Pictures: 2011 Heartland Tanning MO Expo

Although the monster storm of the season swept through the country just days prior, more than 600 indoor tanning professionals were not deterred from attending one of the hottest regional shows of the year – Heartland Tanning’s Missouri Expo. Hosted by CEO Greg Henson and the rest of the good folks at Heartland, this is one expo where everyone is treated like family. In fact, some salon owners went through as much trouble to attend as I would to get to my own family reunion!

Michelle Norvell, who’s been in the industry 23 years, traversed the country all the way from Washington state to be there. She took a red-eye flight Thursday night, with the intention of making it to the famous Heartland Garage Sale Friday morning. Unfortunately, when the first leg of her flight landed in Dallas, Texas was undergoing severe weather – so that her connecting flight, which was coming from Houston, was delayed and eventually cancelled. A couple hours later, she was put on another flight – which ended up sitting on the runway for two more hours as technicians worked to de-ice things. Finally, she was headed to Kansas City. However, the Garage Sale was done for the day. But when Michelle’s Heartland Rep Hailey Tripp heard about the travel delays, she went to great lengths to make sure Michelle was taken care of. Hailey waited until the dinner hour when Michelle finally arrived and gave her exclusive access to shop the special sales area, loaded with major products at major discounts. For Michelle, it was just one more reason to love Heartland.

I heard a couple salon staff from the Dakotas had their own transportation challenges, as well. They had planned on the 14-hour drive to the expo; however, they hadn’t accounted for the blizzard that would strand them on the I-29 for an additional 16 hours. They eventually arrived to the show safely, though, and have one heck of a story to remember it by.

Despite the possibility of winter weather conditions, Heartland sticks with a motto of “The show must go on” – while its customers fulfill the “If you build it, they will come” philosophy. It’s worked for nearly 20 years of expo fun. That being said, I can’t wait for 2012’s festivities! On behalf of the industry, I’d like to thank everyone at Heartland for putting on such a great event.

I’ve got a ton of pictures to share, so let’s get started on the first batch.