After 20 years of running the operation and finance departments of a large, bureaucratic organization, people always ask how I got into the business of creating trade show exhibits. The answer is different than you might expect.

During my career in transportation, I’ve always had an eye out for a creative entrepreneurial venture. When I left my eight-to-six job, I spent two months turning the word “derelict” from a noun to a verb, and looking at creative opportunities to feed my family. One day, I was fishing on the bank of the St. Johns River here in Jacksonville, Florida. The spot was rocky and I could not use the traditional sand spikes to hold fishing poles. I spotted the square receiver hitch on the back of my SUV and thought about crafting a rod holder that would fit into it. In a nutshell, this led me to months of research and fabrication. I invented a versatile hitch device that holds a tabletop, barbeque grill, cargo deck, flag pole, umbrella, cutting boards, and much more (yes, including rod holders.) Patented in 2006, the TruckSpike is a “portable modular” tailgating toy.

The TruckSpike has been marketed to outdoor enthusiasts, primarily sports tailgaters. Accordingly, I found the best private parking space near our local stadium. After a couple years at the same spot, I found out that the business where I used to park was a display house and I eventually went to work for them. While this position was not financially rewarding, the creative aspect of helping companies create vibrant and visual displays fed my creative instincts, and the exhibit business made my blood flow. Like many of my fellow Nomadic distributors, I got hooked on the business!

Rather than buying that business, I decided to start from scratch and with my business partner, we started Bluewater Exhibit Group in 2007. We have been a part of the Nomadic family for nearly a year now, and could not be more pleased. Not only are Nomadic’s products living up to the reputation of being the best quality on the market, but we are also impressed with the way Nomadic is using its position in the marketplace to help us leverage ourselves into larger exhibits. And don’t try to convince me that there is a stronger, more customer-focused team that Nomadic Display. Together, we have a good foothold in the north Florida market and are building on our momentum.

So tailgating has become a smaller part of my life. But we still hold a number of great TruckSpike tailgate parties to entertain our display clients.

Joe Dorety
President
Bluewater Exhibit Group