Successful Meetings - March 2009 - (Page 41)

and secure areas was a challenge,” says McGill. “We operate in DC on a regular basis and are used to dealing with security on a heightened level but this was truly unreal.” What did it take to create all of these events? About 45,000 board feet of lumber; 3,000 sheets of plywood; 500 gallons of paint; 400 rolls of carpet; 100,000 yards of fabric; and 100,000 square feet of signs, seals, banners, and other graphics. Political Do-Overs Following a PIC mandate to reuse and recycle when possible, a flag float from a Reagan inaugural made its General Colin Powell at the National Building Museum dinner, fifth parade appearance. held just hours before it became an inaugural ball site The company also swathed introductory speech and Tom Hanks stages in used fabrics and utilized recyspoke about Abraham Lincoln. cled signs that were then donated to The producer, Ricky Kirschner of local school art departments. Kirschner Productions, was not hired McGill says successfully executing until two weeks before the event. “They one of the highest-profile events in the had 14 days to put together a concert of this magnitude. We had two of their designers working here for nine straight days, designing in our conference room. As the designs spit out of the printer, we The meticulously restored Pearl Stable. brought them to detailing for fabricaRestored beauty. Renewed spirit. tion. We were building them immediately. This was challenging, to say the least. We normally have a three- to four-month time frame for something like this, and this was a major television event.” Hargrove constructed a 10,000square-foot floor as well as a variety of other infrastructure components. Getting around town was another obstacle. “We had 200 tractor trailers delivering staging and decor, and that’s A spirited event venue not including our lighting, sound, or video equipment. Coordinating those deliveries through the blocked streets world will hopefully result in new customers as well as establish a relationship with the Obama administration. Hargrove is one of the few companies in this bleak economy to report growth. “The first quarter of 2009 would have been our biggest ever. Throw the inaugural on top of it, and it just makes it spectacular,” says McGill. “We’ve seen an almost 20 percent increase in business this year. I attribute that to a strategic sales plan we implemented three years ago in which we brought on nine new salespeople. We forecast growing on average between 15 and 20 percent over the next three years. If it wasn’t for the economic downturn, we would have enjoyed 30 percent growth.” McGill got to enjoy the fruits of his and his company’s labor as he watched the President and Mrs. Obama enjoy their first dance at the Neighborhood Ball—naturally, on a Hargrove custombuilt circular stage. Did the McGills collapse when it was all over? Hardly. “We started staging the Washington Auto Show and the American Society of Association Executives’ Technology Show,” McGill says with a chuckle. SM SuccessfulMeetings.com I March 2009 I SM I 41 http://www.pearlstable.com http://www.pearlstable.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

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Successful Meetings - March 2009 Contents Editor's Letter News Update Education Management Matters Meetings Law Mouth for Sale Visionaries And the Award Goes to... Taking Green Initiatives to the Top Events of Presidential Proportion It's a Small World After All Places + Spaces Big Island Supplement-Insert NYC Metro Houston Oahu The Bahamas Memphis Passport

Successful Meetings - March 2009

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