You can zoom yourself to death. At literally every hour of every day, there is a potential zoom call or webinar that you can join. I teach a class every Fall at the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. Unfortunately, our state was hit with another hurricane this season and it shut down many schools for weeks, including those in New Orleans. I was told that my class would be via zoom AGAIN this year because the campus wouldn’t open till mid-October. But as of a few days ago, the students returned and now my upcoming class will be in person. Thank goodness. Sometimes the translation of a one-on-one meeting, seminar or classroom just isn’t the same from a computer screen while sitting in your jammies. I’m so over it. I’m ready for the face-to-face meetings to start again. Masks or not, I don’t care. I’m ready to socialize.
Columbus here we come! The NASGW Expo returns on October 27th, and after nearly two years of separation, our industry finally gets to come back together. The last time we were able to attend an event in person was the 2020 Shot Show. Hard to believe we’ve had two NRA Annual Meetings, a SHOT Show, and an NASGW Expo all canceled. During that time, we’ve dealt with shutdowns, quarantines, Federal, State, and local restrictions, Zoom calls, virtual events, supply chain shortages, insane demand, legislative attacks, a Presidential election, and so much more. It indeed has been unprecedented in so many ways. And though there may still be challenging times ahead, at least for one week in Ohio, we can feel somewhat normal. We can talk about industry issues, shake hands (or bump fists), catch up with old friends, and meet in person. I know I am certainly looking forward to this year’s Expo, and I hope that you all are as well.
Final checklists are now in order, we hope. Meetings scheduled…check. Hotel rooms booked… check. Expo badges purchased…check. Appreciation dinner tables purchased…check. I want to remind you that safety is still a top priority for our event. As per the local mandates, masks will be required, so please bring them with you. You will receive a personal bottle of hand sanitizer and there will be sanitizer stations positioned throughout the show floor. We ask that you be respectful of everyone’s health and safety around you. If you feel sick at all, please do not attend the Expo or events and meetings. We do want to have a successful show, and we are highly confident in our ability to take extra precautions since our show is private, with a much smaller crowd than other industry shows or even sporting events that are continuing to go on across the country. So please join us in making health and safety a priority while you’re in Columbus.
With all of that said, we’ve got a great week planned for you that kicks off on Tuesday, October 26th, with the Annual Appreciation Dinner. Join us to hear from NASGW leadership, see who will be taking home Appreciation and Caliber Awards, and listen to our guest speaker Mr. Chris Stirewalt, one of the top Political Commentators in the U.S. We have fun happy hours planned on the show floor and a new event to help introduce our new exhibitors to our distributors. Of course, I can’t forget the biggest benefit of attending the NASGW Expo: the uninterrupted time you have to meet with your vendors and distributor partners. The NASGW Expo is known for being THE productive show in our industry for that reason alone. So get ready and get dressed because the countdown is on!
See you all soon,
Laurie Lipsey Aronson
President and CEO Lipsey's
NASGW Chairwoman