Rowland “Rand” Hilton Meade IV, the Association of the U.S. Army’s senior manager for exhibits and sponsorship, died Feb. 23 after a long fight with cancer.

Meade joined AUSA in 1999, and was well known to exhibitors.

He played a crucial part in moving the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition from two hotels in northwest Washington to the new Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Retired Gen. Gordon Sullivan, AUSA’s past president, said Meade was “a good man.”

“I knew Rand for 17 years and knew of his outstanding ability to establish close professional and personal ties with the huge and ever-changing defense community,” Sullivan said.

Adding, “He was a unique personality, able to understand the needs of our customers and help them achieve their goals.”

Meade got along well with exhibitors, Sullivan said. “I saw it on the exhibit floors of our expositions countless times, both here in the U.S. and abroad.”

“He was one of our team, even during the last four very difficult years,” Sullivan said, referring to Meade’s battle with cancer. “He was selfless and loyal, a tribute to the human spirit. He will be remembered fondly and missed greatly.”

Michael Scanlan, AUSA senior director, Meetings Directorate (formerly Industry Affairs), said, “Rand was extremely intelligent and well read.

“He had an easy way about him, a great sense of humor – especially about himself. And, he was a very good listener. Our customers certainly appreciated that.

“As a trade show professional, he had no peer. At one point about five years ago, he was managing over a million square feet of space at one time. And he did it superbly.

“He will be very much missed, especially by all his friends on our AUSA staff, and by our sustaining members, exhibitors and contractors.”

Born July 11, 1963, in Winston-Salem, N.C., the son of Rowland Hilton Meade III who was serving in the U.S. Air Force, Rand attended Old Dominion University.

A business major, he began his career in event and tradeshow fields in 1988 with The Creative Machine, Inc., as manager of meeting and tradeshow management.

He managed shows for Mobil Oil and events at 17 annual NASCAR events and INDY races across the country.

Rand came to AUSA in 1999 and soon became an indispensable and critical part of the AUSA Industry Affairs (now Meetings) Directorate.

AUSA grew its tradeshow participation threefold over the course of the next 12 years.

He is survived his mother, Brooke Meade; brother, Mark Meade; and sister, Mary-Brooke Meade Denbigh.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: The American Cancer Society, in memory of Rowland Hilton Mead IV, 124 Park Street, SE, Vienna, Va., 22180, or 1-(800) 227-2345, and online at Americancancersociety.com.