Celebrating Twenty Great Conventions
in Louisville, Kentucky

   During the 1980’s, the National Quartet Convention experienced tremendous growth after being acquired and administered by some of the most influential men in Gospel Music.  These men were Les Beasley of the Florida Boys, Charles Burke of the Singing Americans, Claude Hopper of the Hoppers, Rex Nelon of the Nelons, Glen Payne of the Cathedrals, Brock Speer of the Speer Family, and Maurice Templeton of the Singing News Magazine.  These men also asked Don Shumate to join them in this venture as he was a Gospel Music lover and a successful businessman who had built a multi-million dollar company from the ground up.  These men had a vision for what the National Quartet Convention could become and under their leadership, the NQC began setting all time attendance records in the middle 80’s which continued throughout the remainder of the decade and into the early 90’s to the point where the NQC outgrew the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville.

   As it became obvious that the NQC needed to move to another venue in order to realize its full growth potential, the search began for a venue that would accommodate future growth.  This search eventually led them to a vast complex just 190 miles away in Louisville, Kentucky, called the Kentucky Fair and Expo Center. 

   Having recently announced an expansion that would make this complex the fourth largest convention facility in the country at the time, the NQC Board believed that this convention center would allow the NQC to grow to its full potential.  So in 1992, the NQC Board announced that 1993 would be the last year Convention would be in Nashville and would be moving to Louisville for the 1994 NQC.
   In preparation for this move, the NQC board made several other strategic decisions.  They decided to bring all admissions fulfillment, all exhibitor sales and all event coordination in house to be administered by a single office headed by Clarke Beasley, who had for two years been working  for the Gospel Music Association helping to coordinate Gospel Music Week.  Clarke hired staff and opened the Louisville office in 1993, and it has been in the Louisville area ever since. 
   Never before in the history of the National Quartet Convention had the Convention moved to such a dramatically different venue.  The downtown Municipal Auditorium seated 9,600 while Freedom Hall sat almost 19,000.  The exhibit hall in the basement of the Municipal Auditorium had about 32,000 square feet while the KFEC East Wing had over 175,000 square feet.

    Some were under the impression that maybe the NQC Board had dreamed too big for this move and that the NQC would feature vast amounts of empty seats and empty floor space.  The skeptics were wrong.

   The board member who really championed the idea of moving to Louisville was Maurice Templeton, and he presented a five year plan to the board showing steady growth based on the ability to accommodate attendees and exhibitors that were being turned away due to lack of capacity.  The board was convinced that these goals could be achieved in five years, but they were mistaken.  Every one of Maurice’s five year goals were met and surpassed in the first year.

CLICK TO CONTINUE