Dallas Market Center named finalist for Trade Show Executive’s 2026 Good Impact Award

The nomination recognizes Dallas Market Center’s Stand With Main Street initiative supporting independent retailers in wake of tariffs.

Dallas Market Center (DMC) has been named a finalist for the 2026 Gold 100 Grand Award in the Good Impact Award category by Trade Show Executive magazine, recognizing the organization’s Stand With Main Street initiative on behalf of independent retailers.

The Good Impact Award honors trade shows that create positive legacy and meaningful difference for the communities they serve. DMC is one of four finalists in the category, alongside FDIC International, Natural Products Expo West and SupplySide Global. Winners will be announced at the Gold 100 Awards & Summit, taking place Sept. 22-24 at the Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes, California.

Dallas Market Center launched its Stand With Main Street initiative in April 2025 in response to sweeping tariff policies that threatened the survival of the independent retail ecosystem the company serves. The campaign mobilized over 2,200 customers to sign a petition delivered directly to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. It also brought together DMC customers — including the president of Hallmark Cards — into a briefing with Kansas Senator Jerry Moran’s staff.

Through this initiative, DMC also joined a broad coalition that filed amicus briefs with the Court of International Trade and the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the tariffs exceeded presidential authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. On Feb. 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump that the president lacked statutory authority to impose the tariffs, a decision that vindicated the advocacy DMC and its coalition partners had pursued on behalf of independent retailers and their suppliers.

Throughout the campaign, Dallas Market Center coordinated with the National Retail Federation, American Lighting Association, Gift and Home Trade Association, Housewares Industry Association and Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America to ensure independent retailers’ concerns were represented as an industrywide priority. In partnership with Heart on Main Street, DMC also hosted an educational webinar titled, “Adapting to Disruption: How Top Main Street Retailers Are Navigating Tariffs” that drew more than 250 retailers and offered insights into strategic planning, sourcing and resilience amid tariff disruptions.

“Dallas Market Center is a family-owned company, and protecting the small and independent retailers we serve has always been part of who we are,” says Cindy Morris, president and CEO of Dallas Market Center. “When their livelihoods were at stake, we knew we had to use every resource available to us, lead where we were positioned to lead and bring partners together across the industry to make a real difference.”