The week started out pretty rough, as it did for many trying to work their way South. A phone call at 3:00AM telling me my flight had been cancelled, but my ride to the airport on the same flight telling me, "No it is not!" caused some confusion. I learned the drawback of the discount websites for tickets (Expedia) was that our connecting flight from Dallas to San Antonio had been canceled, so they bumped us off the first leg out of Philly and re-booked us for Wednesday afternoon. We got lucky and jumped a last minute flight with Southwest to make it in just about midnight on Monday.
Tuesday was filled with training meeting with Smithco & Turfco in the morning and a cold morning out at Oak Hills CC. This was followed by the Jacobsen business meetings. I have to admit that by the closing speech, at the end by the President of Jacobsen, David Withers, I was feeling like I was back playing football and looking for my helmet to run out onto the field. His passion for the business makes him someone that people want to follow. I have been very lucky to have had the opportunity to be around while he interacts with people and it is why Jacobsen is a large company with a small feel to it. This was followed by the awards ceremony in which Lawn & Golf Supply Company won the "Service Dealer of the Year Award"!
Tuesday night was my first chance to attend the Jacobsen customer party that I have been hearing about for years. And yes it lived up to all I had heard....Lots of refreshments, food and a live rodeo. Throw in a live band in one room, DJ in another and about 2000 people and I believe that's a party!
Wednesday's trade show was very busy and lots of talk about Jacobsen's new heavy duty work vehicle. The trade show layout was different and the word "flow" kept coming up. The layout seemed very segmented. The day was spent visiting other company's we work with like Ventrac, Turfco, Smithco, Turflux, Par-Aide and more which led to some tired legs. Roll right into a post show meeting and then into the Pennsylvania Room and now your feet are feeling it.
Thursday was more of the same in the AM with more of a look at competitive equipment and other products that might be in need of a distributor. After grabbing a bite for lunch the show became a pretty much ghost town.
Friday's travel day, with a check out of the hotel at 7:00AM and the truck pulling up to the house at 7:00PM, was a long one. Our connecting flight in Dallas spent an extra 2 hours on the tarmac waiting to be de-iced and hoping we did not get the news that airport would be shutting down with the snow. Some people did not get out until Saturday.
All in all it was definitely a different experience with the change. I was touched that some old friends in distribution and manufacturing made the point to come to the Jacobsen booth to find me. Some others I ran into throughout the week had some very nice things to say that I really appreciated!
Another GIS in the books, now come on Spring!
WJC
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