Convention planners to convene in Salt Lake for 'Super Bowl' of Conventions.

• Author: Stewart, Heather
• Position: Around Utah

Salt Lake City -- SALT LAKE CITY will be pulling out the stops this month in an all-out effort to impress a flood of association leaders who will be in town for the American Society of Association Executives' (ASAE) Annual Meeting and Expo.

The meeting is a big deal for the city because the attendees are "decision makers in their organizations for where they hold meetings," said John Graham, president and CEO of ASAE. The group provides education, networking and advocacy for association executives, who come from associations from every industry imaginable.

According to Graham, ASAE has 10,000 different organizations represented in its membership. "There is an association for everything," he said. ASAE anticipates more than 5,000 people will attend its annual meeting in Salt Lake.

Based on registration data, said Graham, about 85 percent of the attendees either have never been to Salt Lake or haven't been here in the past 15 years. And if past results are any indication, 20 percent of them will book a meeting or event in Salt Lake within five to 10 years of the ASAE convention in Salt Lake.

That would add up to an economic impact of $500 million, said Scott Beck, president and CEO of VISIT SALT LAKE, making the decision to bid for the convention a "no-brainer."

And Salt Lake intends to make a big impression on the ASAE attendees. The convention will kick off with a networking party at Library Square, co-produced by Visit Salt Lake, Utah's Own and the Utah Office of Tourism. The party will be a "celebration of all things Utah," said Beck, featuring "events, activities and food and beverage that reflect everything from Beehive Cheese to Squatters beer."

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One evening is open for conventioneers to explore the city, said Beck. "It's a...