FEASTING ON LCT EAST: Okay, I have no hair to let down, but if I did, it would have been at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville last Wednesday night, where a networking social event with margaritas in hand set the scene for a night of fun after an action packed day of education.
Flying from California to Boston gives you these three extra hours like Daylight Savings Time on steroids. I land in Boston at 5:30 pm local time, but my body clock tells me it is 2:30 pm Arriving at the hotel at 8 pm is like 5 pm so I am good to socialize with industry people gathered at a lounge just off the lobby until about midnight. My body clock is still telling me it is 9 pm, so I finally get to sleep about 3 am local time!
The morning came early. I attended the First Timers Breakfast at 7:30 am, so with about three hours of sleep I had to begin the day. Breakfast was a time to meet new faces of the industry and hear about future plans and the commitment Ford Motor Co. has made to our industry. I would tell you more about it but you should have been there because I only get limited space here and there is so much more to say.
I had the opportunity to listen to Richard Kane of International Limousine Service speak about managing chaos. He inspired me. I have to admit that I have a short attention span and I usually find myself looking at my watch to see how much more I have to endure in a one hour session with one single guy talking, unless it is George Jacobs who was also part of the LCT Eastern Conference. Who doesn’t love listening to George for hours at a time? I was so amazed at Kane’s commitment to perfection, his eye for detail, organization, and the systems he has in place to manage large scale events. As one who has managed a large-scale event involving the movement of numerous vehicles and hundreds of people, I still learned something from his presentation.
Speaking of learning, I attended a sales class with a rep from Dale Carnegie. That class alone was worth the price of admission to the whole show. As I looked around the room, I saw serious power hitters in the room such as Jacobs, Rick Brown, Dawson Rutter, etc. That proves to me, even when you are at the top of the industry, you have to keep up with your education to maintain that status on top. That was just another thing learned at the show.
With all that classroom time, one could sure work up an appetite and the food didn’t disappoint. When class time ended, an elaborate buffet had been setup in the center of the exhibit hall lobby area. We’re talking seriously great food, great desserts, fresh fruit, cheese, different types of salad – all of which hit the spot before more sessions in the afternoon.
Rounding out the days, the exhibit hall time with an open bar compliments of Ford offered an opportunity to say hello face to face at the LCT Magazine booth. It was nice to meet so many of you in person and to hear how much you enjoy reading my blogs, even if you never comment. I was amazed when someone told me he actually looks forward to Tuesdays to read my blog and see if I was going to be “serious or silly.” I don’t know if I would call it silly as much as whimsical at times — like this blog.
Flying home, I experienced that reverse Daylight Savings Time affect. I wake up at 6 am which is really 3 am in California and land at 7:30 pm local time, with my body @ 10:30 pm. So I went o bed exhausted but a bit more educated than before I attended LCT East.
— Jim Luff, LCT Contributing Editor
Print | posted on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 1:08 PM