metroConnections Celebrates 35 Years

April 15, 2019 // News

metroConnections Celebrates 35 Years in Events Business

Bloomington-based conference, event, stage production and transportation provider commemorates milestone anniversary with look back at growth and industry change

metroConnections leadership is pleased to celebrate their 35^th anniversary with their nationwide staff, clients and industry partners.

The Bloomington-based company has grown from humble beginnings when it was founded in 1984 by Sam Thompson with $3,000 in startup funds. Thompson was a sales manager at a northern Minnesota resort who realized that corporate guests needed specialized transportation when they arrived into town. metroConnections began by handling bus charters for corporate clients and grew into a full-service destination management company (DMC), expanding their services in the Twin Cities area to convention, association and corporate clientele.

In the last decade, the company has significantly transformed its services from DMC to an all-encompassing provider and premier conference and event production company that deeply understands its clients’ brands and missions. Since 2000, metroConnections has increased revenue by more than $12.5 million and has 80 full-time employees. The majority of the business reaches corporate clients, with 60 percent of the work occurring outside of its home state of Minnesota. It has produced events in all 50 U.S. states and 10 countries, and has three office locations – the Bloomington, Minn. headquarters, a production facility and warehouse in Burnsville, Minn., and an office in Orlando, Fla.

“Much of our success has been ignited by Minnesota’s healthy corporate community,” says David Graves, president and CEO of metroConnections. “We’ve adapted our business over the years as the market has changed and our clients have requested. We’ve been successful because we’ve stayed ahead of the curve in changing our service offerings in response to the evolving market.”

metroConnections continues to grow and add to their robust service offerings. It truly has become a “one stop shop” for clients. As the corporate community demands new ideas for events, meetings and gatherings, metroConnections meets them with cutting-edge, creative solutions.

The company’s fastest-growing service is in video and content production. The offering was very limited five years ago, with only one or two full-time staff providing services. But as the company has adapted with industry trends, video and multimedia has become a widely desired and necessary service for almost every client, and metroConnections now has a full-time dedicated content team.

The company is now led by a team of three owners: David Graves, president and CEO; Michael Graves, chief operations officer; and Tom McCulloch, chief marketing officer; as well as four newly appointed vice presidents Erin Thompson, Bill Sather, Andrea Murphy and Rachel Portela.

metroConnections’ commitment to its clients brands and missions is evidence of its strong and steady growth, and the ability to thrive within a continuously evolving industry, as the company continues to provide global conference, event, production and transportation services.

Download/View PDF Press Release: metroConnections Celebrating 35 Years

About metroConnections

Since 1984, metroConnections has provided complete conference, event, stage production and transportation services for meeting and event planners nationwide. The company operates from its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minn. The metroConnections team uses its expertise and resources to specialize in the design and implementation of themed events, stage productions, transportation, tours and conference program logistics and meetings. metroConnections also offers audio/visual and production services and is the creator of Attend-eSource®, a web-based solution that includes elements such as online registration and custom-built event websites. For information on planning conferences, events, stage productions, transportation logistics or corporate tours, contact metroConnections at info@metroconnections.com or visit https://www.metroconnections.com/.