What is AV?

Many people would say it’s the gear and technology that facilitates an event—microphones, speakers, projectors, and so on.

Rental and Staging Network (EPN) members define it a little differently: AV comprises the tools that facilitate meaningful event experiences and immerse attendees in an organization’s message.

“We are event production companies, which means we are taking responsibility for the experience of the event,” says Donald Guzauckas, Jr., vice president and general manager of HB Live, Inc., and founding EPN member. “We are developing creative content or involved in the thematics of the event. We provide technology and crew, but our mission goes far beyond that.”

Or, as Bob Leon, president and owner of Colortone Staging and Rentals and founding member of EPN, puts it, “We are not in the equipment business. The equipment is a tool for us to provide a service.”

This results-oriented view has been the underpinnings of EPN, since its inception. The story of EPN starts in 2007, when Matt Emerson, president of CEAVCO Audio Visual Co., Inc. first had the idea for it. He brought his plan to four like-minded business owners and EPN was born.

From there, the network grew by invitation. “We built EPN from our personal networks. Invitation-only is important to assemble a group of talented, like-minded individuals,” says Emerson.

Today, EPN consists of 25 of the finest North American AV companies spread across 30 major markets in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Each member is committed to delivering the EPN difference to clients and their network partners.

“The strength of the network is the years of experience and knowledge all the members have collectively,” says Leon. “We’re able to hold on to relationships with customers no matter where they want to go. If a client is holding an event out of our general service area and hiring a local company in the new city, they would have to teach the new company things that we as their preferred provider already know, so it makes their job harder. With EPN, we can go with the client to the new location and work with an EPN partner to do the entire event. The client gets the same level of service.”

Hiring an EPN member for your event, is like hiring 25 AV partners for the price of one. Each member is supported with advice and resources from the other network members, making every event you host the ultimate AV brain trust.

EPN holds training sessions to help members improve, and members routinely collaborate to deliver stunning events for clients. As Jeff Studley, president of the Maryland-based CPR MultiMedia Solutions and EPN founding member, explains:

“If we are at the convention center in Cleveland at 10 at night and our camera breaks, we can pick up the phone and know we’ve got a fellow member who is not going to see this as an opportunity to rob us for help, but they will say, ‘We’ve got you covered,’ and they are right there,” he says.

After 10 years, EPN continues to thrive and is growing to cover the whole North American continent. Emerson predicts, “EPN will be around for a long time because it really works. We are here to help each other with our businesses and to make sure members have a friend in every major market.”

With an expansive reach across the United States, Canada and Mexico, EPN has you covered, no matter where you are. Find your local AV partner here.