It’s been a long time since InfoComm was held in Las Vegas—four years, as AVIXA CEO David Labuskes pointed out in his opening remarks to kick off the show. The convention last graced the Las Vegas Convention Center in 2019, and while much has changed since then, the sea of smiling faces that attended Wednesday morning’s ceremonial ribbon cutting showed that the industry is ready and eager to make up for lost time.
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“We are so happy that you are here—but I think, when I look out across this crowd, we're only half as happy as you are,” quipped Labuskes. “This is the only place and time in North America where the entire ecosystem of the AV industry gathers—from the geeks to the artists, from the manufacturers to the inventors, to the distributors, to the installers, to those who've been in the industry for 50 years and those who've been in the industry for 50 days. You're here to learn from each other. You're here to share your experiences. You're here to have jaw-dropping experiences, to see innovations, to touch things you haven't been able to see or feel or hear for way too long. And I know that you are excited!” A cheery roar from the crowd confirmed that suspicion.
After acknowledging the help and support of InfoComm’s Presenting Show sponsor, Samsung; Strategic Show partners, Blackmagic and Crestron; and Supporting Show sponsor, Exertis|Almo, Labuskes invited the 2022 AVIXA Board of Directors up onstage to help cut the ceremonial ribbon. Joining him to put a bevy of oversized novelty scissors to good use were Catherine Lai, Secretary and Treasurer (chief commercial officer, OpenBet); Sam Phenix, chair of the board of directors (CEO, Magwire; founder, Phenix Consulting); Jon Sidwick, leadership search committee chair (president, Colabtech Group); and Martin Saul, vice chair (CEO, ICAP Global).
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With the announcement, “Unless you want to wait a couple more years, we're gonna cut a ribbon and open the show,” the group proceeded to do just that as a marching band burst out from behind the stage to lead the crowd to the show floor with its joyous rendition of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy,” a song choice that captured the mood perfectly.
