From the Director’s Desk: Charleston Recap - A Note on Human Kindness
Charleston Recap - A Note on Human Kindness
I hope everyone had a terrific Fourth of July weekend. I closed this year’s Annual Conference two weeks ago in Charleston by wishing everyone a happy Fourth and a safe and fun-filled day celebrating the greatest country in the world. I have always loved the Fourth of July holiday and have great memories of the picnics and parades of my childhood in my hometown of Eldora, Iowa. While a strong argument could be made that our country’s physical beauty and majesty are what make it the world’s greatest country, that would be missing what I think is this country’s crown jewel, its people.
I always enjoy seeing industry friends reconnect and rekindle friendships and relationships that span decades. It really jumped out at me this year. Our members like one another, that much is clear. Our Board Appreciation/Conference VIP night reception and our opening reception, on Wednesday night, both had that boisterous sound of a good cocktail party at full song. It was great. Each year, our conference attracts attendees that have never been before. Often, they are vendors hoping to enter the space after seeing some opportunity among our members. On two occasions, I had first-time attendees tell me how friendly and welcoming everyone was. All I could do was grin and nod knowingly. You folks are a lot of fun.
All of that said, the highlight for me came in the form of human kindness which, if it catches you flat-footed, can really knock the stuffing out of you. I had such an experience at the end of our summer board meeting on Tuesday. I’ve been back and forth on sharing the details of what transpired as it was a personal gesture made by my professional friends, but I’d like to offer some details as I think it highlights the kind of people our members and our board of directors are. In late May, my father passed away. He had been managing some health challenges for over a year, which as chance first flared up while our board gathered in the spring of 2023, so our board was there at the beginning. For the past year, many of my phone calls with my board members began with the simple inquiry “How’s your dad?”. That alone speaks volumes about the people I’m honored to represent. Their support of me and concern for my father, a man they had never met, buoyed me throughout the 15-month journey of his illness and death. As our board meeting came to a close, our outgoing Chairman Billy Hoskins interrupted the meeting. He explained that a group of individuals from our board and member companies were contributing to my parents’ memorial scholarship awarded in that little town of Eldora that I so often talk about. I was breathless, and then I cried. What else could I do? Two days later, I would close out our conference. The second to the last slide is my opportunity to thank our outbound Chairman. I cued up the slide and there were a handful of pictures of Billy Hoskins doing PFI stuff (fly-ins, plant tours). Once again my emotions betrayed me and all I could offer was a choked up “Thanks Billy”.
If I’m being honest, the rest of the conference pales in comparison to the compassion I felt from my board and my members that Tuesday. I don’t mean to take anything away from any of the other components of our program, but I’ll remember that moment of kindness for the rest of my days.
Charleston did not disappoint. It was hot and muggy as we suspected it might be. Golf was a scorcher and I heard more than a few references to famed PFI Annual Conference scorchers of the past including Myrtle Beach and Williamsburg. Still, people got out there and soaked it up. I heard great things about the venue and the sights and sounds of that historic city. I hope you managed a few moments of your own to take in the historic charm of Charleston.
Hey, to that end I’d like to feature attendee submitted photos from Charleston in the Photo of the Week for the rest of the summer. Full photo credit will be given. Did anyone get a photo of Ft. Sumter? Rainbow row, a plate of oysters, a ghost-tour group crowding a sidewalk, it’s all fair game.
I’d like to offer a public thank you to the sponsors of this year’s conference. I said this onstage, and I’ll reiterate it here now, every time something, anything happened to a PFI attendee, a sponsor had contributed. That free cocktail? A sponsor paid for that. The bus ride to the golf outing? A sponsor. Coffee. Breakfast. Lunch. A chair to sit in during the panel discussion? All sponsor support. The PFI Annual Conference is a decades long tradition because sponsors step forward to support the conference. On behalf of our membership, thank you all.
