Author: Kevin Wieging
National Event Pros Business Spotlight
National Event Pros is a large scale corporate and event production company based in Seattle, WA but that has not always been the case. NEP’s owner, Lance Salisbury, started as a game attendant working for $6 an hour as a high school seasonal employee in 1992 for then, “Clowns Unlimited” owned by Bob Washburn. Since those humble beginnings, Lance left the company for alternative employment but also returned to help manage “Clowns Unlimited” and eventually purchase the company as his own in 2019. Games2U-Seattle is also a business franchised launched by Lance in that time.
Management of the company is a family affair with his wife, Kristene, and brother, Troy Salisbury, Operations Manager. Located in Seattle, not only did they established the company locally but evolved into a NATIONAL presence as their name rebranded them after taking control. NEP provides event services to tech giants Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, as well as Boeing headquartered in Seattle. It is important to note that NEP isn’t just a rental company, but provides management, production, staffing, and atmosphere at each event they produce.
Experience over the years has led NEP to the top of their game and extends beyond equipment rental but taking responsibility for creating an atmosphere that is necessary for a successful event. Although individual equipment adds to the experience of enhancing atmosphere and theming, it is the purpose and details that play into planning corporate events. In reference to the size of the company and the NEP staff “managing all of this is more than just rentals” Salisbury explained. The attention to details and technical knowledge of his team is significant.
Providing an example of this event experience at the NEP open house, arcade rentals were glowing at the annual event with the LED Dancefloor and the DJ provided a soundtrack for the night. With FIFA WORLDCUP 2026 tournament also hosting tournament locations in Seattle, the theme for the Open House was soccer related. Success in events is through trend setting, evaluating what is hot, and influence of current events within the event world.
Arcade games are not always EASY. To move equipment around, NEP developed special crates, covers, and technical knowledge for staff to manage the process. Their process for event management has evolved to be exclusively NEP. Equipment also needs to be kept in very good condition and to manage the process as a company, it is very important to manage that skill set and time it takes to maintain profitability. Because of this, accounting for the capabilities of the team in producing events carries significantly more value than simple equipment rental.
NEP evolved from providing a large amount of traditional backyard rentals with traditional daily rental rates and really established success for the business up until 2001. As far as developing corporate event services, ultimately it was the sales relationships and trust established with clients like Microsoft where National Event Pros thrived.
In 2012 these relationships led to expansion with larger event requests for the purchase of larger rock walls, bungee trampolines, mechanical carnival rides, mechanical bulls, and arcade attractions.
Development along the way has been through creativity and resourcefulness. A focus on corporate events wasn’t easy during COVID, but the ability to manage online meetings and pivot for a time allowed for success (or more accurately survival) through the pandemic by being creative. A portion of the warehouse still has remnants of the virtual event area that help survive COVID.
National Event Pros has proudly made a full-time commitment to growth and success over the years and now maintains a full-time staff of 25 full-time employees across sales, event planning, production, and ongoing management. A part-time staff of 15 also support operations and increase significantly in support of seasonal demands to assist with event production.
The Open House event also showcased event relationships with food trucks, event planners, and other event related businesses. Event planning is a TEAM approach! NEP is a member of IOA as well as EGG alliance.
Check out NEP website or follow them on facebook.