By now the news of
GlassBuild America in Las Vegas being cancelled is everywhere. Those of you who know me know that the news
of this happening absolutely gutted me.
See there are two events each year that drive me and they both hold
various amounts of real estate in my heart.
BEC in the spring is my baby. I
was there pretty much at the start and helped build it and have been along
through all of the ups and downs.
GlassBuild though is really on a whole different plane. This is the event where the entire industry
gathers and I (and all of us) can see and catch up with so many people. It’s the once a year event that makes me feel
“whole” in the glass world. It also has
played a significant role in my professional life. As an exhibitor years ago the successes there
allowed my companies to grow. Then when
I struck out on my own, GlassBuild became one of my first clients. The people there took a chance on me and I’ve
been grateful ever since. When I started
to work for GlassBuild I got to see how massive it was- how many moving parts
and pieces there were and how this was not an easy event to pull off. I was
able to watch the networking up close and see business happening in real
time. Each year was better than the last
and I got deeper and deeper into it.
In March at BEC, someone
mentioned to me that this new virus issue may cause GlassBuild to get
cancelled. I was dumbfounded by that
suggestion. GlassBuild was in the fall-
we’ve got to be better by then right?
Well sadly we were not and are not.
It’s devastating for so many on so many levels (the virus- its effect on
all lives not just this show obviously).
I never seriously thought we wouldn’t have a show in person but here’s
where we are now… and how do I and we as an industry react?
On that aspect this is my
plea to all before you read what’s next.
I think for all of us in the industry we may take GlassBuild for
granted. It’s always been there but it’s
actually more than a show- it’s the lifeblood of the industry and the NGA. It’s what is needed to be able to have the
technical chops, guidelines, bulletins, conferences etc. Without GlassBuild, a nonprofit like the NGA
can’t perform at a solid level and surely would struggle to provide the
absolutely crucial details we all need day to day. (You know things like that
tech document that helps explain something glass related to a GC that saves you
and your company hassle or charges, etc.)
So in 2020 we move to
GlassBuild Connect which given the circumstances is an amazing concept. It is a chance for the remarkable exhibitors
and supporters of our industry to get some of the coverage they were hoping for
in Vegas and for our industry to get additional education and information. If you are still looking to improve your
operation or career (YOU SHOULD BE) all of the info and insight you would see
in Vegas will now be laid out for you on GlassBuild Connect. To entice you further the incredible content
team at NGA is putting together stunningly good pieces and experiences that
will absolutely help you and your business.
Nothing ever can replace a great face-to-face GlassBuild. The networking and camaraderie can’t be
duplicated. But I can tell you this we
are going to do EVERYTHING we can to make the month of September memorable and
helpful for our industry. We are going
to make the most out of a miserable situation and we will be better for
it. I ask you to get ready to support
this and share the news and details as we build it out.
End of the day the health
of the NGA and what it does for our world is at stake. And obviously I’m connected to that
professionally but also emotionally. It
means a ton- so please roll with me over the next few months and get ready to
be behind this effort for the good of our industry.
Elsewhere…
Want an example of NGA’s
impact- here’s the top 10 list of most downloaded documents for the 1st quarter
of this year. Crucial work being done
here folks. And as noted above it’s
GlassBuild that drives these efforts.
-- The latest Architectural
Billings Index was released this past week.
I wrote on my last post that I expected the index to be slightly up and
the new inquiries to be slightly down.
Well looks like I was ½ right.
The index did tick up some- coming in at 32 (up from 29.5). Awful still
since 50 is break-even but better. New inquiries
also moved more positive a by a few points which surprised me. None of this is changing the current feel that
we don’t have a great angle on what 2021 will look like overall but we do know
it’s going to have some valleys we’ll have to traverse. Next ABI release is July 22. And then The NGA Glass Conference will have a
HUGE report from Connor Lokar of ITR (leading forecast firm) on July 30th so
more insight is on the way.
-- New LEED credits are coming with the new world we are living in.
Not glass related but really an FYI.
-- Was passed word that Lou
Niles formerly the President and CEO of Benson passed away recently. I did not know Lou but people who I respect a
ton in this industry did and they were hit hard by this loss. Benson was a small company (believe it or not
once upon a time) that Lou built into a giant.
I was told Lou also had a big impact on many of the best industry folks
in our midst today- so his influence will continue to carry on. I’m sad for my friends who were close to Lou
and my condolences to them and Lou’s family.
LINKS of the WEEK
This is one impressive family when it comes to “Homecoming”
Paternity Tests for
Goats?
Pretty interesting here-
golf pro to high school teacher
PROJECT of the WEEK
We go inside for an
AWESOME shower enclosure that I found on the BEST FACEBOOK group going- the
Shower Door Professionals run by the great Chris Phillips. So this set-up is a stunner and it was done
by the team at Triple Crown Glass & Mirror in Belton, Texas and was posted
by Corey McGregor. The glass looks great
and its just a eye catcher all the way around.
And as for the group- it is seriously an awesome gathering of pros that
support each other with insight and dialogue.
Incredible in this day and age really.
Kudos to Corey and the team at Triple Crown and all of the women and men
on Chris’ group page for having a great outlet on social media for us to show
off!
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