PRESS RELEASE

The Rental Show at Georgia World Congress Center Sees Largest Attendance in a Decade

Atlanta, GA (March 10, 2016) Kicking off during a busy weekend at the Georgia World Congress Center that also included the Bronner Bros. International Beauty Show and the Donald Trump Campaign Rally, the American Rental Association’s The Rental Show experienced its highest attendance mark in a decade while also commemorating the ARA’s 60th anniversary.

Professional attendance at the show, held Feb. 21-24 at the GWCC, totaled more than 6,000, and factoring in exhibitors, overall attendance at The Rental Show was 11,412. The exhibit floor was sold out and featured 655 exhibiting companies.

The Rental Show is the ARA’s annual convention and trade show for the equipment rental industry, featuring general tool/light construction equipment, construction/industrial equipment, party/special event equipment and rental-specific seminars and industry networking opportunities.

Alicia McNease
Public Relations Specialist 
Georgia World Congress Center 
404.223.4000 (phone) / 404.223.4211 (fax)
amcnease@gwcc.com

Located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, the Georgia World Congress Center features 1.4 million square feet of prime exhibit space, 12 exhibit halls, 106 meeting rooms and 2 grand ballrooms. Complemented by the Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park, the three facilities comprise one of the finest convention, sports, and entertainment complexes in the world.
 

PRESS RELEASE

IPPE brings record-setting international flavor to the Georgia World Congress Center

Atlanta, GA (January 28, 2016) The International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE) celebrated 40 years at the Georgia World Congress Center with a record-setting show Jan. 31-Feb. 2. The world’s largest annual poultry, meat and feed industry event of its kind, the 2016 IPPE featured more than 1,300 exhibitors, setting a new record. “We have more exhibitors than we’ve ever had,” said Nath Morris, IPPE’s General Manager. “This isn’t an off-year.”

Staged in the GWCC’s exhibit halls A and B, the expo utilized 465,000-square-feet of exhibit space with an estimated attendance of 29,000. In addition, more than 300 of IPPE’s exhibitors hailed from international locales, there were a record number of international attendees (7,280) representing 141 countries, and the GWCC buzzed with the chatter of global languages. Comprised of three integrated trade shows – International Poultry Expo, International Feed Expo and International Meat Expo - IPPE attracts a wide range of international decision-makers who attend to network and learn about the latest technological advancements as well as issues facing the industry.

With an estimated 25 percent of attendees coming from outside of the U.S., IPPE offered a variety of international services, including buyer matching, translation services, import-export counseling, and an education program presented entirely in Spanish.

IPPE is one of the longest-running shows held at the GWCC and has been staged here every year since 1977.

"Forty years is monumental," said GWCC General Manager Mark Zimmerman. "IPPE is like family. The fact that they've made Atlanta home is very big for all of us."

The expo’s direct economic impact to the state of Georgia is an estimated $39,490,000, with conventioneers filling downtown and metro hotel rooms, using local transportation outfits, eating at Atlanta-area restaurants, patronizing nearby attractions and utilizing other services.

Alicia McNease
Public Relations Specialist 
Georgia World Congress Center 
404.223.4000 (phone) / 404.223.4211 (fax)
amcnease@gwcc.com

Located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, the Georgia World Congress Center features 1.4 million square feet of prime exhibit space, 12 exhibit halls, 106 meeting rooms and 2 grand ballrooms. Complemented by the Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park, the three facilities comprise one of the finest convention, sports, and entertainment complexes in the world.

PRESS RELEASE

Falcons celebrate 50 seasons with enhanced fan-friendly fare on the GWCCA campus

Atlanta, GA (September 14, 2015) Besides the sight of state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz Stadium rising up rapidly right next to the Georgia Dome on the Georgia World Congress Center Authority’s downtown Atlanta campus, there are plenty of new twists in store for Atlanta Falcons fans when the regular season – the team’s 50th - kicks off tonight against the Philadelphia Eagles, the first game of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” doubleheader.

For starters, there’s a new field general roaming the sidelines as Dan Quinn makes his debut as an NFL head coach. The Falcons’ 16th head coach, Quinn comes to Atlanta from Seattle where he served as the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator, helming the league’s top-ranked defense the past two seasons.

And also on the turf, astute fans will notice that 50-yard markers (the actual numbers) at midfield are painted gold this year, commemorating the Falcons’ half a century in Atlanta and also a tie in to the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl, also reflected in on-field NFL shield logos in each stadium which will be – you guessed it – painted gold. Also, each end zone at the Dome features the Falcons 50 seasons anniversary logo.

As for the on-field action, the NFL is encouraging teams to go for more 2-point conversions with extra-point kicks now teed up from the 15-yard line; and the rule change also awards the defense two points on extra point/2-point conversions that are returned.

For the 2015 season, many of the Falcons’ in-game and pre-game programming and promotions will highlight the team’s 50th anniversary, according to Mike Gomes, Senior Vice President of Fan Experience for AMB Sports & Entertainment.

For instance, a few minutes prior tonight’s 7:10 kickoff, actor Samuel L. Jackson, who has starred in the team’s “Rise Up” campaign, will narrate a new inspirational video homage to the Falcons’ 50 seasons. “I’d like to get fans in their seats for that,” said Gomes.

For pre-game activities, an expanded food and beverage hospitality area, with more tables and chairs under a large tent and more open-air high-top tables and low-tops with umbrellas and ample seating than in previous years will be set up at Falcons Landing, a free gathering spot for fans at International Plaza, between the Georgia Dome, Phillips Arena and the Georgia World Congress Center. Underneath the tent, fans can watch pre-game coverage and the NFL Network on three large-screen hi-def TVs (one 90-inch, and two 60-inches).

In addition to the usual pep-rally-like atmosphere featuring Falcons cheerleaders, the Falcons Drumline and Freddie Falcon, live music, face-painting, interactive games and other activities, there will be some new food and beverage options in rotation this season at Falcons Landing. New offerings include fare from Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q and Deep Eddy Vodka bars featuring Karma Tequila.

Falcons Landing opens three hours prior to each home game, which means the party starts at 4 p.m. today.

Inside the Dome, there’s a new dining option for hungry fans as Atlanta-based Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q has set up shop in the Main Concourse and Mezzanine Level. The upper level Fox Bros. outlet will specialize in smoked chicken wings, while the lower level spot will serve a full array of barbecue items, including pulled pork sandwiches and beef brisket sandwiches. A couple of other new food options available at Dome concession stands include Philly steak nachos and Buffalo chicken waffle fries.

As with last season, 1,500 parking spaces have vanished due to the new stadium construction, but some relief is on the horizon as a new 600-space parking garage, the Mangum Street Deck, is nearing completion adjacent to the Red Deck and International Plaza. It is expected to be fully operational by mid-season.

Kent Kimes
Sr. Staff Writer
Georgia World Congress Center Authority 

Alicia McNease
Public Relations Specialist 
Georgia World Congress Center 
404.223.4000 (phone) / 404.223.4211 (fax)
amcnease@gwcc.com

Located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, the Georgia World Congress Center features 1.4 million square feet of prime exhibit space, 12 exhibit halls, 106 meeting rooms and 2 grand ballrooms. Complemented by the Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park, the three facilities comprise one of the finest convention, sports, and entertainment complexes in the world.
 

PRESS RELEASE

GWCCA campus first convention center/sports-entertainment venue to attain StormReady® status

Atlanta, GA (August 27, 2015) When a tornado ripped through downtown Atlanta on March 14, 2008 leaving a swath of destruction, including considerable damage to the Georgia World Congress Center, Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park, it served as a galvanizing event for weather-related emergency management preparation.

Seven years later, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA) has stepped up its severe weather preparedness game under a new Public Safety Director/Chief of Police, earning a new seal of approval from the National Weather Service (NWS).

In a ceremony held today at the Georgia World Congress Center’s C101 Auditorium, the NWS officially presented the GWCCA and its properties with StormReady® Supporter certification, the first such designation for a convention center-and-sports-entertainment complex in the country.

There are sports venues – including eight Major League Baseball stadiums, two NFL stadiums (Buffalo Bills’ Ralph Wilson Stadium and MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, shared by the N.Y. Giants and N.Y. Jets) – indoor arenas and civic centers on the StormReady® Supporter list according to NWS data, but not a combined facility such as the GWCCA’s campus, which includes the Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park and 3.9 million-square-foot GWCC convention and expo center.

“So I think it is correct to say that the Georgia World Congress Center Authority is the first convention center and sports-entertainment complex in the nation to receive StormReady® Supporter recognition,” said Kent Frantz, Senior Service Hydrologist at the Weather Forecast Office in Peachtree City and the Georgia StormReady® Coordinator, who presented the award.

The designation recognizes local governments, universities, schools, businesses, retail centers, museums, venues and public facilities for reaching a high level of severe weather preparedness.

“The National Weather Service recognized the Georgia World Congress Center Authority as a StormReady® Supporter for enhancing public safety by promoting the principles and guidelines of StormReady®, a hazardous weather and safety awareness program,” according to a press release issued by the agency.

For GWCCA Public Safety Director/Chief of Police John Bauer, the StormReady® certification signifies a change in culture where emergency preparedness plays an ever-increasing role in law enforcement, public safety and facility management.

“We’re getting more prepared,” he said. “We’re open for improvement and we want to continue to challenge ourselves to be better.”

To achieve StormReady® status, the GWCCA had to meet the following criteria which were checked by an onsite audit by NWS staff:

• Establish an Emergency Operations Center and a local 24-hour warning point.
• Have multiple ways of receiving NWS warnings.
• Actively monitor local river and weather conditions.
• Have various ways of alerting public, guests and patrons about emergency weather conditions.
• Use community seminars and presentations to promote public readiness.
• Formalize a hazardous weather plan.
• Maintain trained spotters.
• Conduct periodic exercises and drills.
   

“It doesn’t mean you are storm-proof; rather how and what you do when severe storms are occurring” said Frantz.

What it does mean is that GWCCA provides staff and management with safety and communication skills paramount to saving lives and property in the event of a severe storm – and being a designated supporter means the organization promotes and follows the guidelines of the StormReady® program.

“It’s about how you receive the warnings,” said Frantz. “It’s action based on our warnings. What do you do with it? That’s were training comes in to play.”
Bauer, who became the GWCCA’s Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety in December 2014, previously served as Chief of Police at Marietta’s Southern Polytechnic State University, a StormReady® partner since 2011.

After taking the helm at GWCCA, he immediately began looking for ways to implement his 90-day plan for improvement and earmarked the StormReady program because he was already familiar with the ins and outs of it.

“I’d been through the process before with the insight how to do it,” he said. “I want to do as much as I possibly can to improve the level of safety here.”

Senior Service Hydrologist at the Weather Forecast Center Kent Frantz and GWCCA Directory of Public Safety John Bauer

Kent Kimes
Sr.  Staff Writer

Alicia McNease
Public Relations Specialist 
Georgia World Congress Center 
404.223.4000 (phone) / 404.223.4211 (fax)
amcnease@gwcc.com

Located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, the Georgia World Congress Center features 1.4 million square feet of prime exhibit space, 12 exhibit halls, 106 meeting rooms and 2 grand ballrooms. Complemented by the Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park, the three facilities comprise one of the finest convention, sports, and entertainment complexes in the world.
 

PRESS RELEASE

Sister Act Von Grey Ready To Rock Brew On The Bricks With Edgy New Sounds

Atlanta, GA (August 25, 2015) The four sisters of Atlanta-based indie folk/pop/rock band von Grey have been a self-contained performing unit for most of their young lives, originally as a classical string and piano quartet playing at recitals, weddings and other formal settings. Each sibling started classical training when she turned five-years-old with lessons twice a week, but the lure of pop music came a-calling, and the sisters began to expand beyond violin, viola, cello and piano. They learned rock, Top 40, country and folk instruments, branching out on guitar, mandolin, banjo, percussion and electronic keyboards, playing songs by the likes of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tracy Chapman.

They released two independent EPs, played late night TV shows, and hit the national festival circuit concocting a sound that blended elements of their classical training with the burgeoning folk rock revival of bands such as Mumford & Sons with a splash of Americana and Celtic roots – while elements of electronica began to surface.

But on the band’s brand new third EP, "Panophobia," the electronic and modern vibes hinted at in previous work is in full force, as displayed on the EP's first beat-laden single "Katie" and the gospel-y follow-up "Forever Bound."

“While older artists might find a stylistic groove and stay in it, von Grey has quickly evolved into something a little dancier, a little more electronic, and a lot louder,” said Josh Johnson, editor of Atlanta’s pop culture magazine Paste, which dubbed von Grey as one of the 100 Great Bands to See at SXSW (South By Southwest Music Festival) 2013. “There are a lot of influences going on here, from folk to rock and pop to more orchestral stuff. They've hit upon their own sound, especially on the new EP. Their classical background meshes well with the electronic elements on Panophobia.”

Hometown fans will have the chance to check out von Grey’s new sound, image and stage act at the next installment of Centennial Olympic Park’s Rec Warehouse Brew on the Bricks concert series set for Thursday evening (Aug. 27) at the Southern Company Amphitheater, with local opening act, singer-songwriters Kate and Corey.

The Brew on the Bricks series – which showcases local and regional rock and country artists – kicked off in July with a blistering headlining performance by up-and-coming country artist Drake White and The Big Fire: http://www.centennialpark.com/index.php/news/hot-new-concert-series-debut-beats-the-evening-heat-at-centennial-olympic-park.

In addition, each Brew on the Bricks event features a rotating selection of craft beers along with cocktails from Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward Distillery. Thursday’s featured craft beer selections are from Atlanta’s Orpheus Brewing. You can read more about Orpheus’ Brew on the Bricks selections here:

ttp://www.centennialpark.com/index.php/news/its-no-myth-atlantas-orpheus-brewing-in-the-spotlight-at-brew-on-the-bricks

Meanwhile, von Grey is no stranger to the Park, having performed here before at the Independence Day celebration in 2013, and organizers say the foursome is a natural fit for Brew on the Bricks.

Mike Kee, Events Manager for Brew on the Bricks radio station partners Kicks 101.5 and Rock 100.5, saw von Grey perform in Sandy Springs when the sisters were still very young, and as he watched their career develop, he kept them on his radar as an act he’d like to book.

“It was all about finding the right gig. And I thought exposing them to a new audience at Brew on the Bricks would be a perfect opportunity,” said Kee.

The von Grey family moved frequently while vocalist/keyboardist/violinist/guitarist Annika von Grey, 20, was growing up, including stints in Pittsburgh, San Francisco and London, but settled in the Johns Creek area, where the youngest sibling, 15-year-old Petra (keyboards/percussion/background vocals), was born. All four sisters are multi-instrumentalists and Fiona, 17, plays keyboards, percussion, violin and guitar while also singing and Kathryn, 21, handles cello, bass, keyboards and background vocals. The sisters have all moved into the city, residing in the Midtown and Virginia-Highland areas, according to Annika, who is the group’s unofficial spokesperson.

When they’re not performing, rehearsing or recording new music, the von Grey sisters can be found partaking in “nature focused” activities, said Annika, such as hiking and camping, and promoting vegetarian and vegan lifestyles.

But mostly, it’s about music – and feeding obsessions for learning – and acquiring – new instruments.

Whereas some of the tunes on the new EP “Panophobia” may sound like current Top 40 fare, the von Grey sisters differ from many contemporary pop acts because they perform and write their own material. They’re not singers fronting a band of hired hands – they are the band.

“Honestly, what caught my attention initially was their ages, but you quickly forget that listening to the band,” said Jackson. “These girls are some of the most talented musicians you'll see playing pop music today.”

But Annika says longtime fans should not worry that “Panophobia,” which the band’s website describes as “a departure from their earthy, folk-infused earlier work,” and delves “into an ambient/electro sound marked by moody synth and heady beats” sacrifices the group’s trademark use of classical instrumentation.

“Classical music has been a huge part of our development,” said Annika. “We’ve got a lot more electric guitar and keyboard sounds now, but we keep the cello and violin as an integral part of the sound – it’s still very prominent.”

But when the girls take the Southern Company Amphitheater stage on Thursday, there’ll be another new wrinkle because they’ll be joined by a live drummer, Takashi Takemura, augmenting and bolstering the band’s electronic and acoustic percussion.

“I haven't seen the band play live with a drummer yet, but listening to their album, it's easy to imagine a much more energetic show,” said Paste’s Jackson.

Tickets for Brew on the Bricks are $5, available at the gate, or in advance at www.freshtix.com (plus $1.24 fee).

Gates open at 5 p.m. and music starts at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are for admission to the event only; beverages and other concessions must be purchased separately. Parking for Brew on the Bricks is available in the Red Deck off Andrew Young International Boulevard – and you can purchase $10 parking passes via Freshtix.com as well. Coolers, glass containers, pets, chairs, large umbrellas, tents and grills are prohibited. All bags are subject to search. This is a 21-and-older event.

Brew on the Bricks is presented by Rec Warehouse, United Distributors, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority Event Development team, the Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta Movie Tours. For more information, visit www.centennialpark.com.

 Kent Kimes 
Sr. Staff Writer 
Georgia World Congress Center Authority 
404.223.4019 (phone) / 404.223.4211 (fax) 
kkimes@gwcc.com

FOR INQUIRES AND PRESS CREDENTIALING:
Morgan Smith-Williams 
Public Relations Specialist 
msmith-williams@centennialpark.com 
404.223.4013

Alicia McNease
Public Relations Specialist 
Georgia World Congress Center 
404.223.4000 (phone) / 404.223.4211 (fax)
amcnease@gwcc.com

Located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, the Georgia World Congress Center features 1.4 million square feet of prime exhibit space, 12 exhibit halls, 106 meeting rooms and 2 grand ballrooms. Complemented by the Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park, the three facilities comprise one of the finest convention, sports, and entertainment complexes in the world.