Approximately 95 industry professionals gathered on the famed Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, for conference sessions, exhibits and networking at Tent Conference 2014, an annual event of the Tent Rental Division (TRD) of ATA.

At the 2014 annual business meeting, board chair Dan Nolan of Tents Unlimited addressed the membership on the division’s accomplishments in 2013, initiatives for moving forward and the 2015 Tent Expo. TRD is committed to educating code officials about proper tent installation. The TRD’s Code Committee, chaired by Bravo Events’ Tom Markle, is working on behalf of its membership to prevent restrictive codes that would have a negative impact on the profitability and sustainability of member businesses and the overall safety of the industry. More information about the committee’s recommendations will be available soon.

Also at the annual business meeting, membership approved having the TRD consider a project focused on load requirements for generic tents, structures and canopies. The objective is to provide tent rental professionals with a means to calculate staking or ballasting loads needed for any size tent, structure or canopy without having specific engineering analysis for that individual unit. The steering committee will keep membership informed about details and follow protocol for moving forward.

Tent Expo 2015 will be held January 29–30 at the Renaissance SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla. Training sessions will be January 28. The Tent Rental Division (TRD) will have 275,000 square feet of exhibit space to showcase the industry’s advancements, including the latest structures. Workshops with strategic, member-driven educational content and networking functions will ensure that attendees have access to resources that support their companies’ success.