I’ve been to plenty of real, in-the-flesh trade shows, all with the common attributes of cheesy attention-getting devices, expensive, overpriced food served by surly staff, achy feet, and staffers who are actually sitting down in their booths (are you kidding me?). In recent years, I’ve managed to avoid attending most industry events (sorry, media reps), but one popped up last week that I couldn’t resist.

Duro-Last was pleased to sponsor the Virtual Green Expo on August 5, hosted by BNP Media, which publishes the magazines, Sustainable Facility and Environmental Design & Construction, among other titles. This was a live, “virtual” show that was attended through the Internet by over 1200 people from all over.

The “Event Lobby” provided access to an Exhibit Hall with vendor booths, a Resource Center, a Networking Lounge, and an Auditorium, where Duro-Last’s own Drew Ballensky presented the webinar, High-Performance Vinyl Roofing – an Active Asset.

On the whole, it was a good event for us. We had interactions with over 400 people, either in our booth or during our webinar and the subsequent chat session. Lots of folks downloaded materials from the booth and chatted with Duro-Last staffers about a variety of roofing and sustainability topics.