My assistant, Char, can work miracles. As both my co-worker and booth staffer, she keeps me on top of each day's events, works hard, and even saves the day on occasion, thanks to her little black bag of trade show tricks. So when a loose peg on a rented chair looked like it might derail our plans at the Great West Truck Show in Las Vegas, I should have known that Char, not the folks at the show-services desk, would ultimately save the day.

Our company, a small nonprofit organization with a mission of getting women into the trucking industry, had planned to set up its usual 10-by-10-foot booth. But given the show's massive size and attendees' tired feet, we rented a couple of chairs from show services so people who visited our booth could take a load off and have a stress-free conversation with us.

On the morning the show opened, things began to fall apart – literally. One of the two tall director's chairs we had rented had a loose peg that kept falling out. Without the peg, which held the footrest in place and provided some structural support, the chair would surely collapse if anyone sat on it.

The show was a few moments from opening when Char and I discovered the problem, so we hit the panic button. Inviting attendees to stop, sit, and listen to our pitch was a major part of our strategy for the show. Having just one chair meant we could let a single attendee sit, but not a second, which isn't exactly the height of hospitality.

I hustled off to see if I could get a replacement chair from show services right away. But when I got to the desk and made my complaint, all I received were smiles and promises to fix our problem as soon as time permitted. It seemed we'd have to begin the show with only one of our chairs.

Back at the booth, Char decided waiting for show services wasn't an option. So she began rummaging through her trade show survival bag for something sticky to hold the peg in place. While I assumed a tube of super glue would save the day, instead, Char produced something called New-Skin, a liquid bandage used to stop the bleeding caused by small cuts and scrapes. The quick-drying fluid was meant to cover wounds, but Char felt confident it would patch up the faulty chair as well. So she applied a liberal coating of the liquid bandage to the peg and stuck it into the hole. Then we gave it a quick test by sitting in the chair, and luckily the peg held. So as the clock struck 10 a.m. and the show floor opened, we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

It wasn't long before an attendee stopped by for a chat – and to unknowingly test our chair. As it turned out, our New-Skin peg not only held firm for that first attendee; it stayed strong throughout the entire trade show. And that was a good thing considering that show services never came by to replace the faulty chair. In fact, for all we know, the New-Skin is still holding that peg in place. So if you happen across a rented director's chair with a gunky-looking peg, just know that you have Char and her bag of trade show tricks to thank.