Construction U, the American Rental Association’s educational workshop specifically for construction and general tool rental business owners and managers, last week announced its 2008 program will focus on management skills applicable to rental. The workshop is Feb. 10, just prior to The Rental Show at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

The program will include a full day of seminars that apply management principles to key operation areas such as financials, safety/risk, information technology, assets, sales/marketing and human resources. Specific topics include understanding financial statements and tax strategies; interviewing, hiring and training the ideal employee; using ARA’s Cost of Doing Business Report; building a sales team; creating a safety-first workplace; protecting assets; a business health checkup; and understanding the latest rental technology.

Seminars will be presented by financial, safety and sales professionals, as well as rental industry veterans. A session on protecting assets will feature law enforcement officers who have recovered millions of dollars worth of stolen construction and tool equipment.

The opening speaker is Garrison Wynn, a management and sales expert, who will discuss what top business performers have in common in “The Truth About Success: Being the Best versus Being Consistently Chosen.”

Events & Tents, scheduled Feb. 9-10 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, will start on Feb. 9 with the optional Tabletop Competition, a design challenge where participants create their own tabletop concept and assemble it onsite at Mandalay Bay. A Caribbean-themed networking reception for all attendees officially kicks off the workshop, with the reception hosted in a tent outside the convention center.

Event designer Scott Corridan, who was featured on HGTV’s Design Star this summer, is the opening session speaker on Feb. 10. He’ll share his perspective on how attendees can use their existing rental inventory in new and exciting ways. He is president of Corridan and Co. Design Studios, Santa Barbara, Calif.

A full day of seminars are scheduled on topics that include event décor, fabrics and colors, business etiquette, customer service, job costing, handling donations, warehouse design, workplace safety, hands-on PartyCAD sessions for beginning and advanced users, tent assembly, flooring and staging, proper tent staking, power distribution and ARA’s Certified Event Rental Professional program. The opening reception tent will provide actual examples for the various tenting sessions, in addition to serving as a classroom.

The seminars will be presented by a variety of event rental professionals, as well as special event, business and safety experts. Ira Mitchell-Steiman of Miami-based All Over Miami and David Halsey of The Meetinghouse Cos., Elmhurst, Ill., will share the latest trends at Events & Tents for the fourth consecutive year.

Complete details and registration information on Construction U and Events & Tents are available at www.TheRentalShow.com. Discounts are available for early registration by Dec. 7.

The Rental Show 2008 is Feb. 11-14, with seminars and networking on Feb. 11, and the tradeshow Feb. 12-14.