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Transworld Buys the Midwest Haunters Convention (Interview with Kelly Collins & Jen Braverman)

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Midwest Haunters Convention TransworldThe Midwest Haunters Convention (MHC) has been purchased by TransWorld Trade Shows LLC, which also produces quality shows such as Halloween Extreme, The Halloween & Attractions Show, and The Legendary Haunt Tours. MHC has been operated by Kelly Collins, Neena Collins, Barry Schieferstein, & Kathy Schieferstein for the last 10 years and to sell the show has always been in their business plans from the birth of the convention.

The Midwest Haunters Convention is the largest Halloween show of its kind in the United States serving the haunted attraction industry professionals, scare actors, home haunters, and haunted house enthusiasts. The MHC is open to the public and features a tradeshow, education, chartered bus tours and entertainment. Unlike The Transworld Halloween & Attractions Show which is a trade show that mainly caterers to professional haunted attractions, theme parks, and Halloween stores.

We interview Kelly Collins first about why he felt it was time to sell The Midwest Haunters Convention and then we get the new owner, Jennifer Braverman, on to discuss her plans for the future of the convention. Push that little play button above to hear our audio interviews.

 

Here is what Kelly Collins had to say on Facebook:

 I appreciate all the support and kind comments about the sale of the Midwest Haunters Convention. I’ve also seen some negative comments about the change and I would like to try and address some of the concerns.When we started the show in 2004; we wrote a 10 year goal and business plan. When you think about it; 10 years is a long time and we gave up a lot of ourselves and energy pursuing our goals. Our show eventually grew to the point where we were faced with either hiring a registration company or leasing office space and hiring a full time staff.

We’ve been talking with Jen Braverman for several years about our plans for the show. She approached us after June and we reached an agreement. We were drained and ready for some rest and Jen was looking for a show that appealed to haunters. A convention designed for haunt owners, actors, makeup artists, decorators and home haunters. Her plans are to continue our show as its been operating for years.

There are no plans for big price increases; she wants to keep the show within the financial means of our supporters. The same goes for our exhibitors. She wants to continue with a cash and carry show that’s very affordable. The Columbus Convention Center space is about 100,000 sq feet and we’re only using about 60% of it. Jen has the ability to grow the trade show floor and offer more exhibiting opportunities.

Barry, Kathy, Neena and I will remain on as consultants for at least the next year of the show. Nothing else has been discussed after that, but I can tell you that we want our “Baby” to continue on and grow.

We’re confident that Jen and Transworld are heavily involved in the haunted attraction industry and they are here to better it. We wouldn’t have sold the show to them if we felt otherwise. They’ve recruited a number of leaders in the industry to assist them with their plans. I encourage everyone to give Jen a chance to demonstrate her commitment to haunters.

Thanks again everyone for your support and I hope you will join us at MHC 2014 at the Columbus Convention Center June 6th – 8th.

For information please check out our website at www.midwesthauntersconvention.com or contact Jennifer Braverman at jen@haashow.com or me at Kelly@MidwestHaunters.com

-Kelly Collins (Midwest Haunters Convention)

 

 

The Topics we Talked About in This Episode:

 

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