a perfect venue for this networking event. The Siena Hotel Spa Casino catered the event and did a fantastic job.

What local suppliers did you utilize?
Our security company, Event Services Inc., was the best I have worked with.

Would you return?
It will depend upon our rotation, other cities under consideration and our board of directors.