The American Society of Safety Engineers’ annual Professional Development Conference & Exposition, held June 7-11 in Las Vegas, broke several meeting records for the organization.

With meeting attendance exceeding 4,100 professional members, an all-time attendance record was set. Another milestone: registration for pre-conference workshops reached an all-time high. And a third record: exhibit space exceeded 60,000 square feet, besting the past high of 57,950 square feet set last year at the conference in Orlando. More than 400 exhibitors participated this year.

So much for a recession in this corner of the safety world, eh?

Asked about the meeting’s apparent exemption from the country’s economic malaise, one ASSE official simply grinned, eyes looking heavenward, nodding her head. For an organization of more than 32,000 members founded almost 100 years ago in 1911, ASSE shows pulsating vital signs.