Judy Geller - Building the METALCON Experience - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with METALCON Tradeshow Director Judy Geller. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro: Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Metalcast from Metal Coffee Shop. My name is Karen Edwards and today's episode is going to bring you a sneak preview of everything in store for Metalcon 2025. And Judy Geller is the trade show director for Metalcon. Judy, welcome to the program. 

Judy Geller: To be here, thanks for having me, Karen. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, so, wow, Metal Con is just growing. Every year that I attend, it has gotten bigger and bigger and the interest is there. And we're gonna be in a new location. Last year we were in Atlanta, I think, is that right? And they all, you know, there's so many of them. They keep coming. And this year we're gonna be in Las Vegas. Yeah. 

Judy Geller: Back to Vegas we go. Always an exciting show when we're in Vegas. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, so Judy, tell us a little bit about you and how long you've been working on the Metal Con show. 

Judy Geller: Yeah. Gosh, it's hard to believe, but I joined PSMJ, which is the company that produces Metal Con. It's almost six years. So yeah, my first show was supposed to be 2020, but if you recall, that didn't turn out to be such a wonderful year because of COVID. I actually ended up canceling the show in 2020. So 2021 in Tampa was the first physically floored Metalcon that I produced. But you know, there's kind of a silver lining in every cloud. We ended up developing Metalcon online. We started, you know, doing online education in 2020. So it's turned out to be okay. And fortunately, Metalcon came back with a roar and we've never looked back. 

Karen Edwards: It did. It did, yeah, yeah. And you've done such a great job bringing new ideas and new things to the event, which is really cool because a lot of times people have, they've gone to this event for a long time, right? And so everyone always wants to know what's new, what's different. But before we dive into the details, what are the dates for everyone to write this down, mark your calendar?  

Judy Geller: Yeah. Mark your calendars. It's October 21st to the 23rd in Las Vegas. And one thing I want to point out that's a little different this year is Mellocon is usually a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday show. This year it's Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So pay attention to the dates. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So you're to come in a little bit earlier but you get to leave a little bit earlier. So just want to put that out there. 

Karen Edwards: I'm always curious when dates shift or days of the week shift. Is that from attendee feedback or is it just kind of venue scheduling? 

Judy Geller: Little bit of both actually. I was curious to try the pattern a little bit differently. Sometimes it's possible and sometimes it's not. The trade show calendar, it's very, very crowded. As you know, there's a trade show for everything out there. But in this case, we had the opportunity to give it a try. But so we'll see how it goes. Next year, we're in Orlando, which I think is also going to be amazing. And we are back to our Wednesday, Thursday, Friday pattern. I think that's going to be fantastic too, because I think a lot of people are going to want to stay in Orlando for the weekend and bring the family. you know, with Metalcon, I don't think it matters that much. Our attendees come and they love the show. So, we'll see. We'll see what happens. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, yeah, I love it when you can tack on a few days before or a few days after and bring the family. It always makes it fun. So, you recently have announced your keynote speakers, just in the last couple of weeks. Do want to tell us a little bit about who they are and what they'll be talking about?  

Judy Geller: Yeah, so this year is really a very special year with a special theme for a lot of reasons. So we have two keynotes this year and I'm looking over at my computer because I want to make sure I get the title of our Clint Romeshaw, our headline keynote exactly right. Clint is a retired US Army service member and he was awarded a Medal of Honor by President Obama and he is going to be our main keynote. There was actually a movie about him, you may or may not remember, he was, sorry Karen, I'm spacing out for a second here, trying to pull this up. 

Karen Edwards: That's okay. Yeah. No, this is really important. I've got it pulled up in front of me as well just to see a little bit more. 

Judy Geller: Yeah, you're going to have to edit this for a second. But. Okay, so, so Clint Romeshaw is our headline keynote and he was he's a retired US Army Staff Sergeant and a Medal of Honor recipient. And he wrote a New York Times bestselling book called Red Platoon, the true story of American valor. And he was also portrayed in a Netflix series called Medal 

And he's just an amazing, amazing, amazing man. And we're excited to hear from him. And he's really going to talk about whether you're leading a team or navigating personal trials or mentoring the next generation. He's going to inspire you to continue to move forward, always forward with integrity, focus and strength drawn from within. So.  

Judy Geller: We're excited to have him there. And then our second keynote is Alex Trosofsky. And I heard him speak at the MCA winter meeting. You heard him too, I think, Karen. We were at the same meeting. 

Karen Edwards: I did, I did, yeah and he really took things that I didn't always understand and helped me understand them. 

Judy Geller: Yeah, he was great. I got a lot of emails and texts about him. I like, Judy, you got to get this guy from MetalCon. So I did. He's the director of analytics and consulting with the Bundy Group. So he is really going to talk about the industry and trends and tariffs. And he's going to put it all into context for us and just kind of help us understand like what is going on in the metal construction industry, what do we need to be on the lookout for? How is it going to impact our business going forward? So I think we're all going to leave that keynote that much smarter for sure. So those are our two big keynotes this year. 

Karen Edwards: Definitely, yeah, two really, really good ones. And I do recommend Alex, because like I said, he took what can be confusing and hard to understand and he made it really, really easy. He dumbed it down and I was like, okay, I understand this now. So, wow, this is gonna be fantastic. And beyond the keynotes, there's education that's happening throughout the show, right? With the different, I don't know if you call them areas, the experience areas. 

Judy Geller: Yep. Yep. Yep. We have so much education this year. And honestly, I think that this might be our best ever. We have learning centers on the show floor. The education on the show floor as always is free with the you know with your registration and 

We also have incredible workshops, pre-conference workshops. You can register for those. Those are in depth. You can really, you know, do some deep, deep, deep education, you know, deep dive education, learning there. And we've also introduced something new this year called master classes. So these are for some really experienced you know, installers and contractors, business owners. If you really want to deep dive into critical topics like lifetime roofing warranties, avoiding costly workers comp pitfalls, mastering building envelope performance, these are expert topics. We're going to have those there for you as well. 

And also, if you're ready to go early before the show floor even opens, we've got a couple of kickoff sessions that you're not going to want to miss. And those are, we've got one about fire safety, a couple of architects are going to be leading those. And then we have another morning kickoff session from Brian Zamora who worked for years for Frank Gehry's architecture firm. And he's going to be taking you on a personal walkthrough of many of Frank Gehry's big projects, including the Cleveland Clinic, the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, which is actually right in Las Vegas and also the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. 

Judy Geller: So there is so much education. You won't want to miss it. yeah and everything qualifies for AIA learning credits and also Florida GDSPR credits. I probably said that wrong. Florida credits as well. So there you have it. Yeah. 

Karen Edwards: Nice, yeah. Wow, so you've got sessions from the beginner to, like you said, the very advanced master experienced. And I like that, because I was just looking at the website and one of the free learning sessions is, is it time to open your own shop? You know, metal shop. And so there may be people that are thinking about that and this is the place to find those answers. I really like the show floor activities because walking around a trade show there's a lot to see and do. You're on your feet a lot. And sometimes it's nice just to sit down and take a load off and why not watch an education presentation and while you're you know resting your feet and your knees a little bit. 

Judy Geller: Yeah, you know, one of the things that we feel very, very strongly about is Metal Con is the only show that is really all about metal construction. We are very well aware that there are a lot of other shows out there. We know that there are plenty of roofing shows that you can choose to go to. There are other building shows. There are other fabrication shows. You all know what they are. We all know what they are. But this is the only show that completely focuses on the application of metal in construction and design. And we really take advantage of that. That's why we offer all this education focused on metal. Every expert in metal construction is at MetalCon. So this is all we're talking about. So if you are thinking about or you're involved in metal construction, whether it's in metal roofing or wall panels or whatever aspect it is or you're thinking about adding metal into your construction business. This is where you are going to have a chance to talk to the experts and see the products and get the education that you are not going to get at those other shows. At those other shows, the metal construction is in a corner. It's a piece of the show. This is where it's all about the whole show. And we really take advantage of that. This is what we do. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah and this is, it's about the whole building or the whole house. It's not just the roof. It's not just the walls. It's everything from the erectors to, like you said, the insulated metal panels. It's all there in one spot because there may be contractors that maybe they're doing metal roofing or maybe they're doing some part of the building using metal. And this is a great way to see what else is out there that can be expanded into. One of the things I want to really make sure that point out is the training zone area. That has been, I think this will be the third year or maybe fourth, third year and it gets bigger every year. think Sherwin Williams is involved in providing some of that training. John Sheridan and his crew are there and that is a hands-on area that you get to try it for yourself. That's really cool.  

Judy Geller: Yeah, they do. So absolutely. Sherwin Williams sponsors it. We couldn't do it without them. And then John Sheridan and his crew come in and they offer two and a half days of hands on training. And it is buzzing over there. They from, you the time the show floor opens in the morning until we throw them out of there at the end of the day pretty much they're over there with their yellow shirts on and they are in English and in Spanish showing installers and contractors how to really up skill themselves to finesse everything they do. So you know, they'll show you how to use the right tools, how to improve your techniques and they'll show you new techniques. And I know on the last day of the show, it's kind of one of the best kept secrets is as you can go over there and you can really get like one to one training. When they sort of, you know, don't have as formal sessions going on, you can get, as I said, you know, one on one training. Where they will show you specifically, answer your questions and show you specifically, you know, some things that you might want to know. So it really is, it's terrific. We love it over there. And then there are MCA, the Metal Construction Association, just, you know, down the aisle from them is running the metal mastery clinics over there. So they've got a whole set of hands-on training going over there as well, where they're showing best practices, different from what John has going on in the training zone. And this year we're going to be introducing some copper demonstrations over there, which is going to be really, really fun. So we're bringing in some expertise over there. So there's really lots of hands-on opportunity on the show floor this year. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, yeah, I love it. I don't know why anyone wouldn't go to Metalcon. It is just, it's so fun. I know. I'll be there. you know, Metal Coffee Shop, we will be there doing live video interviews with different people, attendees, exhibitors. So, you know, you can check that out because we did that last year. So if you're curious what Metalcon is like, you can go check those videos out on the Metal Coffee Shop YouTube channel. 

Judy Geller: I don't either. I'll be there. You'll be there. 

Karen Edwards: But I want to make sure that we take a few minutes today to talk about the one thing that MetalCon does every year is you give back to the community in some way. And I'd like you maybe to talk about that and what you're going to be doing this year. 

Judy Geller: Yeah, so this is probably one of my most favorite topics of the year. Well, I have a lot of favorite topics, but this really big. I mean, of course, when we're in Las Vegas, we do always give back to Semper Fi America's Fund. And I will just say before I launch into the other big project that we will be for Semper Fi doing a Valley of Fire Walk. 

That will be a guided tour on Monday, the day before the show floor opens. You can sign up for that and half that registration fee will go to Semper Fi America's Fund. And you can learn about that on metalcon.com. on our website and you can take that beautiful hike. But what Karen is leading me to is to talk about the Barn Dominium project. 

This is very cool. We are building a barn dominium for charity. And what is happening is on the show floor this year, we are working with a few partners. So in partnership with the Warriors Foundation and Scottsdale Construction Company, we are building the frame for a 2,500 square foot barn dominium will be at the center of the show floor this year. Scottsdale is manufacturing and assembling the frame on the floor. The frame will be set up when the show floor opens. And then there will be some other pieces of the barn dominium that we will be assembling as well. 

There will be some walls, there will be some samples of roof, there will be some other things that we're putting together right now. But this thing is massive. I think that I have just really learned how big exactly 2,500 square feet is. I do want to say that one of the other amazing partners we've worked with is the Barn Dominion Company. Oliver Bell and Stacey Lynn, designed the barn dominion and this is going to be completed. Well, let me back up. The frame that is going to be built at Metalcon is going to be disassembled after the show and it is going to be moved to Hall, Montana where it is then going to be finished during probably the 2026 year after the Montana winter. And it is going to become a retreat for warriors, for veterans and Gold Star families to use. And it is just going to be amazing. You can see the floor plan, a 3G floor plan for it on our website. There's all kinds of information about it, but it's going to be used, as I said, by families. It's going to be for hunting and fishing and skiing and whatever activities these veterans are going to be able to enjoy there. So it's pretty cool. And a lot of our exhibiting companies are invited to participate. We are currently asking for material donations as well as financial donations. And again, you can go to the metalcon.com website and we've got a form and you can participate and help us to build this amazing veterans retreat for our warriors. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, that's going to be so cool that you're going to have it assembled at the center of the show floor. And yeah, 2,500 square feet. That is a lot of space. 

Judy Geller: Gonna be cool. It's a lot of space. It really is. Yeah. 

Karen Edwards: But you know, barn dominiums have really been the hot thing the last couple of years, right? So this is a really great opportunity to help educate folks that are coming to Metal Con, because maybe they've not dabbled in the barn dominium space and they're thinking about it because they see that rise in popularity. So they can check it out, learn about it, you know and then it's going to go to benefit the warriors. So that's fantastic. 

Judy Geller: Yeah, I think architects and anybody who designs or is curious or anybody who's in steel framing, contractors, I mean, I think that this is really an amazing opportunity to put your eyeballs on something, you know, really real that's going to be, you know, on the show floor right in front of you. And we're going to have some education sessions right at the Barn Dominion as well. So it's really an amazing opportunity and I'm excited to be involved in it. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, if you were to, it's so hard when you say, if you're a first time attending a medal con, you know, like what kind of advice would you give? My advice is always to visit the website and review all the sessions and their times and kind of make a plan because it can be overwhelming. There's so much to see and do and you offer so much. So it's kind of like find what you're interested in and then match it up with all those sessions that and then just, you give yourself a few hours time to wander the show floor and talk to everybody. 

Judy Geller: Yeah, yeah, I think that you hit the nail on the head. Metal Cone is a pretty big show. And I think that when you, you know, when you look at it on the website, you know, it's one thing, but when you walk in and you see physically how big it really is, it's like, wow, you know, it can be really overwhelming. So Karen, I think you're exactly right. I think the key is to plan and I think there's two things to plan, maybe three actually. The first thing is to look at the exhibitor list and take a look at the exhibitors that you know you really want to see. The exhibitor list, it's on our website. You just go into the expo floor. They're all there. 

There's descriptions about the mall. You can see how the floor is laid out. And then take a look at the education. The schedule is there. You can plan the sessions you want to go to. then look at sign up for the networking you want to go to. It's not essential. You don't have to sign up to save a seat or anything. But look at the C, you know, C speed networking that was hugely popular last year make connections. And one other important piece of advice that I will give you is that when you register for Mellocon, you get a confirmation letter. And in that confirmation letter is a link that allows you to go and sign up, set up a profile, which lets you do matchmaking ahead of time. So you can start to communicate with exhibitors before the show. You can set up appointments. You can do a lot of work before you even get there. So there's all kinds of ways you can start to pre-plan your visit to MetalCon. And always, if you have any questions, you can always reach out to us. You can email info at metalcon.com and real people will answer you. We don't have a bot. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. It's really dirty I'm talking to right now. I do want to mention that Metal Coffee Shop is giving away some passes, the total experience passes and we've got about 10 of those. So if you go to metalcoffeeshop.com, look for that ad on our site and you can enter to win. And then all you got to do is get yourself there, right? Yeah. 

Judy Geller: It's just us. We'll interview you. Yeah. So you can always ask us. 

Karen Edwards: Wow, well it's gonna be here before we know it. It's the end of July that you and I are talking right now and so that gives us about three months until we're there and it's gonna be so exciting. So, Metalcon has a full directory on Metal Coffee Shop. If you wanna just go there, it has links to everything or just go to metalcon.com and as Judy said, email info at metalcon.com and it'll get you to a real person. Judy, thank you so much for being here.  

Outro: Yeah, it's always great to talk about the show and what's new and what's different and I'm really excited. I hope you all are as well. And thanks everybody out there for listening. Please be sure to subscribe because we don't want to miss, we don't want you to miss an episode and we'll see you on the next one. Bye.