JK Vegas Photos & Scoop 2

As promised, here’s another photo blog from JK-North America’s Third Annual West Coast Tanning Expo held in Vegas last week. It was a great show.

The event kicked off with a packed auditorium and a mind-blowing performance from Wayne Hoffman, a mentalist and illusionist. Hoffman appeared at last year’s expo and was so well-received, they asked him back.

Angelica Vincent of Sunbed Supply Co. was one of Hoffman's victims, er ... volunteers! He picked her at random by sending a paper airplane into the crowd – which landed in front of her. When she got on stage, he asked her random questions, such as where she’d like to vacation. After she answered, he had her pull out a piece of paper from his pocket – where he had written the exact information she shared. (Bora Bora isn’t the most common answer that he could have predicted it – let alone the other details he nailed.)

I spent some time with Angelica that day, and everywhere we went, people stopped her to ask if the trick was legitimate. She assured them, she was as surprised as anyone that Hoffman got the info right.

One really neat thing about Hoffman was that he hung around the show and mingled with everyone. He always had a mesmerized crowd around him, asking him questions.

A fun opportunity outside the exhibit hall was the Sun Angel photo booth – where ordinary folks like me could put on wings and get their photo taken. JK provided plenty of props so all the ladies could feel as beautiful as the official Sun Angels that mingle at the shows. I'll see if I can find my photo to share next time.

I caught some attendees taking a break from the hustle of the show floor.

Others were all smiles when I asked them to stop and pose.

Enrolled Agent tax specialist Steve Smith of Early & Smith LLC flew in from Georgia in case any attendees had questions about the upcoming tan tax. His firm sympathized with salon owners – both because of the tax and the lack of information they had been provided thus far. As a result, they created 720filer.com to aid salon owners in staying compliant with the IRS. Several salon owners stuck around to speak with Smith after the general session let out.

Some of my favorite exhibitors were at the show, including Tony Mounce (in white) from BleachBright.

BleachBright was rocking the UV teeth-whitening world, as always, with plenty of salon owners giving the product a personal test-run.

It was a family affair at the Insurtec booth, where Natalea Hoeper and her dad Terry fielded questions from energetic salon owners.

Penelope Harrison was also busy with customers at the Cosmedico booth. She got me hooked on coconut water because of its reported health benefits. Thanks, Penelope!

Mother-daughter duo Randy Tipton (left) and Jenny Bortman of Universal Insurance introduced me to one of my favorite new people, Rocco Viele, owner and president of GoldenTans, which has multiple locations in the New York area. With 26 years of experience, you’d think someone as experienced as Rocco might not travel across the country for an expo. However, he eagerly sat in on the education sessions and mingled with other business owners. He said you can always learn something – whether it’s from a veteran like himself, or a new salon owner in their first year. I watched as he introduced himself to many of those new owners at the show – handing them his business card and offering to be a sounding board for ideas. I know I’ll be calling him!

Hans Hegge from Text Ripple was a new exhibitor at the event. His company provides a valuable service, especially in light of mobile technology and customers on the go.

At the end of Monday’s events, JK provided a cocktail reception which was a welcome time to relax after the day’s packed schedule. The exhibitors still kept busy as attendees mingled the show floor, but there was plenty of time for socializing and networking, too.

More pictures and details soon...          –Karen