Hidden Gems: Meet Sarah Waschler of Expos and Events

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Waschler.

Hi Sarah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Like many people in the events business, I fell into this industry by luck. As a teenager, I often helped plan events for my youth group, and in college, I ran the events for my sorority and student council. It never occurred to me that this could be a viable career path until I volunteered for Senator McCain’s presidential campaign in 2000, where I supported his Advance Team that managed his events. I then took a “Conferences and Expositions” course in my final semester of college, and my professor put me in touch with the publisher of “Event Solutions” magazine. I started working for them right after college as a tradeshow assistant supporting the Event Solutions Conference & Expo. I was fortunate enough to work for the parent organization for 21+ years, including after its acquisition by Informa, which is one of the largest Tradeshow Organizers in the world. I spent these years working in event operations for events ranging in size from 100-15,000.

My last 7 years with Informa focused on events in the Tech industry, but I also supported tradeshows in the natural products, self-storage, and medical industries. I loved doing my part to help build communities together and foster connections at each event. In addition to my professional work, I have been a volunteer for the Swift Youth Foundation. Swift has been around for over 40 years and provides life-changing experiences to economically disadvantaged kids in the Phoenix community. At the same time, Swift aims to empower teens and young adult volunteers to provide positive mentorship to the communities it serves, developing leadership skills in the process.

In addition to year-round afterschool programs, the foundation puts on Camp Swift which is a free sleepaway camp experience that provides amazing experiences to its campers, while simultaneously providing teen counselors an opportunity to volunteer and make an impact in their community. I was lucky enough to volunteer for Camp Swift from 1993-2003 as a counselor, support staff member, and Co-Camp Director. After a break, I returned recently as a volunteer which has been very fulfilling. My most memorable moment was having my teenage daughter join me this past summer while she served as a volunteer counselor for the first time.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am fortunate to say that overall, my journey in events has been a mostly smooth road. Since I started working in the tradeshow industry in 2000, I worked through some turbulent times such as the dot.com crash and the 2008 recession. I happened to be working a tradeshow in DC over 9/11, which was a very sobering experience. One of the biggest challenges I experienced was when COVID hit, which absolutely devastated the live events industry.

In early March 2020, our team was getting ready to fly to Las Vegas to set up our 6,000-person tradeshow, which we ended up having to cancel just one day before our move-in was to scheduled to begin. We pivoted quickly from live events to virtual events which was the biggest and most abrupt shift in my career. I heard one person refer to the events industry converting from Blockbuster to Netflix in 6 months, which really rang true for me.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Expos and Events LLC?
I recently launched my freelance event management business, Expos and Events LLC. I specialize in supporting tradeshow and conference organizers with both their pre-show and onsite event management needs. I support my clients with sponsorship & exhibitor management, speaker/conference management, F&B orders, vendor and venue sourcing, graphic production, and more. I also am available to assist with virtual event management and internal/client meetings.

This is a brand new endeavor for me, and I am really excited to continue to work with the tradeshow industry. In addition to my freelance business, I have also recently begun to for the Venture Cafe on their events team. The Venture Cafe is a weekly gathering that supports the innovation ecosystem in Phoenix. I participated in a few events in 2022, first as an attendee and then as a volunteer.

The excitement and energy at the Thursday Gatherings are tangible, and I am so excited to now officially be a part of this incredible team.

What does success mean to you?
I define success as being able to work with people and brands that inspire me, while still prioritizing what really matters in life, which is my family (my husband, Jeff, and our two kids, Abigail, and Sydney).

Contact Info:

• Website: www.exposandeventsllc.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-waschler-cem-5a2b828/

Image Credits
Alex Kahe