ISC East coinciding with election time not creating much concern

NEW YORK - The dates for this year’s ISC East show may raise some eyebrows, but officials organizing the event said concerns from the industry have been minimal. ISC East’s opening day is Nov. 3 - the day after the national presidential election - a time expected to generate high security warnings. “It’s been okay,” said Beth Blake, public relations coordinator with Reed Exhibitions - the event’s organizer. “We haven’t heard too much from the industry.” But there has been some concerns, mostly surrounding rumors of security threats at such a high profile location. “In a lot of respects the timing of the event is not optimal,” she said, “but we’ve told people that it is the day after the actual election day and I think that helps.” Traditionally held in August, ISC East was not scheduled at election time by choice. ISC officials tried to place the show in its traditional time slot, but found that it coincided with the Republican National Convention. They went with a November date to separate the show from ASIS International’s Annual Seminar and Exhibits’ September show date. Blake said the show will be back to its August time frame next year, with the dates already being booked for Aug. 24-25, 2004. Blake said she hopes this year’s show programs and exhibitors, as well as the keynote speech by the last firefighter to exit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, will draw attendees, instead of them being scared off by expected heightened security of the presidential election. “It’s a good investment of time,” she said also noting that the show is a must attend for professionals looking to grab the attention of buyers on the manufacturing side. “The power base of security buyers are in the New York and East Coast from a manufacturing standpoint,” Blake said. She also said the response to the show so far has been positive. Reed Exhibitions will continue to focus on marketing the show as a regional event - a much different direction than the national focus of ISC West in Las Vegas. “Technology changes so fast and new products are changing all the time,” Blake said. “V8e timing in the sales and production cycle is why there is space for two ISC shows.”