For many reasons, this time of year presents itself as a "love/hate" relationship from my personal point of view. Being from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin (your precept that beer, cheesehead hats and Packers keep us warm during the winter months is truly an erroneous idea), I divine in the thought that the vernal month of May is near, albeit not near enough. I cherish with giddy anticipation the desert sun, sprightly colloquies and the new lowdown to be had at the GSExpo. And with eternal optimism and the first two and a half months of a new year behind us, I relish in the knowledge that, though most of us being on a calendar budget get off to a measured start, we can now look forward to kicking into gear and picking up the pace for the remainder of the year.
What poses the problem is coming back to the great white north from the sunny 82 degree weather in Vegas; and knowing that at the end of the exhausting yet exhilarating GSExpo, I will not have had the chance to get together with many of you and it will be an entire year before the opportunity presents itself again. Despite these drawbacks, in my estimation, the show was a success.
I spoke with many of you who continue to remind us there is always tweaking to be done and improvements to be made. I pass those suggestions on to the Show Director, so for those of you who did not have the chance to make your voice heard, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Of course, everyone has a different opinion of how they would like to see it happen next year ... and we all know, "you can please all of the people some of the time and some all of the time, but you can never" ... you get the idea.
The other major successes at the Show this year were the new GS Leader of the Year award luncheon (presented to Jim Houck, Continental Airlines - see Pg. 32) and our GS Seminars (see Pg. 30). Being the first year out of the gate, it was wonderful to see so many of you at the luncheon with your show of support for a well-deserved recipient. It's proof positive we are a proud family of friends. And our keynote speaker, Ralph Hood, was in rare form with his quip accounts of his career in aviation.
Likewise, it was encouraging to find that the GS Seminars proved to be relevant topics of concern in our industry, an indication of which was the number of participants. With six sessions we averaged 62 attendees. My only disquietude is topping this year. The one and very important way you can assist me with this is by sending me a communique of what topics you would like to see on the agenda in 2006.
Thank you for reading.
