About TSM Agency
TSM Agency is a woman-owned national trade show staffing company founded in April 2005 by Caryn Hanna and Christopher J. Hanna. From its roots as a two-person operation in Rochester, New York, TSM has grown into one of the country’s leading trade show talent agencies, placing brand ambassadors, promotional models, and event staff at more than 2,000 events across more than 130 cities nationwide. Learn more at tsmagency.com.
TSM Agency launches its rebuilt AI-powered website during its 20th-anniversary year, as trade show season accelerates, with MAGIC Nashville scheduled for April 28–29 at Music City Center.
FRANKLIN, TN, March 13, 2026 — In 2004, Caryn Hanna was living in Rochester, New York, and trying to find print and promotional modeling work. She contacted every modeling agency in her city. Not one returned her call.
Her husband, Chris, a web developer and SEO specialist, built her a simple landing page. It ranked on the first page of Google for trade show models in New York City almost immediately. The phone started ringing, and it wouldn’t stop.
By April 2005, the couple had formed a company called Trade Show Models. Within three months of launching, they were staffing events for global brands. Today, two decades later, that agency is now TSM Agency, a national trade show staffing firm operating from Middle Tennessee.
This week, TSM Agency formally celebrates its 20th anniversary with the launch of a fully rebuilt, AI-powered website designed to make it faster and easier for exhibitors to find and book the right talent for their trade show booths. The launch comes as trade show season hits full stride, with MAGIC Nashville scheduled for April 28–29 at Music City Center.
“I grew up in Martin, Tennessee, and everything I learned about hard work and showing up for people came from there,” said Caryn Hanna, co-founder of TSM Agency. “Building TSM from scratch over 20 years, that’s Tennessee grit applied nationally.”
Caryn graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin before a career in teaching, banking, and later professional modeling, including appearances in national publications such as Allure magazine and work as a Guinness promotional model. Her first trade show job was in 2001. It was on those convention floors that she saw the gap and began to envision the kind of agency she would have wanted when she was starting out.
Over the past two decades, TSM Agency has staffed more than 2,000 events across more than 130 cities. Its client roster spans startups to Fortune 500 companies, including Google, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Ferrari, Harley-Davidson, Kellogg’s, Porsche, Marvel, Wells Fargo, Timberland, Evian, and Walt Disney World.
The company rebranded from Trade Show Models to TSM Agency in 2014 to reflect its expanded capabilities. Today, the agency actively covers more than 25 major U.S. convention markets and can deploy up to 100 staff members at a single event.
“Twenty years ago, we set out to change how brands show up on the trade show floor,” Hanna said. “Today, with a modernized platform and two decades of relationships behind us, we’re just getting started.”
This year, we will showcase our offprice show highlights in Las Vegas, attracting key players in the industry. Attendees can expect to see innovative brands and unique product offerings that redefine value. Our commitment to transforming the trade show experience is stronger than ever.
Caryn and Chris returned to Tennessee in 2019 and are raising their two sons in Franklin.
