We are all back from New Orleans, the site of the AWCI’s Expo: Construction
Directions, our annual convention and trade show. To all of you who exhibited, contributed and attended, thank you. As contractors, we should thank the sponsors, with our continued support and business. This year’s event was one of the best attended shows in history and was the largest show for exhibitors ever. And, if you went to the “Big Easy” without having fun, try to sell that line to someone else-it just isn’t possible.
We all like to know about the new products. At the expo, several new and innovative
products were displayed. They covered everything from mold resistive gypsum board
to new foam cutters and prefinished shapes, to refinements in old standbys such as
estimating software. Even though the wall and ceiling industry is by and large a commodity market, contractors looking for a niche product or market can usually find it at AWCI’s Construction Directions or in this magazine.
I want to personally thank the AWCI staff for the excellent job they do in orchestrating one of the best trade shows in the construction industry or any industry for that matter. This year’s show was awesome. The Pinnacle Award presentation to Gabe Reitter was both touching and hilarious, and the best overall audio/visual production in AWCI history.
Brenda and I also want to thank all of the 14 AWCI past presidents and their wives
who attended this convention and made it very special for us. It was the first time in a long time that we had so many past presidents in attendance, and we appreciate their support and really enjoyed seeing them again.
I could fill this page and several others with thanks to those who make these events possible, but I won’t. Once, again, if you have never attended an AWCI annual convention, you are missing a very special time both personally and professionally. I urge you to come to Las Vegas next year. You won’t regret it.
