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The old, fashioned curtains
and rails (C&R) set up for the trade show booths at AirCargo 2022
in New Orleans were simple and attractive with fresh and eager faces shining
out in front of them last week.
The deep blue luminescent purple sheen that
glowed from the AC 2022 sessions stage felt good and reassuring after
two years of lights out and little to no contact with others.
You almost expected someone would stand
up and announce jubilantly reminding everybody that AC2022 was:
“Live and in living color!”
But AFA and their partners including The
Air & Expedited Motor Carriers Association, and Airport Council International
have always marched to their own drummer and as compared to all others
are, “the trade group for everybody else.”
Freight forwarders, especially this group
is a hard working basic down on the ground force of heart and soul people.
So here in New Orleans down on the show
floor are less walls and more friendly curtain fences and clinches and
encounters in plenty going on whilst advancing the agenda throughout the
conference.
Looking ahead if the creek don’t rise,
AfA et-al Air Cargo will appear again in Nashville, USA February 12, 2023
live and in living color!
So who is also happy about trade show returns?
Interestingly someone with good air freight
forwarder background that also builds trade show displays.
She is also a force of nature all by herself,
who cheers for the industry and noted her boss attended Air Cargo 2022.
Her name is Heidi Maschmann and she is the
Manager of Information Systems at ELITeXPO, a trade show products and
services company in Aurora, Illinois that builds virtual and physical
solutions.
ELITeXPO creates smart looking booths, and
with imagination pulls out all the bells and whistles in creating best
foot forward trade show displays.
Stands to reason, if sense & sensibility
matches up forces as one expects about the other, creating a new presentation
to take on the road should be a natural for Heidi who once upon a time
served in domestic and international freight forwarding.
She eventually moved over to ELITeXPO, full
time where she handles all aspects of their technology systems and corporate
training.
She also oversees their marketing department
and proudly heads up their CSR program.
Heidi has been involved with IACAC, the
pioneer air cargo organization of airport cargo people in Chicagoland
for many years and was named the Member of the Year at one point, when
Heidi ran the association’s website and social media.
Today Heidi's skills range from network
and computer systems setup and maintenance to data analysis, sales, and
web design.
But now Heidi talks the top subject at last
week’s Air Cargo 2022 Sustainability and the general condition right
now.
That’s the other thing.
Freight forwarders can always be counted
upon to speak up.
So to Curtains & Rails, High tech “Gee
Whiz” trade show displays, or the current mood in the industry.
FT: Best
definition of Sustainability you might share?
HM: I
use the UN definition. Meeting the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
FT: Moving
ahead Emotional decisions in business versus process mining or is there
room for both and if so in what measure?
HM: We
have to find a way to incorporate both.
Even the smallest steps taken can have an
environmental impact. It’s fantastic when businesses can invest
fully in sustainability initiatives. Smaller businesses and businesses
affected financially by the pandemic can still make a difference with
low-cost and subsidized initiatives such as reporting carbon footprint
information, making energy-efficient fleet and facility changes, and training
staff and informing vendors and clients about sustainability.
Every company can improve their social responsibility.
Whether it’s through corporate charitable contributions or hosting
fundraisers and promoting volunteerism.
FT: What
do you want to improve in 2022?
HM:
A goal for 2022 is to move to using as many vendors as possible that are
also working toward improving their corporate social responsibility practices.
I believe supporting these businesses not only rewards them but also helps
to drive participation from other vendors.
FT: What
if you kept things the same and didn’t do anything?
HM: We
all have a responsibility to do what we can. If we don’t, life will
continue to get more difficult for everyone on our planet and the effect
on future generations would be critical.
FT: What
did you want air cargo, airlines, forwarders, other cargo resources and
even truckers to know about Sustainability and moving ahead today?
HM:
I want all industry members to know that their efforts are appreciated.
It’s been great seeing so many companies getting together to collaborate
on these issues and work to find solutions that can make positive impacts.
“Every day is an opportunity to do better. I’m excited to
see that so many in our industry are seizing that opportunity.”
Geoffrey
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