Farm Credit Mid-America (FCMA) is an agricultural lending cooperative, and one of the largest associations within the Farm Credit System. Their motto, “Securing the future of rural communities and agriculture is a mantra that they live and breathe every day. Over the past five years FCMA has seen explosive growth, both in their employee base and their ability to serve the farm community at large. The last time they brought their entire team together was in 2012, so when the Director of Meetings and Events approached Vario they were looking for a partner who could honor their passion for representing small towns and rural communities, while leaving their employees with a lasting impression of just how special it is to work for FCMA, and serve the customers who rely on them each and every day. It all started with selecting the venue, the Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC), the gem of downtown Louisville. See below for a before and after image of the event space.
”Engaging Vario to produce our business meeting and Celebration event was really a no-brainer. From initial concept to the production process and event execution they completely understood our needs and took every change and pivot in stride. As a company, we had never hosted an event of this scale, and it was imperative we work with a partner who not only had the experience, but had the patience and understanding to educate our teams as we navigated the planning process. Everyone from Vario worked as an extension of our staff and made the planning process as pain-free as possible.
The finished product was completely above and beyond our every expectation. We thought we were asking for something impossible, and not only did they make it a reality, they delivered an event that will be remembered for many years to come.
Victoria ReidMeeting and Event Manager
There were two components of the one-day event that the organizers had to address, a business meeting for 1500 employees, and dinner celebration for 2500 employees and their guests. The KICC was one of the only properties within the area FCMA served that could accommodate such a robust one-day program, allowing for two unique problems to be solved. Considering this was the first time all 1500 employees would be in the same room together for the business meeting, we wanted to provide them with an immersive, intimate experience. The design started with a massive LED wall, a full 100′ wide by 20′ tall if built flat from the audience’s perspective. To achieve the intimacy we added a slight curve to the wall, which brought the attendees ever-so-slightly closer to the screen, but more importantly, added depth to the content.
The evening Celebration event was a little more challenging. With 2500 people seated in rounds in a 100,000 sq. ft space, it was essential that every attendee come away with the same experience. It took five full days of setup and numerous people to put together a spectacular room filled with a 100′ wide by 20′ tall main LED Wall, a delay 50′ wide by 10′ tall wall, and two side LED screens primarily for i-Mag. The end result was a wonderful evening filled with farm-to-table food sourced from members of FCMA, and an audio-visual masterpiece that left all in attendance feeling appreciated.
It truly was an honor to work closely with the Meeting and Marketing teams to put together an action packed day for their attendees. We found it extremely rewarding to take their concept and turn it into a reality. If you have a similar project and need thoughtful guidance, do not hesitate to reach out and contact us.
