Exhibit City News – July 2009

Julie Holzer Pazina, National Sales Manager for Edlen Electrical Exhibition Services and IAEE Young Professionals Committee Member 

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) have a very important mission and purpose, made only more so in the current economic crisis. It is charged with the livelihoods of the 46,000 people in the city who rely on meetings for their income and the approximately 250,000 people in Las Vegas who rely on tourism for their employment.

A day never goes by that Chris Meyer, LVCVA Vice President of Convention Sales, forgets his obligation to the city he serves. “Our team doing a better job leads directly to a better community,” Meyer said of his role and the importance he places on supporting Las Vegas’s main industry. 

Though Chris is a very visible face in the hospitality world and a vocal advocate for the meetings industry both nationally and in Las Vegas, he grew up far away from the glittering lights of the famed Strip. Born in the Philippines, Chris is the son of two naval officers.

He grew up all over the world, but one of his most memorable homes was in Guam at the close of the Vietnam War. He remembered the population doubling in less than ten days as a tent city was assembled at an old Japanese Air Base. Chris was 14 at the time and his dad was Commanding Officer when the heightened population led to high demands for food, water and sanitation. Looking back at that experience, it may not be a surprise that Chris ended up in an industry where the demands of a trade show require planning and infrastructure to make them a success.

Chris is responsible for convention sales, convention center sales and the convention services team, comprising 58 individuals. He has been at the LVCVA for almost nine years, where he and his team work hard to bring meetings, conventions and trade shows in to the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Center. These facilities encompass nearly four million square feet and two million square feet of exhibit space. In addition to bringing meetings in to these facilities, Chris and his team work hard to fill hotel rooms. “Heads in beds is our mission, mantra, creed and the air we breathe,” said Chris. “If we don’t do our job, people don’t work and we take that very seriously.”