By Leon Stafford

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Get on board. The Soooouuuuul Train Music Awards gala is coming to the Georgia World Congress Center.

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Dubelyoo Soul Train. By artist Dubelyoo

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In a bid to fill in convention dates left empty by the recession, the mammoth downtown Atlanta convention center has snagged the annual gala event, which acknowledges the accomplishments of artists in R&B and soul music, for Nov. 3.

It’s expected to bring glitz and glamor to the city, but Pattsie Rand, GWCC director of sales and marketing, sees it as an example that the strategy to drive short-term business to the nation’s fourth largest convention center is working.

With a loss of $5.6 million expected this fiscal year, GWCC leaders have pressed all employees — from salespeople to custodians — to look for short-term booking leads, she said.

“We have all been soliciting and pounding on doors to get short-term bookings,” she said.

Short-term bookings are described as meetings and events that, because of their size, can more easily negotiate quick turnarounds for gatherings. Larger shows — business of about 25,000 attendees and up — book years in advance because of the hotel space they command.

The effort has paid off. Corporate gatherings, professional associations and every event in between have been held at the
GWCC. One staffer suggested her church, Impact Church, which was looking for a temporary home. The GWCC signed a one-year lease with Impact.

The housing crisis also has given the facility a shot in the arm as several businesses that cater to foreclosures and help people re-finance mortgages have booked meetings, Rand said.

Bigger short-term business includes Birdwatch America, which will bring about 1,000 people in January, and American Consumer Show’s Home Show, a 10,000-attendee convention also set for January.

“These shows don’t have to look four or five years ahead,” Rand said.

The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau has helped. To persuade business not to meet out of town, the organization created “Keep Your Meetings in Atlanta.” It also focused on short-term meetings with “Atlanta Means Business.”

As a result, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Duane Morris Partners and Arby’s National Franchises all stayed put in recent meetings.

“We had to adjust our strategy to account for the decrease in convention attendance this year, which is down between 15 [percent] and 20 percent,” said Lauren Jarrell, ACVB spokeswoman.