Dale Denham, MAS+, CIO of Geiger, visits with representatives from supplier Admints & Zagabor.

PPAI Expo East 2017 draws to a close this afternoon at Atlantic City, New Jersey’s Atlantic City Convention Center. The three-day event, which began on June 12 with a full day of education programming, featured an active trade-show floor and several networking opportunities.

Monday’s education schedule brought together speakers from across the promotional products industry and beyond for 30 sessions across seven tracks—Strategies & Solutions, Corporate Responsibility, Industry Essentials, Marketing & Advertising, Decorate, Sales & Service and Technology. Expo East’s Power Luncheon, with technology strategist Crystal Washington, taught sales professionals to maximize social media.

(From left) PPAI President and CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE; Board Chair-Elect Dale Denham, MAS+; Board Chair Mary Jo Tomasini, MAS; and Vice President of Business Development Alan Peterson enjoy the Power of Two Party.

Last night, Expo East attendees partied the night away at the Power of Two Party sponsored by PPAI and SAGE. Held at the Tropicana Casino & Resort’s Providence Night Club, the Power of Two brought industry professionals together for DJ music, dancing and an open bar.

Attendees from across the region came through Expo East’s doors this year to meet with 320 exhibiting companies at 395 booths. Al and Maria Vasquez, owners of distributor Active World Solutions in Brooklyn, New York, enjoyed their experience on the floor, “It’s a little bit bigger than I expected from last year and the people are very receptive and informative—both attendees and exhibitors. We’ve learned a lot in the five hours we’ve been on the floor,” says Al Vasquez.

Triesha Campbell and Tess Bender (right), with Next Level Apparel, a Power of Two Party sponsor, hand out commemorative shirts during the party.

Exhibitors also report a good show experience. Tim Hanson, MAS, president of supplier Ball Pro/Diversified, says, “Being in the back of the showfloor I didn’t expect anyone being here until 11-11:30 but by 10 o’clock people were coming and we had steady attendance here through 1 o’clock. We also had real, good conversations and it was good to see people I haven’t seen for a number of years.”

Alex Avendano, marketing manager of supplier Ameramark, adds, “The show has been really good; we’ve had a lot of traffic and distributors are really interested in seeing different products. We’ve had 30 or 40 pictures taken [of the booth’s giant inflatable tequila bottle, one of the company’s custom products]. It has been amazing!”

Expo East exhibits are open today until 3 pm.