Post Con

Independent Electrical Contractors Con 2015

Nearly 1,600 electricians from all over the United States met in Tampa for IEC (Independent Electrical Contractors) Con 2015, whose 35,000-square-foot Expo featured more than 100 exhibitors.

post con

Independent Electrical Contractors Con 2015
Oct. 21–24, 2015
Tampa Convention Center

CHALLENGESOne hurdle for IEC was selecting peer-to-peer speakers for its education sessions. (Read our Pre Con profile at convn.org/pre-con-iec.) But the work that meeting organizers and the member-driven selection committee put in upfront paid off. “The highest-attended session was ‘Best Practices for Electrical Contractors,’” said Joseph Cephas, IEC’s vice president of public affairs. “This session had three panelists who were all electrical contractors from different areas of the country with varying areas of expertise.”

INITIATIVES EC decided to shorten Expo hours this year in an attempt to improve traffic. The meetings team made sure attendees had incentives to head over to the Expo: a reception on the first day of the meeting, a happy hour on the second, and a raffle — for which attendees had to be present to claim their prizes — on the final day. As a result, there was steady traffic for the show’s exhibitors, according to Kristen Keenan, CMP, IEC’s national’s vice president of meetings. “We had the top names in the electrical industry,” she said, “which attracted many people to the hall.”

Kate Mulcrone

Kate Mulcrone is digital editor of Convene.