This years' theme was "Groovin with the AMA". Numerous vendors and attendees got hip with the 70's and came in with full regalia. From Austin Powers to a very tall mini-me, it seemed as if the gang was all here . The Village People were back on tour with The Brady Bunch as the opening act. There were peace signs, head bands, tie-dyes and big hair. Monty Hall and Carol Merrill from Lets Make A Deal were there to delight and zonk whoever happened to be brave enough to try and make a deal with Monty.

Wednesday's keynote speaker, John Cassis, shared with attendees several key points to developing mental toughness with a positive attitude and explained the importance of humor in our professional and personal lives.

The Trade Show and Educational Sessions were from all accounts informative and well attended.

For the General and Educational Sessions, SWAV techs were on site to assist the speakers with their presentations and ensured smooth transitions from one speaker to the next.

For the Tributes Awards Presentation, SWAV went all out. We flew two15 x 20 screens for video and data projection. Speakers and intelligent lighting were also flown to ensure an even distribution for the audio and complete room coverage for the lighting. We also brought in a theme set consisting of multiple sails with chrome truss. With the intelligent lighting and the colored scrollers illuminating the set it brought a touch of, "wow" and elegance to the evening.

The Tributes awards dinner was a festive gala event. The evening began with a video that was produced and edited by SWAV. This is the third year in a row that we have supplied a fun video, documenting all the zany antics that transpired the previous couple of days on the trade show floor. This years' video was particularly close to home for the AMA as one of their board members had recorded the song we used in this video.

Cox Communications as always provided an excellent production, highlighting all of the awards and the nominees. SWAV fortified the production by seamlessly integrating our live show with the pre-recorded tape developed by Cox. As the winners were announced live, with our state of the art lighting set, we ballyhooed the entire room with multiple moving and colored lighting. This combined with cameras and spotlights at the ready, enabled us to pick up the winners instantly and IMAG them on our two large screens on their triumphant march to receive their awards on stage. Along with a live band it gave the awards a Hollywood feel as if the winners had just won an Oscar or Emmy Award. For some of the award winners it proved to be a very uplifting and moving experience.

The AMA and SWAV have been partners in this labor of love for 12 years running and look forward to continuing our great relationship with them for another 12 years.