Aug 28, 2008

Neocon East Annual Trade Show announces Keynotes, Special Exhibits, Events

BALTIMORE, MD – NeoCon East scheduled to be held Oct. 29-30 at the Baltimore Convention Center, is the premier exposition in the Mid-Atlantic region for the design and management of the built environment. In addition to featuring hundreds of new products for the industry, NeoCon East will include exciting keynote speakers, educational offerings, and special events and exhibits.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Iris Amdur
Mission, Creativity and Value as Essential Green Building Elements
Noon, October 29. Theater, Show Floor
Iris Amdur, principal of Greenshape LLC, has helped more than 100 project teams achieve their sustainability goal. Attendees will have the opportunity to join Amdur as she talks about the role design professionals play in creating change, with an emphasis on the importance of understanding the owner’s mission and your professional visions. She will discuss regional market transformation; provide a strategy for identifying value-added design solutions and share case study example of several influential projects.

Stephen Apking
Smart Government Interiors
Noon, October 30. Theater, Show Floor
Presented by: METROPOLIS Magazine
The U.S. Census Bureau turned to Stephen Apking, interior design partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, after the Bureau outgrew its 65-year-old headquarters. The ending design applied the latest corporate-workplace thinking to a government agency while being one of the most sustainable offices in the country. Apking and Susan S. Szenasy, editor-in-chief of METROPOLIS magazine, will discuss the $331 million LEED Silver project.

CEU SEMINARS
More than 30 CEU accredited seminars representing a variety of important topics ranging from Environmental Design to Professional Development, while hosting the best speakers in the industry will be featured. Topics that will be presented include Government Design Trends: Innovation in Office Solutions and Workplace Strategies by Kay Sargent, Generational Forces in the Workplace: What We Know and What it May Mean by Greg Dunlop and Creating a Sustainable Workplace by Rob Obenreder.

NEOCON EAST SPECIAL EVENTS

Show Floor Booth Parties
4 – 6 p.m., October 29
Theater, Show Floor
Guests may enjoy delicious appetizers and cocktails while visiting manufacturers on the show floor during this end-of-the-day celebration.

Opening Night Kick-Off Party 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., October 29
The Walters Art Museum
Sponsored by: Teknion, Contract Magazine, The New Patcraft and Designweave, IIDA and MMPI
NeoCon East’s Opening Night Kick-Off Party at The Walters Art Museum will give attendees the opportunity to explore. The museum’s collection features an overview of world art from pre-dynastic Egypt to Old Master paintings and Art Deco jewelry, while networking with hundreds of industry peers and enjoying great food and music.

2008 Breaking Boundaries Event
7:30 a.m., October 30
Tremont Grand, Corinthian Room
Best-selling author Frans Johansson will be the guest speaker at The IIDA Baltimore City Center’s bi-annual Breaking Boundaries Breakfast. Johansson is the managing director of Medici Capital Management and his best-selling book, The Medici Effect, was named one of the best innovation books of the year by several organizations and selected as one of the Ten Best Business Books of 2004 by Amazon.com.

NEOCON EAST SPECIAL EXHIBITS

GREENlife: Lounge
Designed by TVS Interiors, the GREENlife Energy Bar implements sustainable concepts for commercial interiors and educates attendees about green design, while offering healthy drinks and energy snacks to attendees.

Tour for the Cure
Select NeoCon East exhibitors will take part in Tour for the Cure, a special fund-raising event to show their support for The Common Thread for the Cure, a non-profit foundation established to unite the furnishings industry in the battle against breast cancer. By visiting participating booths during the show, attendees have the chance to win a digital camera.

GSA- Integrated Workplace Acquisition Center
Designed by: DBI Architects
Every year, more than $1 billion in furniture and furnishings are specified for the federal government through the GSA Integrated Workplace Acquisition Center (formerly National Furniture Center). During NeoCon East, GSA will be on-site to assist Federal employees and exhibitors as they navigate through the government procurement process, while meeting their requirements and budget.

In addition to these special events, the sixth annual NeoCon East will house more than 250 exhibitors and three main show components, including The Buildings Show; GREENlifeTM: Products for Sustainable Environments; and the Architectural Stone and Ceramic Tile Exposition.

More than 8,500 industry professionals representing architects, interior designers, facility managers, government specifiers and procurement officers, space planners, dealers/distributors, manufacturers and real estate industries visit NeoCon East and rely on this event for innovative ideas and the latest trends.

For more information about NeoCon East, show updates and a complete list of exhibiting companies, visit www.neoconeast.com or call 800.677.6278 (MART).

NeoCon East is a registered trademark of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. (MMPI) is a trade show, leasing and property management firm, specializing in managing buildings devoted to wholesale showrooms and commercial office space. MMPI produces more than 300 trade shows, market events and conferences each year. MMPI manages The Merchandise Mart and 350 W. Mart Center in Chicago; Market Square, the Suites at Market Square, Hamilton Market, Plaza Suites, Furniture Plaza and the National Furniture Mart in High Point, N.C.; the Architects & Designers Building and 7 W New York in New York; the Boston Design Center; the L.A. Mart in Los Angeles; and the Washington Design Center and Federal Center Southwest in Washington D.C.

Vornado Realty Trust, owner of MMPI, based in New York City, is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust. Vornado’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are traded under the symbol VNO.