I’ve attended the AHR Expo for the past three years, and, each year, it gets bigger and better. In fact, this year’s Expo broke attendance records as the best-attended AHR Expo ever held in Chicago with more than 61,000 people flocking to the city to be a part of it.
From the minute my plane touched down at O’Hare to the second I left — harried, exhausted, and rather sick (I caught a nasty cold on the show floor, ugh) — I networked, learned, interviewed, reported, and socialized. I conducted more than a dozen interviews, attended seminars, and imbibed at evening events held in conjunction with the Expo. I gathered information about new products, networked with PR reps, spoke with engineers, mingled with distributors, and chatted up contractors from across the country. I looked, I listened, and, like 61,000 other attendees, I learned.
An Event for All
My first AHR experience was in Dallas in 2013. I had started working for The NEWS just three weeks prior. But, it was obvious upon setting foot in the convention center the night before it was going to be an experience I’d never forget. The amount of information and knowledge to be shared was immediately apparent, albeit overwhelming, and, as much as my coworkers tried to prepare me, I wasn’t ready for the amount of information about to be thrown my way. (I also made the grave mistake of wearing shoes that were not truly comfortable; I have since learned my lesson.)
Last year’s record-breaking AHR Expo in New York City was just as memorable with an epic snow storm thrown in the mix, and this year was just as mind-blowing as the two years prior.
And, as in years past, The NEWS was everywhere, providing the best coverage possible.
We were there for the HARDI Icebreaker, which helped kick off the Expo; Danfoss’s evening event at the House of Blues; ClimaCool’s training session and reception at Trump Tower Chicago; Emerson’s customer event at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry; Mitsubishi Electric’s event at The Field Museum of Natural History; Triatek’s 30th anniversary celebration at McCormick & Schmick’s; Taco’s infamous shrimp spread at the Hyatt Regency; Bell & Gossett’s celebration at the Chicago Sports Museum; and many, many others. Our editors blanketed the show floor all three days, scurrying from one interview to the next, taking pictures, and filming video. Though we couldn’t possibly be everywhere at an event of that size, we certainly worked hard to bring you as much news and information as we possibly could.
As an editor for The NEWS, I’m proud to have attended the event and represented our brand, and I’m looking forward to another great (and hopefully much warmer) AHR Expo next year in Florida.
In the meantime, don’t forget to check out our online AHR Expo coverage at www.achrnews.com, and, of course, be on the lookout for our jam-packed post-show issue, which comes out Feb. 23.
See you all again in 350 days.
Publication date: 2/9/2015
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