Ok, Its Sunday AM – The mixer was last night. The IPI did a good job with this one. A lot of people in a small area, great for networking, gossip, and just chatting. The beer and wine didn’t hurt either.
Shawn Conrad, the new IPI Executive Director made an appearance. He was gracious and took my groups ribbing with style.
The general discussion at this event, particularly among the vendors, was attendance. Everyone knows it will be down, the question is by how much. The economy has put a lot of pressure on the IPIs main source of attendees, municipalities and higher ed. However some that said they weren’t coming did get approval at the last minute. We shall see. I’ll ask Shawn when I see him today. He told the board that there were 1700 registered. I will confirm, and see if I can get a breakdown. The exhibitors as a group are nervous but they always are. Unfortunately this is out of the IPI’s control. When the president of the US tells people they shouldn’t “waste” money attending events like this, a lot of people listen.
Folks at the mixer were also talking about the show, the opening today, and as the evening progressed, the discussions got a tad more raucous. I left a bit before closing and spend a good hour and a half in the hotel bar discussing “demand management” and the lack of a piano player. The rest of PT’s crew was missing in action until this morning. We are all moving with some care. A nice greasy breakfast will help
JVH
