What We Do, Who We Are, & What People are Saying

The conference and show management team that comprises GEM got its start in the 1980s and early ’90s as the core of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists’ (AAPG) convention department, two of us as department director and the other head of annual international meetings and exhibitions. We went our separate ways, establishing our own consulting practices, forming strategic alliances, and gaining even more experience by working for non-profits in divergent industries and disciplines. We became experts in leading-edge registration systems, hotel room block negotiations, facilities contracts, massive ($11 million+) budget formulation and oversight, and running cost-efficiently and “lean and mean.” Now we’ve joined forces once again with more than 80 years’ combined experience in the medical, scientific and manufacturing sectors, ready to deliver the most professionally executed event possible for your organization.

Bruce Lemmon, CEM, GEM’s founder and managing partner, has spent over 20 years helping scientific and trade associations by ensuring their events’ success. He has worked in every aspect of conference and exhibition management, and since founding GEM in 2002 has established a wide-ranging network of professionals in the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) industry whom he calls upon as both suppliers and partners in executing each project. Bruce is active in his own professional association, the International Association of Exhibitions & Events (IAEE), as a course instructor and committee chair. He holds the IAEE’s Certification in Exhibition Management (CEM) and is a recipient of their Merit Award.

Michelle Mayfield brings to GEM not only recent experience in corporate meeting planning but also the backing of one of the largest site selection and hotel booking service providers in the nation, ConferenceDirect.  Michelle’s affiliation with a company that books over 2 million hotel room nights a year means that the rates we negotiate on your behalf will be the lowest available and that no one can reserve a room for less “outside the block” during your event’s dates. Are you looking for a bargain and your dates and location flexible? Michelle has continuous access to special packages being promoted by ConferenceDirect’s partners, which include all of the major cruise lines and hotel and resort chains.

Sondra Biggs, CMP, took early retirement from one of the country’s preeminent physicians’ associations and joined GEM this year. She introduced innovations to the MD’s annual scientific assembly such as customized exhibitor guides, sponsored welcome banners, shuttle banners, key packets, preregistration mailing kits, cyber cafés and PDA beaming stations, bringing hundreds of thousands of new dollars into the revenue stream. During her years with the Petroleum Geologists, she effectively refocused the Association’s near-exclusively domestic meeting schedule to include at least one international conference and exhibition annually. Her career has been marked my fostering creative ways to enhance the bottom line while continuing to build on the quality of each successive event.

Tradeshows

Event: Exhibition of the Annual Convention of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists

Location: Rotation throughout the USA and occasionally Canada

Attendance: International, 75% from USA; 6,000 – 7,000

Size of Exhibition: 60,000 – 85,000 sq. ft.

"Thank you for the exceptional effort you made for the Convention. The extra workload for you on the International Pavilion as well as some of the other displays and special effects was not easy, but you handled it as if it were an everyday occurrence."
- Robbie Gries
General Chair, Denver, Colorado
rrgries@aol.com

Event: Machine Tool Expo Las Vegas (show launch)

Location: Central Halls, Las Vegas Convention Center

Attendance: International, 8000-12,000 (projected)

Size of Exhibition: 128,800 net sq. ft.

“Kept the class moving and engaged us to work together.  Great class!!  Best IAEE certification module I’ve taken thus far.”

“There is no word to describe how great everything was! Believe me.”

“Bruce was interactive and a very good speaker.”

“Bruce was an energetic speaker that kept us engaged.”

Comments from student evaluation forms following an all-day course entitled “Selling Exhibit Space” taught by Bruce Lemmon

Conventions

Event: Annual Convention of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies

Location: Rotation throughout the Gulf Coast USA

Attendance: Regional; 800 – 1,250

Size of Exhibition: 8000 – 10,000 net sq. ft.

We would not have had a successful 2008 convention without GEM's participation on our behalf.  GEM brought valuable experience to our convention planning in 2007-2008.  Our regional organization joined with two national groups to hold our annual conventions in Houston shortly after Hurricane Ike in 2008.  GEM's experience proved invaluable in safeguarding our society's interests in areas that were outside of our planning control.  They were excellent liaisons between our exhibitors and the full convention organizing committee.  It was good to have professional assistance readily available for those last minute "Murphy's Law" situations that occur at any big meeting.  GCAGS will employ GEM for our upcoming conventions.
-Ken Nemeth
President Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies

Thanks [for passing on the comment from an attendee and former officer of the Association]; that is indeed a compliment we can be proud of.  But please keep in mind we are being guided by YOU.
– Ralph Richardson, General Chair, 2009 GCAGS Convention

Event: AAPG Mid-Continent Section Meeting

Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Attendance: Regional, 600 – 750

Size of Exhibition: 5500 net sq. ft.

Thanks Bruce…GEM is worth every penny we are paying you, and more. I greatly appreciate your professionalism in keeping on top of all this for us!
– Don Burdick, General Co-Chair, 2009 AAPG Mid-Continent Section Meeting

Conferences

Event: Architecture of Carbonate Systems Through Time

Location: Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Theme: " Reference Models for the Mesozoic and Tertiary of Southern Europe, North Africa and The Middle East"

Attendance: 200 top-level exploration geoscientists

"A brief note of sincere thanks for your quite excellent management of the entire Nice event. I think you need to take all the credit for its success. Feedback from all delegates, speakers, exhibitors, etc. was very, very positive."
- David G. Roberts
Technical Program Chair

Event: Bali 2000

Location: Bali International Convention Center, Indonesia

Theme: "Energy for the New Millennium" 

Scope: Asia, Europe, North Africa, North America, Middle East

7 field trips, 6 short courses + pre- and post-conference excursions

1,008 sq.m. (11,200 sq.ft.) net exhibit space

"After Bali 2000 I do have sympathy for you all and admire your ‘stick-at-it’ ability. Us amateurs get worn out doing it once. You do a great job in stressful situations…and keep doing it.…You have been professional all along, you have worked well to accommodate our volume of comments, questions and suggestions. We have had a lot of fun from the years’ of meetings and preparation."
- John Armon
Operations Chair

"Bruce Lemmon brings to GEM enormous international experience, along with the ability to recognize and be sensitive to local cultural nuances, thereby creating opportunity for repeat performances. He possesses both a highly professional and a warm nature, making him not only good to work with but fun to work with. I have really enjoyed being associated with Bruce on many projects over the years and count him as a personal friend."
- Nahum Schneidermann
Steering Committee Chair, Bali 2000
(contact information available upon request from GEM)

Event: Athens 2007

Location: Athens Megaron International Conference Centre

Theme: "Challenge our Myths" 

Scope: Central Asia, Europe, North Africa, North America, Middle East

4 field trips, 3 short courses + pre- and post-conference excursions

840 sq.m. (7560 sq. ft.) net exhibit space

Attendance: 1283 (378 speakers)

As General Chairman of an international conference and exhibition in Athens in late 2007, I found Bruce Lemmon’s management skills style perfectly suited to our needs, being exceedingly flexible and even-tempered.  GEM adds a lot of value to a conference by his way of structuring the early planning stages and ensuring steady progress in this critical phase when valuable time can quite often be lost. Through telephone conferences with chairmen in six countries and excellent written summaries and action points from these calls he facilitated effective teamwork throughout the period leading up to execution. In the execution phase GEM had an eye for things that could go wrong, and in many cases saved us from making potentially costly mistakes. I attribute much of the resulting success to GEM’s breadth of experience that allowed us to plan creatively, not reactively, as conditions changed. Bruce’s team are first class professionals, and I can recommend them to anyone planning to organize a conference anywhere in the world.
-Geir Lunde
General Chairman
Athens International Energy Conference & Exhibition

Encouraged by what you read? Want to know more? Then write to any of our satisfied clients above to get the lowdown on how well we work with our partners in success. And to find out more about how GEM can help with your next project, contact us, or better still, fill out our Request for Proposal form to jumpstart your next event.