Welcome

Welcome to the first edition of Conventional Wisdom, the newsletter of the Paducah McCracken County Convention and Expo Center.

We will be using this e-newsletter to let you, our stakeholders, know what is happening down by the river. We will give you updates on events, bring you inside the facility for some great photos, and let you know how to get in touch with us to book your next meeting, banquet, reception or trade show.

We hope you enjoy it.

Meet Our Lobby

Each month, Conventional Wisdom will feature a room in our facility and give you some ideas of what can be held there and how many people we can accommodate. This month, we feature the Convention Center Lobby. Before last year’s renovation, this space was simply not suitable to use for a function. Now, with new carpet, lighting and fresh paint, and floor-to-ceiling windows, the two-story high Convention Center Atrium Lobby is perfect for elegant dinners for up to 120 people. It makes a great wedding reception location or is perfect for a grand registration for an event elsewhere in the Center.

The Purchase Area Sexual Assault and Child Advocacy Center recently hosted their annual Men That Cook fundraiser in the River Ballroom at the Convention Center. The event boasts around 300 attendees and raises money for the stellar work done by the agency throughout the year.

After outgrowing the Carson Center, the success of the event led them to a larger venue. They were thrilled with the results.

Mary Foley, executive director of PASAC said, “We were so happy with the facility. The renovations are amazing and we had more space than we have ever had before. Plus, we didn’t even use the whole ballroom, so our event still has plenty of room to grow.”

The Convention Center was pleased to host this event for PASAC and, since the agency is a non-profit organization, the Center was able to work in several discounts to make sure the cost of renting the facility met their budget.

If your non-profit organization is looking for an event venue, consider the Convention Center. Just visit PaducahConventions.com for more information. Just don’t try and book the second week of March in 2011. The Men That Cook event is already holding the space for next year!

Are you looking for place to hold an outdoor picnic, but don’t want to leave the weather to chance? Why not bring the outdoors in and consider holding your event in the Expo Center. Last fall, Mid-Continent University began talking about hosting a “Celebrity Weekend” to raise dollars and awareness for their new campus that will be built in Paducah.

They decided to leverage the connection of their new Athletic Director and bring in the University of Kentucky Wildcats 1977-1978 Championship Team. Mid-Continent University ultimately decided to hold a weekend of events including a golf scramble, and invitation only fundraising dinner and a picnic-style meet and greet for the public.

Not wanting to leave the weather to chance, Mid-Continent University hosted the event in the Expo Center. The open floor plan and high ceilings allowed them to set up basketball goals for a free-throw shootout and even bring in their signature yellow Mid-Continent Hummer to park next to the activities.

After hundreds of hot dogs, hamburgers and soft drinks were served, guests got to listen to the Championship Team relive their victory and watch clips from the Big Game on giant video screens.

Every year, the Expo Center hosts trade shows, the Home Builders Association Home and Garden Show, the American Quilters Society Quilt Show and Contest and more. However, the 40,000-plus square feet is suitable for all kinds of events – like an outdoor picnic indoors.

For more information or to book the Expo, just visit
our website at www.PaducahConventions.com.