LAFAYETTE, La. – After months of extensive research and strategy meetings, Transform LACGOE is nearing its targeted completion date of November 2020. A team of energy industry and large-scale event experts has guided the process since May, and we are just weeks away from making final decisions regarding how LAGCOE 2021 will play out.
The LAGCOE Board of Directors chose award-winning strategic events company Maritz Global Events (Maritz) to spearhead Transform LAGCOE. Over the last several months, the Maritz research team engaged more than 3,500 oil and gas and trade show industry stakeholders in a series of strategic surveys and in-depth interviews. These research efforts uncovered insights into current industry trends and stakeholder mindsets on what is necessary to execute a successful event in 2021.
Under normal circumstances, exhibitor registration would have already opened for LAGCOE 2021, set to take place September 30 – October 1 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA. However, the events and circumstances of the past year have moved us to pause, reflect, and re-evaluate the way we plan and execute our programs. Not only is the energy industry changing, but large-scale events and expositions will likely look different in a post-COVID 19 world. Because of these realities, registration and other details regarding LAGCOE 2021 are being delayed until final decisions are made.
With the help of the experts at Maritz and the collective industry experience of the LAGCOE Board of Directors, our team is confident that the 2021 event will meet the needs of both longtime LAGCOE supporters and the new generation of energy professionals. Although LAGCOE 2021 might differ in scope and layout from previous years, it will maintain the same spirit of innovation and hospitality that LAGCOE has always embodied.
Corinne Sprague, LAGCOE’s Interim Executive Director, expressed cautious optimism for the outlook of 2021. “It’s no secret that the events industry is having to regroup to a degree we’ve never seen before. Our team is lucky in that 2020 was already a non-show year for us, so we had something that most other large-scale events didn’t: time and space to re-strategize our direction for 2021.”
Gary Landry, LAGCOE’s Chairman of the Board, said of the endeavor, “The Maritz team has done an outstanding job in guiding us through this process, leaving no stone unturned in their extensive research work. I think I speak on behalf of the entire board of directors in saying that we’re very confident in Maritz’s and our team’s ability to round out this process and execute an event that makes sense under the current circumstances of our industry and the world.”
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