Kathleen Maartens

Kathleen Maartens is CEO/President of Exhibit Network and has been with the company since its inception in 1989.

Kathleen was born and raised in a small town in Pennsylvania. She attended Ford City High School and graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Psychology and a second major in Consumer Services. After moving to Houston in 1979, she furthered her education with courses in Business, Accounting, Taxes and Real Estate. Prior to starting the company, Kathleen was a licensed real estate agent in Houston.

With over 18 years being on the trade show floor as a service provider, and also as an exhibitor, Kathleen understands the details and obstacles that exhibitors face. In the office, Kathleen has a particular skill to automate repetitive office tasks making daily work efficient and quick, saving time and money for the clients and the company.

Kathleen especially enjoys traveling to international locations for shows. Her two favorite locations so far are Israel and Vienna.

You can email Kathleen directly at Exhibit Network at kmaartens(at)exhibithouston.com. She will be happy to hear from you.

TO THE TOP ^

Lenny Maartens

At the age of 14, Lenny began working at a cabinet shop in Long Island, NY under the apprenticeship of the owner. Although his primary responsibility was to sweep and clean the shop, he observed his boss's strict demand for excellence, perfection and attention to the smallest detail. Later on, Lenny learned the craft of cabinet making by working for a custom kitchen cabinet manufacturer and due to his earlier lessons in the first cabinet shop, quickly became the foreman of the crew. During this time, Lenny also worked on weekends as a First Mate on a Charter Fishing Boat as fishing was, and still is, his first love.

Lenny's first introduction to the trade show industry was at the age of 19, when he began working for Display Presentations in Farmingdale, NY. He began as a cabinet maker under the direction of a gifted cabinetmaker, and was promoted to Production Foreman in two years. As Foreman, he performed a full spectrum of tasks including purchasing, coordination, installation and dismantle of exhibits nationwide, supervising over 30 employees, maintaining inventory, recording job costs, and actually promoting exhibitor's products at the booth.

Marriage and family led Lenny to Houston, Texas in 1983 where he worked briefly as a Shop Foreman at a cabinet shop, before becoming the Estimator/Purchaser at Heritage Displays and eventually becoming their Production Manager.

With all this experience behind him, Lenny and his wife, Kathleen, decided it was time to start their own business. With only two week's vacation pay to live on, the papers were signed and Exhibit Network was created. In a borrowed warehouse, the first few jobs were cabinet jobs and with the revenue generated from them, tools and shop equipment were purchased. With the next few jobs, more tools and materials were purchased as well as a typewriter and a phone. As the years went on, Exhibit Network added employees, equipment, vehicles, and advanced technology. Now, Exhibit Network is Houston's most dedicated, experienced full-service exhibit house still adhering to the lessons of excellence, perfection and attention to the smallest detail learned many years before.

TO THE TOP ^

Chante’ Timmons

Chante’ is a native Houstonian. She is married and has three biological children. Why specify biological? Because she also has “adopted” many of the children in her neighborhood who like to “hang out” at her home. Chante’ is a Christian. She strives to live her life in a way that is pleasing to God. She reminds herself daily to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. She believes that everyone should be treated with the respect and integrity they deserve. Although she is often busy with work, family, and church (not necessarily in that order), she somehow manages to find time for her hobbies such as volleyball and reading.

Chante’ started in the exhibit industry in 1997. In her words she likes the exhibit industry because “The clients that I work with are wonderful. When you work with great people you tend to want to do everything you can to make sure their needs are met. Aside from the people, it is an interesting industry. Every day is different. No matter how much you plan your day, you never know what to expect when you arrive at work each day. That keeps it interesting!”

TO THE TOP ^

John Scott

A native Texan and educated at the University of Houston, John has a 20 year design history in the Exhibit Industry and other related fields. He started his Exhibit career in the mid 1980’s with the Atlanta based Exhibit and Special Events company C. Henning Studios whose design philosophy centered on the “WOW” factor. There John developed design solutions for all the disciplines involved in the creation of comprehensive Trade Show and Special Event programs. His work for Coca-Cola and Reebok, Int. has been published in several design annuals. At C. Henning, John had the opportunity to work with the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Committee and was one of the designers who created the winning AOC presentation given in Tokyo.

After the Olympics were awarded to Atlanta, John left C. Henning Studios and joined Creative Event Marketing. As Creative Director, he designed, illustrated, and oversaw all production on stage sets, lighting, props and collateral materials. There he designed 10 presentations for specific Olympic Corporate Sponsors of which 6 were awarded to CEM. John returned to Houston in 1997 and freelanced until joining Exhibit Network.

Before going to Atlanta John was an avid surfer, surfboard maker, and fisherman. On his return to Houston John picked up where he left off surfing, fishing, and making custom surfboards every chance he gets. He now lives in Galveston, Texas with his wife Sandi, their two dogs Buddy and Jessie, and one crazy Parakeet named Macko.

TO THE TOP ^

Mary Pierson

Mary is a delight to be around, on and off the job. The combination of her friendly smile and professional experience is a breath of fresh air to any exhibitor, novice or veteran. 

Mary is an Account Manager at Exhibit Network and, as a member of the team is responsible for servicing existing accounts, coordinating all show services and overseeing the scheduling of shipments.

Mary is an exceptional resource to help exhibitors come up with new ideas for their trade show exhibit. She has experience as an exhibit installer and knows hands-on the intricacies of setting up different types of exhibit systems. She has a photographic memory for exhibit properties. Once she sees an exhibit, she remembers the graphics on it, the sizes of each graphic, the layout, the location on the show floor and a lot of other details that escape the inexperienced eye. She will remember from show to show what elements worked and what elements did not work so well at that show. She uses this information to suggest improvements to her client’s exhibiting program from show to show.

The favorite part of Mary’s job is taking a thought from a client and putting it to life. She possesses a good listening ear, the experience and the confidence to bring it all together for exhibitors on the show floor. In prior employment, Mary worked in Accounts Payable and has a keen knowledge of budgets and bills. You couldn’t ask for a better mix - someone who understands your exhibit needs AND your budget!

Mary was born and raised in Houston, Texas and is proud of her Texas roots. In her spare time, Mary enjoys riding Harleys, gardening, playing washers and golfing. Actually, any outdoor activity ranks as a favorite for her. Above all, she loves spending time with her adorable son.

At Exhibit Network, Mary is especially pleased with the team atmosphere and the willingness of everyone to help out where needed. Mary thinks it is great to be in a place where everyone is so friendly and works together for the good of the clients.

Mary’s dream vacation spot is Cozumel. That’s the fun side of Mary. Her favorite color is black, which, as she states, goes with everything. That’s the practical side of Mary.

You would never guess this from working with Mary: her favorite cartoon character is Mickey Mouse. But in real life, Mary is far from being a Mickey Mouse…she’s the real thing!

TO THE TOP ^

FTP Site   |   Copyright ©  2007

Larry Davis

Meet Larry Davis, our lead man.  He has been at Exhibit Network for 12 years.  Larry oversees pulling the client’s exhibit properties from storage, preparing the manifest, loading the truck and installation and dismantle.  The favorite part of his job is meeting clients and fulfilling their needs on the show floor.  Larry has been a union carpenter for over 32 years.

Larry is very analytical and has practical knowledge in the building trades.  His input in designing and constructing custom exhibit properties always includes the packing, unpacking, installing, shipping and storage aspects of the project.  His years of experience of the show floor are a great asset to the Exhibit Network team.

Clients are always happy to see Larry show up at their booth.  He remembers from show to show the intricacies of each booth and how it gets assembled.  He remembers how it was packed and repacked and makes notes for future shows.  In 10 years of show floor work at Exhibit Network, Larry Davis has never received a complaint from any client.

TO THE TOP ^

Gary Maartens

You might guess from Gary’s last name that this is truly a family-owned and operated business.  Gary is the youngest son of Lenny and Kathleen.  Gary decided in his senior year at High School to turn down the opportunity to play Varsity Soccer and instead participate in the Marketing Co-op curriculum.  He attended classes four hours a day and then drove 32 miles to work with us at Exhibit Network.  It was difficult for him (and us) at first.  He needed maps and directions to make deliveries and pick ups around Houston.  He didn’t know the client’s exhibit properties well enough to handle them by himself.  Little by little, Houston and the exhibit industry became familiar to him and soon he was running around town installing tabletop and 10’ exhibits for our clients.  He even traveled to San Antonio as our lead man for a 10’ pop-up.

Gary has traveled to Washington DC and Chicago with us and participated in the EACA Showfloor Olympics at TS2 in 2005 and 2006.

When Gary is not working with exhibits, he is riding his new motorcycle all over Texas.  When the surf is up, Gary is down at the beach on his surfboard.

TO THE TOP ^

Dave Appleton

Meet Dave Appleton, the king of dry humor.  If you don’t laugh when you are around Dave, you just don’t “get” it.  Dave is married to a wonderful Texas gal and has one stepson and 2 (step)grandsons.  His household also includes his other kids:  Gabby, Gilda, Gusty, and Gunther, the mini Dachshunds, Sam and Nicholas, the cats, and of course, Hondo, the lizard. 

Dave was employed at Exhibit Network for about nine years a long time ago and has recently returned for about a year now.  Dave is responsible for overseeing production and purchasing.  He also lends the creative right-side of his brain to design exhibits and the pragmatic left-side of his brain for estimating.  Dave’s strengths lie in his ability to build anything, solve design problems and to exist “outside the box.”  Quite frankly,  Dave has never been comfortable “inside the box.”

Dave has several hobbies and is well-versed in about any topic.  He loves fishing.  He likes horticulture.  He loves fishing.  He likes to build unique cabinetry.  He loves fishing.  Dave likes to experiment with different recipes and herbs and spices.  He loves fishing.  He knows fine cheeses and fine wines.  He loves fishing. In his spare time Dave likes to read books and magazines.  He loves fishing.

Dave was born in Greenbay, Wisconsin and raised in Kaukauna, Wisconsin (hence the affinity for fine cheeses).   He moved to Texas for the saltwater fishing, of course.

Exhibit Network is a good place for Dave because, as he puts it “I can use my imagination.”  His favorite vacation place is anywhere near saltwater. 

Dave’s favorite color is orange; his favorite book is “The Stand” by Stephen King; favorite band is the Rolling Stones; favorite city is Madison, Wisconsin; favorite movie is “Scarface”; and his favorite cartoon character is Homer Simpson. 

Next time you visit us at Exhibit Network, be sure to stop and say hello to Dave.  Prepare to laugh!

TO THE TOP ^

FTP Site   |   Copyright ©  2007