OK; so it’s not until 2015, but STILL. This is a big deal for Detroit, and a big deal for all of Southeast Michigan. Dubbed the Super Bowl of all Conferences, the American Society of Association Executives annual convention draws approx. 3500 of the decision-makers from associations nationwide. According to ASAE, 20-25% of executives that attend the ASAE conference will book an event in that city within 5 years. With direct spending on a convention in Detroit averaging $2 million to $25 million, this has the potential to infuse some serious dough into our southeast MI economy. Hats off to Detroit PR firm Starrconstand, who prepared the successful bid packet that included a 4-minute video about Detroit starring our very own Kid Rock! Also kudos to Larry Alexander, president and CEO of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors bureau who was instrumental in securing the bid. Many other cities competed, but Detroit won! How cool is that? This gives me the warm fuzzies. I’ve said it before; I’m tired of seeing Detroit get kicked around in the national media. Not that some if it hasn’t had merit; yes, the corrupt city politics have not helped. But gosh, it’s awesome to see something really exciting and great take place. Can’t wait for 2015. As a full-service supplier of trade show exhibits, the success of our local conventions is important to me, but aside from the ripple effects I hope this can create in my own business, it’s just nice to see positive news about Detroit. The only thing better would be if the Detroit Lions could somehow put together a Super Bowl season in 2015; imagine, the Super Bowl of conferences hosted concurrently with the Detroit Lions first Super Bowl appearance? Wow……. For more info, http://www.asaecenter.org/AboutUs/newsreldetail.cfm?ItemNumber=48073