PUBLISHER'S CORNER
FACE-TO-FACE IS ALWAYS BETTER TONY CORPIN, PUBLISHER R
ecently, I was walking down the hallway at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nev., home of the STN School Bus EXPO, and found myself running into numerous industry friends and business associates. I took advantage of those impromptu meet- ings to strike up conversations with all sorts of people on a variety of topics. Tis
experience gave meaning to why conferences and trade shows exist at all, to connect! Te power and purpose of conferences is the personal component. If you attended the recent
STN EXPO or plan on going to the upcoming NAPT Summit – or any tradeshow – it’s an experience that requires all five senses. Next month, as it does each year, the NAPT Summit also draws together school transportation professionals to collaborate, learn and network with each other. Attendees travel from great distances to meet like-minded individuals and discuss the vibrancy, hope and promise of innovation in our industry. Are you planning on attending? Some may wonder why, in the age of technology and the Internet, live face-to-face events
even exist. Yet they not only persist, they prosper, because people, relationships and first-hand impressions matter. Interaction beats the Internet for creating a big picture view, allowing discovery, developing trust and evaluating people and products. Attendees come to meet the people with whom they are doing business, to shake their
hands, look in their eyes, and assess whether a company’s product matches a company’s hype. Perhaps most important, they come because relationships matter in business and, despite the worldwide reach of the Internet, a relationship cannot only be electronic. It must be personal. Another benefit of trade shows is the exposure to new technologies and the teams behind
those products. For example, at the recent STN EXPO I was able to experience new innovative products and technologies like a student biometric hand reader, extended range propane tanks, software and GPS, illegal passing solutions, video security equipment, safety training programs, LED lighting, restraint systems and more. Be sure to check out some of these products and solutions in the September issue on pages 36 and 38. After a long couple of days of educational training and trade show time everyone needs to
kick back and reenergize a little with some entertainment, food and drink. At the STN EXPO we gave them just that at the 20th anniversary celebration and networking event presented by HSM Transportation Solutions along with numerous other sponsors like 247 Security, ACT, Besi, Blue Bird, Cummins, Espar, HDBP, QuantumXXI, Tie Tech and Transfinder. Tis event like many that our vendors support and host provides a place for many people to connect with new friends and old ones too. Do you take every opportunity to participate at this type of networking event at conferences? A Harvard Business Review study of 2,300 business leaders in the United States, Europe and Asia confirmed that face-to-face meetings remain essential to doing business and are preferred by executives over remote alternatives for many business interactions. No matter the reason, everyone who attends a conference and trade show has chosen to
invest precious time and money. Teir return is more than entertainment; it is business – and an awesome and inspiring display of the future of school transportation. Nothing will replace the ability for people to come together to learn, interact and maybe
even strike a deal. So get on a plane. Go to a conference and trade show. Tink outside the box. Be open to new ideas. And have a bit of fun along the way.
74 School Transportation News September 2013
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