Registration for InfoComm 2013 began Wednesday, Feb. 6, and InfoComm International Executive Director and CEO David Labuskes marked the occasion by discussing his first month-plus in his new job as the head of the commercial A/V industry’s leading trade organization.

He stressed the importance of raising awareness of the $78 billion A/V industry’s value to the outside world and boosting InfoComm’s profile outside of the industry, while providing maximum service to the organization’s members by providing expanded training and resources.

“We’ve built an organization that’s strong, has a global presence, we’ve developed certification and education and training,” Labuskes said. “Now where you see us moving is towards the strengthening of standards, the strengthening of benchmarking so that we can help our members be more effective in demonstrate why they are of value to their customers. If I can do that, if I can help the members do that and secure a position as a valued partner for their clients than I’ll have felt like I’ve been successful.”

Labuskes also discussed the challenges of his new position, and the ways that the InfoComm staff have helped him ease into his new role.

Last month InfoComm released a 162-point checklist designed to give end users and integrators a set of comprehensive verification criteria to determine if an A/V system achieves the client’s objectives and is performing in accordance with the system design. The organization has also streamlined its membership categories from over a dozen, Labuskes said, to just two: company and individual. He pointed to these as just two initiatives that the organization has undertaken already this year to benefit its members.

Meanwhile, InfoComm 2013 is slated to continue its trend of growth that continued even during the leanest years of the recession. More than 10,000 products from over 900 companies will be featured during the six-day event that will be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., this year. It will feature more than 500,000 net square feet of show floor, exhibits and special events space and InfoComm officials predict it will top 35,000 attendees.

In addition to all of the usual demonstration activity on the show floor catering to a broad spectrum of market sectors, including business, government, military, education, worship, healthcare, hospitality, retail and entertainment, this year’s show will also be marked by expanded education and networking opportunities. InfoComm will be held from June 8 – June 14. Attendee registration is now available at infocommshow.org.

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Aaron Stern - Managing Editor

Prior to becoming the managing editor of CI, Aaron was a content editor for TechDecisions. As a reporter he has covered local, national and international news. Follow him on Twitter: @aarondstern.

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