By the Skin of Our Teeth

My assistant, Char, can work miracles. As my co-worker and booth staffer, she keeps me on top of each day's events, works hard, and even saves the day on occasion, thanks to her bag of trade show tricks.

Yes, Char can do it all. So when a loose peg on a rented chair looked like it might derail our plans at the Great West Truck Show in Las Vegas in 2007, I should have known that Char, not the folks at the show-services desk, would save the day.

Our company, a small nonprofit organization with a mission of getting women involved in the trucking industry, had planned to set up its usual 10-by-10-foot booth at the show. Since the Great West Truck Show covers a lot of floor space at the Las Vegas Convention Center, we typically add a couple of chairs to our exhibit so attendees that are interested in our organization can take a load off and have a stress-free conversation.

But on the morning the show was set to open, things began to fall apart - literally. One of the two chairs we'd rented from show services, a tall director's chair, had a loose wooden peg that kept falling out. Without the wooden peg, which held the footrest in place and provided structural support, the chair would collapse under the weight of anyone sitting on it.

The show was a few moments from opening when Char and I discovered the peg, so the last-minute problem caused considerable panic. Inviting attendees to stop, sit, and listen to our pitch was a major part of our plan for the show. Having just one chair meant we could let one attendee sit, but not a second, which isn't exactly the height of hospitality.

I hustled off to show services to see if I could get a replacement right away. But when I made my request, all I received were promises to come check out the problem when the staff had time. So it seemed we'd have to begin the show with one less chair.

Back at the booth, Char decided waiting for show services wasn't an option. So she began rummaging through her trade show survival bag for something sticky to hold the peg in place.

While I assumed super glue would save the day, instead, Char produced something called New-Skin, a liquid bandage used to stop the bleeding caused by small cuts and scrapes. The quick-drying bandage was meant to cover minor wounds, but Char felt confident it would also patch up the faulty chair. So she applied a liberal coating of the liquid to the peg and stuck it into the hole on the chair. Then, we gave the peg a quick test by sitting in the chair, and it held. As the clock struck 10 a.m. and the show opened, we hoped for the best.

It wasn't long before an attendee stopped by for a chat - and to unknowingly test our chair. But as it turned out, our New-Skin seat not only held firm through that first attendee; it never needed replacing throughout the entire show. And that was a good thing because show services never came by to replace the faulty furniture. For all we know, the New-Skin is still holding that peg in place, thanks to Char and her trade show survival kit. So if you happen across a director's chair with a gunky-looking peg, just leave it be.

- Ellen Voie, president and CEO, Women In Trucking Association Inc., Plover, WI



Bringing Down the House

When high rollers are in the house, casinos generally go all in. So when Harrah's Laughlin Casino & Hotel in Laughlin, NV, invited more than 300 of its top clients to enjoy a VIP event featuring Las Vegas-style entertainment, the guests - and Harrah's - were expecting a flawless show.

As the owner of Brain Brew Entertainment, it was my job to provide the entertainment, not to mention its flawless execution, for the event. So I arranged for a revue of impersonators, e.g., Elvis, Cher, the Rat Pack, etc. With the addition of a small band, it would be a well-choreographed blend of comedy, dancing, and singing meant to treat VIP clients to a night of fun.

When my entertainers and I arrived at Harrah's to get ready for the show, we found a 16-by-40-foot stage, complete with curtains and a pipe-and-drape arrangement that gave us a backstage area. Simply put, it was just what we'd expected. So we set up the band, and waited as the guests arrived and took their seats.

When it was time to start the show, my drummer went for a downbeat to start the music, and that's when our night of impersonators hit a very real snag. All around the stage, curtains came crashing down, missing the band and our faux headliners, but leaving our behind-the-scenes revue open for viewing.

Despite the obvious "oops," my main concern was the audience. Since the people were in their seats ready to be entertained, I was determined that no falling pipe-and-drape fiasco would stop the show from going on. At the same time, however, I also needed to get that curtain replaced. After all, the entertainers did costume changes behind the curtain, and every singer, dancer, and comic needed a curtain opening and closing to start and end his or her performance.

So while the band struck up our intro again, I told the talent to have a little fun with the fact that we'd had our stage drapes dropped to the ground. Since my talent consisted of improvisational experts, I figured that a few jokes about getting a behind-the-scenes look at a Las Vegas revue should be a piece of cake. I hoped that as long as we embraced our catastrophe, the guests would be entertained as I ran off to find the hotel staff.

When the staff and I returned, it was obvious that the crux of the problem was that the crossbeam holding the main curtain had been hung from the frail framework that supported the false ceiling. Instead of hanging rods from the ceiling, I explained - with as much patience as I could - the hotel needed to bring in proper supports that could be anchored to the stage.

The hotel staff quickly assembled the correct supports, working around my performers to get the drapes hung correctly. Meanwhile, I kept one eye on the construction and one on the stage routines, making sure we kept the crowd laughing and smiling at the performances, and not frowning at our bad luck.

By the time our drapes were hung properly, the audience was riveted by the entertainment, and after more than an hour, the show ended with a standing ovation. It seems our VIP event had really brought the house down - figuratively speaking.

- Patti Negri, owner, Brain Brew Entertainment, Los Angeles