Two leading event industry associations recently have released important research reports this month.

The International Association of Exhibitions and Events released Personally Identifiable Information – Data Security, a 17-page report that provides a thorough overview of various aspects and considerations regarding personally identifiable information (PII) for the non-technical reader.

The 62^nd edition of Professional Convention Management Association’s Convening Leaders, which took place Jan. 7-10 at Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn., welcomed 4,457 participants from 45 countries – a year-over-year increase of 7 percent - setting a new attendance record for the annual event.

ASAE Foundation names the five awardees for the Innovation Grants Program (IGP). Each grant recipient will receive $10,000, and they will be recognized during ASAE’s 2018 Great Ideas Conference March 11–13 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.

These grants are funded by support from the SunTrust Foundation, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston L.L.P. and GEICO.

The 2018 International Home + Housewares Show sold out in late December, more than 10 weeks before opening day March 10 at Chicago’s McCormick Place, according to the International Housewares Association, the show’s owner and operator.

“The high demand to be a part of our world-class marketplace continues for our IHA member suppliers,” said Phil Brandl, IHA president & CEO.

The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association decided to scrap its 55-year old massive National RV Show, which it has held every November at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky.

Instead, association officials said they wanted to reinvent the annual event away from being a traditional trade show.

“We must act now to provide our vibrant and innovative industry a platform to promote its successes and celebrate its wins,” RVIA officials said.

PCMA always has made a priority of providing top-notch education and thought-provoking keynote speakers for its annual Convening Leaders conference.

But this year, the annual event for convention management professionals outdid itself in choosing Bill Strickland, who closed out the event with his heartfelt speech, “Leadership, Self-Worth, and the Ability to Transform Lives.”

HANNOVER MESSE USA, the newly branded North American industrial technology trade shows collocated at IMTS 2018, will feature 130,000 square feet of exhibition space and special display areas.

This marks a 44 percent increase, compared with the collocated shows’ total floor space at IMTS 2016.

The Professional Convention Management Association named Janet Tan-Collis, president of the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers (SACEOS) and CEO of East West Planners Singapore, Janet Tan-Collis, as the 2017 Chairman’s Award honoree.

UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, recently opened a regional office in Latin America.

Based in Bogota, Colombia, the new office will serve the growing number of UFI members across Latin America, and will be the base for collaborations with national and region industry associations like AFIDA, AMPROFEC, AOCA and UBRAFE.

The position of the UFI Regional Manager for Latin America will be filled by Ana Maria Arango.

Ray Kopcinski, CMP, Carrie Freeman Parsons and Dr. Godwin Charles Ogbeide, PhD, MBA will be honored at the 2018 Visionary Awards on May 2 at the Marriott Marquis, Washington DC.

More than 1,000 business events industry professionals will gather this spring at the Visionary Awards to honor these luminaries’ extraordinary contributions.