The 2014

Eastern Ohio Home Show was a Resounding Success!

 Friday, May 16th – Sunday, May 18th, 2014

 The 2014 Eastern Ohio Home Show Recap

In spite of the cool temperatures and intermittent rain the Eastern Ohio Home show went off without a hitch.  OMHA reported a solid turnout with the three day attendance of nearly 3,000 people.

Because of such strong support of the OMHA Board of Directors, sponsors, Show manufacturers, retailers, MH communities, industry and local exhibitors, OMHA was able to place $50,000 in advertising which speaks volumes to those who truly believed in the show. OMHA is thankful for their support.

465 Radio Ads, Billboards, 20,000 tickets and flyers, 3,000 programs, outdoor signs, newspapers and social media advertising covered a 100 mile radius of the show and created quite the buzz.  The largest local newspaper, the Akron Beacon Journal, featured a special and very positive story just days prior to the event as a result of an OMHA arranged tour of the nearby Skyline Homes plant and of course the Show itself.

 

The Gamble Pays Off

Participating retailers have already reported a number of home orders and a significant amount of strong sales leads. For example, Rona Homes in Pataskala was closing two cash deals at 5 pm Sunday evening at the Show and were preparing to place the homes this week.   Tim Williams of OMHA noted, “It was absolutely unbelievable. The months of planning, organization and advertising paid off. Our legion of volunteers, our OMHA staff, our local coordinator Mary Jo Jones and the donated expertise, labor, equipment and contributions of UMH Properties (in particular Bob Vanschuyver, Jim Williamson, and Angi Smith), and Brian Russell and Aaron King of Clayton were exceptional.”

Richard “Dick” Jennison President of MHI said, “Tim, On behalf of myself and the entire MHI membership, I would like to extend a resounding round of applause to you, the Board of Directors of OMHA and the legion of volunteers who made the inaugural Eastern Ohio Home Show such a huge success!  Having the public see and tour our affordable and quality homes is an idea long overdue and a show format for others to emulate.  Great Show and a Great Job to all!”

 

Even the Venue was Fantastic!

Many complements were received from those who attended the Industry Day portion regarding the unique MAPS Air Field and Museum venue.  The MAPS Air Field Museum waived the admission fee during Show days and had numerous military veterans on hand as guides for the many aircraft and museum exhibits.  This made the show experience all the more unique. Williams commended the exceptional efforts of MAPS Executive Director Kim Kovesci and his many volunteers for their graciousness and tremendous accommodation of the Show. “It was a privilege to have our Show in such an inspiring venue that pays tribute to our military veterans and their sacrifices for our freedom”, Williams stated.

Show Stats – Nineteen fully furnished and landscaped manufactured homes were on display featuring 14 different builders.   The Show also offered 50 indoor exhibitors including lenders, MH communities, retailers, home related service/suppliers and local businesses.

Sales leads – In addition to the significant amount of sales leads reported by Show retailers and Manufacturers, OMHA was able to develop 205 sales leads during the Show. These “fresh” leads were distributed at the end of each show day to all exhibitors. The leads were developed as a result of registrations during the show for nearly 50 giveaways. Only those who indicated interest in purchasing a home on the registration slips were distributed as sales leads.

Exit Surveys – OMHA’s volunteers also conducted over 200 exit surveys to gather important feedback regarding advertising effectiveness, opinions of the show and homes and interest in future home purchases.

Closing thoughts – The goal of the show was simple…sell homes and enhance the image of the manufactured homes lifestyle.  Williams told news outlets that OMHA’s vision was to let thousands of home shoppers – as well as the media and public officials – walk through properly displayed model homes. He further commented, “Seeing our homes is believing. Once they see…they will buy. I strongly feel public home shows will do more than any other promotional effort to not only sell our homes, but enhance the image of manufactured homes living.  I have never been associated with a group of people who worked so well together. It was one of the most memorable and gratifying experiences of my career. I can’t begin to express the gratitude to our OMHA Board and nearly 400 people associated at one time or another with the Show.”

 

Public Day Attendance

Friday, May 16th, 2014 (56 degrees, intermittent rain, hours 4 PM – 8 PM) = 337

Saturday May 17th, 2014 (54 degrees, rain, Hours 9 AM – 6 PM) = 1,149

Sunday May 18th, 2014 (63, partly cloudy hours noon to 5 PM) = 1,010

Total of 2.5 days of public Show Attendance = 2,496

 

Industry Day Attendance

Friday May 16th, 9 AM to 3:30 PM) = 397

TOTAL of all three days and both industry and public attendance = 2,893

 

Special Thanks to our 2014 Sponsors

HOST:

UMH PROPERTIES, INC.

 

Premium Sponsors:

21^st Mortgage Corporation “INDUSTRY DAY”

Manufactured Housing Institute “INDUSTRY DAY”

Adventure Homes “FRIDAY PUBLIC SHOW DAY”

Redman Homes and Dutch Housing “SATURDAY PUBLIC SHOW DAY”

Ohio Housing Finance Agency “SUNDAY PUBLIC SHOW DAY”

Fairmont / Harmony Homes “INDOOR EXHIBIT HALL”

Clayton Homes / CMH Family of Brands “SHOW EVENT SPONSOR”

Fortune Homes “SHOW CONCIERGE/REGISTRATION”

Colony Factory Crafted Homes “PUBLIC SHOW PROGRAM”

Eagle River Homes “SHOW STAGE”

Troy Oaks Homes “SHOW COMMITTEE LUNCHEON”

Oliver Technologies “SHOW BREAKFAST”

Champion Home Builders, Inc. “INDUSTRY DAY SEMINARS”

 

Associate Sponsors

AAA Homes, Inc.

Blevins, Inc.

Canton Stark County Convention and Visitors Bureau

Minute Man Products

PolyVulc USA

Rona Homes

             

Home Builders

Adventure Homes, Garrett, IN

Champion Home Builders, Inc., Troy, MI

Clayton Homes, Maynardville, TN

Colony Factory Crafted Homes, Shippenville, PA

Dutch Housing, Topeka, IN

Eagle River Homes, Leola, PA

Fortune Homes, Topeka, IN

Harmony Homes, Nappanee, IN

Hart Housing, Wakarusa, IN

Marlette by CMH Family of Brands, Lewistown, PA

Redman Homes, Topeka, IN

Redman Homes, Ephrata, PA

Skyline Homes, Sugarcreek, OH

TruMH, White Pine, TN

 

Booth Exhibitors

21^st Mortgage Corporation

AAA Homes Inc.

Alliance Credit, LLC

Alpine Structures

Association of Manufactured Home Residents of Ohio

Bath Fitter

Blevins, Inc.

Cascade Financial Services

CMH Family of Brands

Crown Communities

D&S Construction and Mobile Home

DMA Skirting

Fohl Village Manufactured Home Park

Greenfelder Insurance Services, Inc.

GWA Communities

Heritage Distributing, Inc.

Holdfast Technologies

IHS Home Sweet Homes

Jamie’s Interiors, Inc.

Manufactured Housing Institute

Mid-Atlantic Waterproofing

Minute Man Products

Ohio Housing Finance Agency

Ohio Manufactured Homes Commission

Oliver Technologies

PolyVulc USA

Rent Manager

R.E. Michel Companies

Style Crest, Inc.

Translift Sales and Service, Inc.

UMH Properties

WindowPRO