After careful deliberation, the management of the Knoxville Chamber has determined it is in the best interest of the organization, exhibitors, and attendees to postpone the annual business-to-business tradeshow. The Chamber’s show draws hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of attendees, and will be rescheduled for the fall of 2009.

The abrupt closure of Direct IS, the Expo’s presenting sponsor, contributed to the postponement of the event. A short deadline for securing a new sponsor also compressed the deadlines for advertising, printing of materials, and sales of exhibitor booths.

“Planning and carrying out the Expo takes a lot of lead time,” said Mark Field, vice president of membership. “It’s hard to believe, but it actually takes about six months to prepare for the tradeshow, and during those six months you really have to stick to a very strict timeline. The regrettable announcement of the sponsor’s closure threw off that timeline. We decided that the show wouldn’t be as successful as years past without the same amount of planning and media exposure, and a less successful show wouldn’t be fair to the exhibitors or attendees.”