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For a Reason, by Timothy
Schneider, Publisher, Association News
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Los
Angeles, CA – September 2014 / Newsmaker Alert / Association events
are attended by a variety of people within the particular profession or
trade the association serves and, as such, provide many opportunities to
build lasting professional relationships. Part of the appeal of attending
conventions and trade shows is that you never know whom you will meet –
including the person who might give you the biggest break of your career,
which is what happened to Danny Heinsohn.
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 After
graduating from college in May 1999, Danny had plans to backpack across
Europe and move to Colorado or Arizona to start a career as an electrical
engineer. Instead, at the age of 23, he was diagnosed with a malignant
brain tumor and endured three craniotomies, followed by 12 months of chemotherapy.
The
cancer treatment may have delayed Danny’s trip to Europe, but it did not
stop him from living life – he attended concerts, took indoor cycling classes
and, on one occasion, waited in line for more than two hours to obtain
a ski pass. After his last round of chemo, as Danny writes in his memoir,
“For A Reason,” it was time to get back to business. He landed a job at
Access Pass & Design, a company that creates live-event credentials,
backstage passes and VIP badges, and whose clients include Nike, NBC and
various sports teams and musical artists.
It
was while he was representing his company at a meeting of the International
Association of Arena Managers that he met the woman he said gave him “the
biggest break” of his career. That woman, Lisa Furfine, was the event manager
for TEAMS, the leading conference
and expo for the sports-event industry, which is organized by SportsTravel,
sister publication of Association News. Lisa convinced Danny to
exhibit, and it was at TEAMS 2004 in Houston that Danny began a relationship
with our company that continues to this day. In the years that followed,
Danny landed his first deal with the New York Yankees, won the business
of several universities and established his company’s highest-grossing
account.
In
2010, the 10-year mark after his final round of chemo, Danny created “My
Hometown Heroes,” a scholarship fund for young adult cancer survivors,
and trained to compete in his first Ironman triathlon. At the time of his
diagnosis in 1999, the median survival rate for his type of cancer was
five years. In his book, Danny writes that he believes that everyone needs
a bit of luck to catch a break. He feels it was luck that led to his job
at Access Pass & Design and then to the association meeting and the
conference that would launch his career in the sports industry. “Luck is
what happens when we try harder, give more or surround ourselves with the
right people,” writes Danny.
Stories
such as Danny’s provide real inspiration for us in our role as the organizers
of TEAMS and the Meetings Quest
trade-show series. For further information on Meetings Quest in Cabarrus
County, North Carolina, which will be held September 9–10, see
the special section starting on page 16, visit MeetingsQuest.com
or call toll-free 877-577-3700. To learn more about Danny or purchase a
copy of “For A Reason,” visit DannyHeinsohn.com.
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 Timothy
Schneider is the publisher of Association
News and SportsTravel
magazines, which serve group travel planners responsible for generating
106 million hotel room nights annually. Schneider
Publishing also organizes Meetings
Quest, America's longest-running series of trade shows for meeting
planners, and the TEAMS Conference
& Expo, the world’s largest gathering of sports-event organizers.
TEAMS '14 is being held in Las Vegas, November 10-13, 2014. For further
information on advertising or sponsorship opportunities, please call toll-free
877-577-3700 or 310-577-3700 if calling from outside the United States.
The
current issue of Association
News can be viewed in digital format online by clicking
here.
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Media
Contact:
Timothy
Schneider
310-577-3700
Schneider
Publishing Company, Inc. |
