The Real Place to be in Las Vegas

When you open your speech with the words “This isn’t going to end up on a blog somewhere is it?” you’re asking for trouble.

Just kidding, Max.

In truth, as entertaining as it was to see Max Perilstein, chair of the Glass Association of North America’s (GANA) Building Envelope Contractor’s (BEC) division hit the stage during this morning’s opening session of the BEC Conference with Ms. Rio in tow (headdress, sequins and all), it hasn’t been the (only) highlight of the conference thus far.

I’ve been here at the Rio in Las Vegas since Wednesday covering GANA’s Glass Week. While I learned a great deal following the technical discussions during the various division meetings, I was wowed during last night’s BEC opening reception when it seemed that all of the conference’s more than 700 registrants were in attendance.

Although my first BEC, I’ve been told that the large number of attendants is just a continuation of the tremendous growth this conference has seen. And last night it seemed fairly evident that the glazing contractors now here in Vegas know full well the important networking opportunities this event offers, as the conversations that began at the reception continued long into the night (or so I hear).

More impressive, it seems those same attendants are aware of the usefulness of today’s full schedule of seminars, as the room has been packed through this morning’s sessions (Check out http://www.usgnn.com/ to read more about those sessions).

Glass Week had its own definite networking opportunities. On Friday night that conference’s attendants came together for a formal dinner and the presentation of a number of awards. In particular, Stan Smith, GANA executive director, was called repeatedly to the stage in recognition of his upcoming retirement. While pulled in many directions during this busy week, Stan has agreed to spend a few minutes later this week sharing with us at USGNN.com a few reflections on his time at GANA and his plans for his retirement ahead.

Incoming executive director Bill Yanek was also honored—as much for the time he has devoted thus far to the association as for his birthday, which he was celebrating on Friday (Ms. Rio helped add to the festivities with a cake and candles while GANA members chipped in with a close-to-on-tune rendition of Happy Birthday).

Bill Coddington of W.S. Coddington Consulting was brought to the stage with a presentation of a GANA Honorary Membership due to his contributions to the industry and association (for more on Bill's contributions, CLICK HERE). After this week, with all that has been accomplished during Glass Week meetings (check out USGNN and the April issue of USGlass for full details about that) the value of this lifetime membership was clear.

I’ll be here in Vegas through tomorrow afternoon, so please stop by and say hello—or send me an email on how you can get more information about next year’s conference.