The St. John’s Convention Centre, National Association of Drug Stores and International Market Centers all either brought on a new supplier or renewed an existing contract in the past month during a busy time in the trade show industry. 

Centerplate was selected as the exclusive catering partner for the St. John’s Convention Centre, following a comprehensive bid process.

Located in the heart of downtown St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador, SJCC offers state-of-the-art facilities for meetings, conferences and events. 

The 10-year contract will encompass all food and beverage services for events at SJCC, beginning June 1. 

“Centerplate has an excellent reputation for working with local community partners and meeting planners to create unique and exceptional events. We’re excited to welcome this unmatched level of expertise during our growth phase,” said Sheena McCrate, CEO of St. John’s Sports and Entertainment Ltd. 

She added, “Aligned with our vision to make SJCC a premiere boutique convention centre, Centerplate will play a major role in helping us create extraordinary experiences for SJCC clients and in turn generate economic benefits for stakeholders throughout the City of St. John’s.”

“Destination St. John’s is pleased to welcome Centerplate as the new food and beverage provider at the St. John’s Convention Centr’.” said CEO Cathy Duke. 

She added, “We look forward to working with Centerplate to offer visitors and guests of SJCC a truly memorable experience and to promoting St. John’s as a world-class conference destination.”

Centerplate provides food and beverage services to more than 300 meeting and convention venues across Canada and the U.S., including the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara, the Scotiabank Centre arena in Halifax, Toronto’s Beanfield Centre, Whistler Conference Centre in British Columbia, Bell MTS Place (home of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets), BC Place Stadium, and the award-winning Vancouver Convention Centre.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) has re-signed with CompuSystems to provide registration services for their Annual Meeting and for the Total Store Expo in 2018, 2019 and 2020. 

NACDS advances a pro-patient and pro-pharmacy agenda. For the ultimate benefit of the consumers served by NACDS members, the mission of NACDS is to advance the interests and objectives of the chain community pharmacy industry, by fostering its growth and promoting its role as a provider of healthcare services and consumer products. 

The 2018 Annual Meeting will be held April 21-24, in Palm Beach, Fla., while the Total Store Expo will be held Aug. 25-28, in Denver, Colo. 

Citing significant year-over-year hotel room block growth, strong service and marketing support, International Market Centers, Inc (IMC) has renewed and extended its housing contract with Connections Housing through 2021.  

Serving as official housing partner for IMC since 2011, Connections will continue to oversee all aspects of the housing process - from contracting and room block management to reservations and post-show analysis -- for the world's largest operator of showroom space for the furnishings, home decor and gift industries, with 12.1 million square feet of world-class exhibition space in High Point, N.C. and Las Vegas.

Servicing the account from its Las Vegas office, Connections Housing has generated a 93.74-percent increase in room block growth for the Winter and Summer Las Vegas Markets since contracting with IMC in 2011. 

In addition to these events, Connections handles housing needs for the Las Vegas Design Center on a year-round basis, as well as affiliate meetings and events for larger buying groups, showrooms and tenants.

"Buyer attendance and exhibitor participation for our Las Vegas Markets grows every year, so it's critical to have a housing partner that helps us deliver the best possible customer experience," said Roger White, senior vice president of market operations, IMC.

He added, "The high touch, white glove service the Connections team provides, together with their strong hotel relationships, and creative, results-oriented marketing strategies, make them an invaluable member of our team."

The Connections team consistently has exceeded hotel pick-up goals for IMC events each year using a variety of marketing and service strategies, including the innovative "Book the Block" promotion, strong outbound telemarketing, email marketing and other proactive attendee and exhibitor outreach tools. 

"We are honored that IMC has shown such confidence in us," said Robert Colvin, executive vice president, Connections Housing. 

He added, "IMC's fast-growing, world-class events demand cutting edge technology backed by a team that truly understands the needs of its many audience segments. We have all the tools and dedicated team members in place to deliver an exceptional experience - from booking through check-out."