My Specific Top 5 Industry Events and Why

Over the past almost eight years I've done my fair share of travel, from the exciting to the not-so exciting; big cities to small cities. And as we come to the end of 2007 and prepare for all the travel that awaits us in 2008, I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite events.

#5: GANA’s Building Envelope Contractors (BEC) Educational Seminar for Project Managers, June 1-3, 2000 in Dallas (today called the Contract Glazier’s Educational Conference). This was my very first industry educational conference. I went not knowing much of anything about glass (I’d only been in the industry four months). There was talk of contracts and bid documents, high performance coatings, testing, installations and I was taking notes as fast as I could write. The meeting also gave me the chance to do my first industry plant tour – Vistawall. When I left Dallas I still didn’t know as much as I do today, but I knew more than I when I started. And while it still took a while to really understand some things, like anything else, it’s a learning process, and that’s how I try and look at everything I do.

#4: Vitrum 2003 in Milan took place June 25-28, not it’s usual October showing. Many of you who attended will remember, Milan saw record high temps during the show week. While the days were long and the weather scorching, I walked the halls of that show excited and optimistic of what I would see and learn. The show may not be as large as glasstec, but it’s still larger than our shows here and I covered it for the magazine alone. While that may not sound like a great achievement to those of you outside the editorial world, to me it was an accomplishment that I found helped me not only further what I knew about the North American industry, but the international industry, too.

#3: Building Envelope Contractors Conference, Las Vegas, February 20-25 2005. This meeting has become the place to be for the commercial glass and glazing industry. From the biggest to the smallest, contract glaziers flock to Vegas for this annual event. My trip there in 2005 was not my first time there, but it was the first time I presented before such a large group—300+. I was both excited and nervous when I stood before the attendees to share with them the results of the USGlass contract glazing survey. But in the end, it went really, really well. I provided attendees with some information that some later told me was both valuable and helpful. So I know now, that if given the opportunity, I could, without a doubt, do it again.

#2: Glass Processing Days, June 17-20 2005. Flying to Finland is no short trip. But if you want to know what all the world’s greatest glass minds are thinking and doing, you got to go. Sure, some of the sessions are so technical you leave cross-eyed, but the knowledge and experience and the contacts you gain from that meeting are hard to beat. Plus, I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you, the networking and social activities are pretty top-notch, too. After all, it is the land of the midnight sun.

#1: Who knows? That next best thing is still waiting to be discovered. You see, every time I go somewhere or attend a meeting, it’s my number-one favorite. That’s how I try to take everything that comes my way. I like to learn new things and stay open-minded to the developments and changes that are taking place constantly.

Why all this list talk? You ask. Because USGlass is preparing for its Annual Big Book of Lists, which will be in the March 2008 issue. Be on the lookout for more information as to how your company can be considered for one of the many categories.