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The road to Mandalay Bay: SMACNA returns to Las Vegas for 64th convention.

Article Excerpt
Is Las Vegas the Sheet Metal and Air-Conditioning Contractors' National Association's favorite convention city? It certainly is a place the group heads to regularly. Every two years, its Partners in Progress event with the Sheet Metal Workers union is held there. And along with its meetings in Hawaii every four years or so, members can be assured SMACNA's annual convention will be passing through Nevada sooner or later.

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The city, besides being the nation's top gambling destination and an entertainment capital, vies with Orlando, Fla., each year for the nation's No. 1 convention city, according to Tradeshow Week, an industry publication.

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As always, SMACNA has organized an event packed with educational seminars and meetings, along with plenty of break time for other activities such as sightseeing and golf.

This year's Oct. 24 closing dinner performer will be Kenny Loggins. Chances are you know a few of his hit songs, either from his 1970s partnership with Jim Messina, as a solo artist or the hits he's written for others.

"This is It," "Your Mama Don't Dance," "Footloose," "Danger Zone" and "Whenever I Call You Friend" are just a few of the chart-topping hits the 59-year-old Washington state native has had.

Loggins was born in Everett, Wash., and raised in Southern California. Working as a guitarist and songwriter, he eventually met and teamed up with Jim Messina, a former member of the country-rock band Poco and producer for Buffalo Springfield. Loggins originally planned to have Messina produce his first solo album, but the two worked so well together they became one of the most popular singing duos of the early and mid-1970s. Their hits of this era included "Danny's Song," "House at Pooh Corner" and "Your Mama Don't Dance."

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After the two men ended their partnership in 1976, Loggins quickly moved into solo work. "I Believe in Love," the Grammy-winning "This is It," "Don't Fight It" and "Whenever I Call You Friend," a duet with Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks, were among his hits in the late 1970s.

In the 1980s, Loggins' work was featured on many hit movie soundtracks. The 1986 Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun" saw fighter pilots flying to the beat of "Danger Zone." The hit-packed soundtrack to the 1984 movie "Footloose" included Loggins' title track. It spent four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart.

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Other artists have recorded much of his work. "What a Fool Believes" was a top hit for Michael McDonald and the Doobie Brothers.

Today, he continues to record and...

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