Cristy Berg, CTSMCodonics Inc.
Something Subtle Changed
I was just barely out of college when I interviewed with Codonics for a trade show marketing position, and my only experience with trade shows was that I'd been to the Cleveland Boat Show once. I wasn't planning to go into this industry — I had every intention of using my communications degree to be a TV anchor — but somehow I got the job, and there I was in this with absolutely no show experience. The company was small at the time — I think I was employee #32 — and no one had been in the position for about six months before they hired me. So on my first day, they showed me to an office that had a table piled 3 feet high with mail no one had opened for months, and they told me I would be heading up their first international show coupled with distributor training happening the following month in Vienna. I'd never even been out of the country — and in trade show terms, I didn't know what a marshalling yard was or what a freight forwarder really did, and I had no idea what to do when our freight didn't show up. I really didn't know what I was doing even though everyone was looking to me for answers – including where to eat (was that in the job description?!) -- and I cried into my pillow many times during those two weeks overseas, absolutely beside myself.
About six months later, Codonics decided to build their first custom exhibit — a 30-by-50-foot double deck — and nobody had any experience with that, so I needed to pave the way. I had no clue how to do it but I knew this was a critical project and I was eager to shine. I wanted to make sure I had enough options for us to choose from, so I reached out to eight different exhibit companies for proposals. My phone rang off the hook and I quickly learned that less would have been more. They all had questions and so many decisions needed to be made that I couldn't even sleep at night. I ended up keeping a pencil and paper on my nightstand because there was just too much to keep track of. It was overwhelming, but that was before I knew about EXHIBITOR and CTSM.
That was 17 years ago, and since then, I went from being Codonics marketing communication specialist to their vice president of communications, and I believe getting my CTSM had a lot to do with that. Sure, I learned things just by being the one who had to fill out the forms and attend the shows, but it wasn't until I took CTSM classes that I really learned how things are supposed to run in a trade show program. It took me a long time to get my CTSM — I had two babies during the process, and I was really intimidated by the portfolio at first — but I loved going to classes and learning over the years, and it was incredibly gratifying to complete my certification. Also, I can't say enough about my advisor, who kept me going by assuring me I was on the right track all the way through.
I completed my second custom booth build in 2011 – and my process this time was a far cry from what I went through back in 1997. All my training and experience gave me so much confidence — I really knew exactly what I was doing this time around. The CTSM program not only helped me find confidence, it also put me in contact with a lot of professionals I would need to call on over the years, both friends and suppliers. When I got my CTSM in 2013, despite the respect I had earned over the years at Codonics, something subtle changed. I'm definitely seen as the company's expert, and when there's a question, there's a knock on my door — and thanks to EXHIBITOR, I have the confidence and expertise to lead the company in the right direction. It's a great feeling.