Construction Management Association of America (CMAA)

More Than Just Another Association Event

CMAA’s events are national in scope, meaning their attendees fly in from across the country. They don’t just need a general session—they also run concurrent breakout rooms and a full awards program. The scale and complexity are high, but their internal planning team is small. That’s where we come in.

avad3 specializes in handling “your biggest day of the year.” For CMAA, we’re not just a vendor—they treat us like an extension of their team. Because we’ve worked together before (including a recent event in Las Vegas), we’ve built a shorthand with them. We know how they want their show to flow. They know we’ll handle it—so they don’t have to start from scratch each time in a new city.

Why They Don’t Use In-House AV

When it comes to production, most hotels push in-house AV as the default. It’s easy to understand why: it sounds convenient. But for events like this, “convenient” isn’t good enough.

CMAA needed consistency across venues, showflow, and quality—and in-house AV teams vary city to city. What they needed was a consistent partner who already knew them. By bringing us with them to Nashville, they avoided re-explaining everything all over again. We were already up to speed.

Our crew managed the general session, breakouts, award show, and even the expo floor—down to individual exhibitor requests. With our people, our gear, and our systems, we executed exactly what they envisioned.

Breakouts Without the Headaches

Most venues try to lock planners into using in-house AV for breakout rooms. And that might work for smaller, less mission-critical sessions. But CMAA runs dozens of breakout rooms across multiple days, with overlapping schedules and specialized needs.

Because we managed every breakout—end to end—we maintained quality control. It wasn’t just high-level “management.” It was our gear. Our crew. Our systems. That meant smoother transitions, fewer surprises, and a better experience for both presenters and attendees.

We Travel Like It’s Our Job—Because It Is

Our team and gear traveled from Arkansas to Nashville, as we do for most of our national events. That might sound unusual, but not to our clients. Like CMAA, they’re used to flying their people and shipping their materials. We’ve simply built our systems around that reality—making us far more efficient on the road than a local crew who rarely travels outside their city.

A Las Vegas or Nashville AV crew may be top-notch in their home market. But they may not be as set up cost-wise to hit the road. We are.

One-Stop Shop for Exhibitors, Too

This event also included an expo floor full of exhibitors with their own AV needs. Instead of making the CMAA team field every last request, we got looped in—and took over. Need a TV? A tradeshow setup? Booth help? We supplied everything.

Because we were already there, our client saved time, the exhibitors saved money, and everyone had a better experience. That’s the kind of win-win we aim for.

Final Thoughts

We’re grateful for CMAA’s trust and proud of how this show came together. Our hope in sharing these case studies is that you’ll see your own event reflected in these stories. If you’re juggling breakouts, general sessions, sponsor needs, or exhibitor logistics—especially with a small team—we’d love to help you breathe easier.

CMAA would gladly tell you themselves: working with avad3 means you don’t have to start over every time. We’re the consistent partner you take with you, wherever your event goes next.