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HBA HOME BUILDING NEWS
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UP FRONT
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NOvEMBEr, 2012
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HBApdx.org
for new experiences.”
Though known for a range of
different trade shows relating
to the outdoors, hunting and
boating, among the HBA crowd
O’Loughlin Sr. is known for the
Portland Home & Garden Show,
which now has both a spring and
fall version. The original home
and garden show kicked off 66
years ago, with
OTS buying in
as a manag-
ing partner in
the early 1960s.
From the get-
go, O’Loughlin
Sr. made sure to
build a strong
relationship with
the HBA
“The relation-
ship with the
HBA has always
been excellent,”
said Goodrich. “ Bob also knew
and appreciated that this was the
HBA’s show.”
He said in the early years of
the show, everything was done
“on a handshake, without a con-
tract.” The resulting openness
and honesty helped set the stage
for a long and prosperous part-
nership. Goodrich also said that
O’Loughlin Sr. was always en-
couraging the HBA to be highly
involved in the show; he helped
make sure that members were
exhibiting and made it easier for
the association to bring in model
homes and other attractions. One
year, they even built a “playboy
pad” complete with several Play-
boy Bunnies on hand from Las
vegas.
“Bob was extremely creative,”
Goodrich said, “and he used that
creativity to draw people to the
show.”
Terry O’Loughlin said his father
always regarded the relationship
with the HBA very highly, and he
focused on it to ensure it would
flourish — and last. That meant
keeping the show and its success
as the number one priority.
“He always
had the show
at the very front
of his mindset,”
O’Loughlin said.
“Of course there
are times when
you’re going to
have disagree-
ments, but at
the end of the
day, he said ev-
eryone always
had to be work-
ing toward the same end — the
show.”
O’Loughlin Sr. was also instru-
mental in crafting the long-term
partnership between the HBA
and the home and garden shows
when the HBA’s current CEO,
Dave Nielsen, came on board
about 10 years ago. The resulting
agreement created a joint LLC
between the two entities and set
up a long-range plan for how the
shows are run.
“He just really understood the
relationship and felt it was criti-
cally important for the success
of the shows going forward,”
Nielsen said. “Bob had a huge im-
pact on that relationship, and he
O’Loughlin:
long-term partnership keeps H&G Show flourishing
Continued from page 1
DAVE NIELSEN,
HBA Chief Executive Officer
Bob was also just a fun
guy to do business with. He
always kept things a little
loose and injected humor
into everything he did.
was also just a fun guy to do busi-
ness with. He always kept things
a little loose and injected humor
into everything he did.”
Because of O’Loughlin Sr.’s
commitment to the relation-
ship with the HBA — and now
the younger generations of
O’Loughlins as well — the part-
nership continues to be a strong
one.
“It is a very important relation-
ship that has endured for years
and that we’d like to see endure
for many years to come,” said
Gordon root, the current presi-
dent of the HBA and managing
partner of root Holdings LLC. “In
fact, if anything, we’d like to find
ways to expand the relationship
even more, and we’ve been ex-
ploring different ways of doing
so.”
Although in the past few years,
O’Loughlin Sr. hadn’t been as
involved in the day-to-day busi-
ness of O’Loughlin Trade Shows,
he always wanted to know what
was going on with the business
and what the newest features of
the shows were. He was still al-
ways on the lookout for a great
adventure, too, according to
Terry O’Loughlin. One of the best
examples of that: the hunting trip
to eastern Oregon that they took
just before O’Loughlin Sr. passed
away. It had been on his to-do list
for 12 years.
“One of Dad’s personal friends
said the number one thing he’ll
miss about him is that damn
smile,” O’Loughlin said. “He al-
ways had that smile, and he was
always looking forward to the
next morning, the next day, the
next adventure. He just had that
and never lost it.”
HBA Builders Ball
Presented by
J
oin us for an enjoyable evening
including a delicious feast, networking,
music, recognition and awards.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
6 PM Cocktails, 7 PM Dinner
JMG Conference Center
$65 per person until November 16th
$75 per person after November 16th
Sponsored by
NW Natural
Standard TV & Appliance
Please register online at www.hbapdx.org/calendar,
call 503-684-1880 or by email to helenl@hbapdx.org.