Golf carts sponsored by Graco. Breakfast sponsored by ARA Insurance.
Drive-through beer tent sponsored by Chicago Pneumatic Construction Equipment. Tent provided by Cole’s Wedding and Party Rental. Lunch sponsored by Arrow Material Handling Products and Doosan Portable Power.

Start the Super Bowl Sunday excitement early with a day of networking and golf at this annual tournament, a longtime tradition atThe Rental Show. This year’s event will feature some new enhancements including contests, a drive-through beverage tent and a raffle for a $500 Marriott gift certificate. Hole-in-one and mulligan tickets will be available. This year’s hole-in-one prize is $35,000. All funds raised will go to ARAPAC, ARA’s political action committee.

A shotgun start is set for 10 a.m., with transportation provided. (Buses will depart from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center at 8:30 a.m.) The registration fee to participate in The Rental Show Golf Tournament is $125. The cost includes green fees, cart and transportation to and from the convention center, plus a taste-of-New Orleans continental breakfast and lunch. Please note that the course does not offer a driving range.

New participants and regulars are welcome. You can register for the tournament with your Show registration online or on the Show registration form. Contact Kayla Kiesey at 800-334-2177, ext. 230, or email kayla.kiesey@ararental.org with questions.

About the Course
Audubon Park Golf Course is just minutes from downtown New Orleans in Audubon Park. The Denis Griffiths design features contoured Bermuda fairways, manicured Tif-Eagle greens, four lagoons and exquisite landscaping. Audubon also boasts the metropolitan area’s most immaculate and well-manicured greens with a competitive, executive-18-hole course. The course is a par 62, 4,220-yard layout set among hundred year-old oak trees. For more details, see www.auduboninstitute.org/visit/golf .

Sponsored by Alert Management Systems, Dynapac, KOR-IT and PS Furniture/Palmer Snyder

Take a break between the morning and afternoon educational sessions and connect with your rental peers at this popular luncheon. All attendees participating in the Sunday Show seminars and Events & Tents are welcome to come share in the networking and conversation. The ARA volunteer recognition awards and the ARA Foundation donor awards will be presented. The Certified Event Rental Professional (CERP) graduates will be recognized during the lunch as well.

Tickets are $15 each. Advance registration and ticket required.

Sponsored by Arrow Material Handling Products, Atlas Copco Construction Equipment and Chicago Pneumatic Construction Equipment

Next Generation of Rental Owners members, their parents and families are invited to enjoy an evening of networking and catching up with friends on Super Bowl Sunday. No worries about missing the big game – you can still catch all the action. Located on the banks of the Mississippi River next to the Hilton Hotel and across the street from Harrah’s Casino, Poppy’s is a classic sports bar with satellite TV on 21 huge screens and the ultimate football menu of burgers, pizzas, sandwiches and wings. Guests can enjoy the indoor main bar or the covered outdoor pavilion, where there will be plenty of TVs to watch the game. Check it out at www.poppystimeoutsportsbar.com.

Tickets are $50 per person. Food and bar service will be provided from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. with a customized menu of sports bar fare, including 20 beers on tap and specialty drinks.

This event is open to all ages. However, the restaurant reserves the right to card anyone upon arrival or during the event and wrist-band those under 21.

ARA will not provide transportation to or from the event; taxi service is available and the bar is within walking distance of the convention center and several of the Show hotels. The event is limited to 175 attendees.

Sponsored by Ditch Witch

In 2003, Aron Ralston’s story made headlines worldwide. After being pinned by a half-ton boulder for nearly a week in a remote 3 ft.-wide slot canyon in southern Utah, Ralston narrowly escaped death by severing his right forearm with a dull pocketknife. After applying a tourniquet, he hiked and rappelled for five hours through Blue John Canyon before searchers in a helicopter rescued him.

Ralston documented his life-altering experience and his remarkable will to survive in his best-selling book, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place.” His story was adapted into the movie, “127 Hours,” which received six Academy Award® nominations – including Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role for James Franco, who played Ralston. During his keynote address, Ralston will share his harrowing story of survival and the leadership lessons he learned. You’ll be inspired as you hear in his own words how he overcame unbeatable odds.

The keynote session will recognize the renewal of New Orleans and the role of the equipment rental industry in the recovery and revitalization of the city. The Rental Hall of Fame will welcome 2012 inductees and ARA will recognize the passing of the gavel to the incoming president. Plan to hear from ARA leadership about the association’s outlook for the future. The trade show opens immediately following the keynote session.


Aided by radical prosthetic devices that he helped design, Ralston has expanded his adventures to the world’s great peaks, deserts and rivers. He is the only person to have solo-climbed all 59 of Colorado’s 14,000-ft.-high mountains in winter; the only person with a disability to have skied from the summit of Denali, North America’s tallest mountain; and in April 2009, he became the first amputee to row a raft through the Grand Canyon. Today, Ralston lives with his wife, Jessica, and their son in Boulder, Colo. He also advocates for the Utah and Colorado wilderness.

Sponsored by Alert Management Systems; Allmand Bros.; Barreto Manufacturing; Billy Goat Industries; Chicago Pneumatic Construction Equipment; Construction Product Sales; Detmer Consulting; Doosan Portable Power; Kwik-Covers; Lew Hudson Sales; National Event Supply, A Div. of D&K Imports; Volvo Construction Equipment; and Warner Shelter Systems

Reconnect with ARA members from your region after the trade show floor closes on Monday at these receptions. Each of ARA’s 10 regions will host one of these casual gatherings for its members to network with new faces and catch up with friends. Leaders from each ARA region also will present a short program including recognition of members. Each attendee will receive two complimentary drink tickets and light hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Tickets are $15 each. Advance registration and ticket required.

By invitation only

The renowned National World War II Museum will be open exclusively for members of the ARA Political Action Committee (ARAPAC) and invited guests to explore during this special evening. The museum dramatically focuses on the American experience in World War II and offers a wide range of exhibits and multimedia presentations – from aircraft and a Sherman tank to a model of the beaches of Normandy and many other artifacts. Find more information about the museum and why it’s located in New Orleans at www.nationalww2museum.org.

In addition to the opportunity to view the entire museum and network with your peers on key industry government affairs issues, the evening will include featured guest speakers and the annual ARAPAC fundraiser.

Contact Marie Foster at 800-334-2177, ext. 254, or email marie.foster@ararental.org with questions.

Reception sponsored by Briggs & Stratton Corp. and Little Wonder. Charity auction sponsored by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

Introduced last year, this reception provides an excellent opportunity to network and make industry friends while also supporting the people-focused industry programs of the ARA Foundation.

What does the ARA Foundation do? It awards more than $56,000 in educational scholarships each year. It helps individuals in the rental industry who have been impacted by disasters such as hurricanes, floods or fires. And it provides advice and mentoring by experienced rental professionals.

The ARA Foundation is able to provide these and more programs through your support, especially at this event. The sixth annual charity auction is the main entertainment at the Reception With a Purpose. During the reception, you will see how the Foundation uses your contributions to make all these programs possible and reaches out to help your rental industry peers in need.

The live charity auction is fast-paced and conducted by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. It features rental equipment and other great items donated by The Rental Show exhibitors. You can provide support – and benefit those in the industry who need assistance – by attending the Reception With a Purpose and generously bidding on auction items. Register for your bid number at the ARA Foundation booth on the show floor or at the Reception.

Included at the Reception will be hors d’oeuvres plus complimentary beer, wine and soft drinks for the first hour.

Find more information about the Foundation, the scholarship program (and applications for 2012/2013), the disaster recovery program and all its programs at www.ARAfoundation.com. Contact Jenni Venema at 800-334-2177, ext. 236, or email jennifer.venema@ararental.org  with questions.

Find more information on the 34 auction items here:   https://www.ararental.org/ARAFoundation/ARAFoundationAuction.aspx

Sponsored by Ditch Witch, Doosan Portable Power, EDCO – Equipment Development Co. and Rental Management

ARA will honor the international guests during this special reception in a comfortable setting where international rental professionals can network with their peers from other countries and ARA leaders to share perspectives and learn about the rental industry around the world. Beverages and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Tickets are complimentary for international attendees (from outside the U.S. and Canada). Advance registration is required.

Sponsored by Biz Credit Reports, Chicago Pneumatic Construction Equipment, Hilti, John Deere, Kubota Tractor Corp. and Takeuchi Manufacturing (U.S.)

Experience Mardi Gras ARA-style at this festive rental industry celebration. Attendees and exhibitors alike will enjoy this unique opportunity to see where the New Orleans Carnival comes to life each year at Mardi Gras World.

The world’s leading producer of floats, sculptures and props, Mardi Gras World creates most of the parades held for Mardi Gras from concept through completion. The event will feature a behind-the-scenes look at the floats and how they’re created, plus a great opportunity for networking with fellow guests. There will be plenty of food and beverages, in addition to live entertainment. Learn more at www.mardigrasworld.com.

Shuttle service will be provided from all Show hotels to and from Mardi Gras World. Shuttles also will be available from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to Mardi Gras World for those attending the Reception With a Purpose and the International Reception.

Tickets are $40 per person. Food and two drink tickets will be included with the evening’s admission.