2013 ANNUAL CPMA CONVENTION…GREAT IMPROVEMENT!

Attended and exhibited at the 2013 CPMA convention put on last week here in Toronto, and I must admit it was a major improvement over some of the previous conferences.  There were only a few drawbacks, but on a scale of  1 to 10 would have to rate this as a solid 7.  Maybe close to an 8!  Maybe….

Gardex was there is force this year, with Sarah and Nigel manning the booth along with Karen and yours truly.

We also had some great support from Dave and Claude from B&G demo’ing the latest spraying equipment innovations.  Thanks guys!

Timing:  the only drawback here was being downtown at 4:30 on a Friday night.  Traffic is horrendous. Maybe run this from a Tuesday to a Thursday and be done with it.

Guest Speakers:  this was the biggest improvement over past years, with a wider variety, topics and interests outside the normal group of local “experts” re-hashing the same subjects.  I sat through several of the talks, which is unusual since I know everything, and found them really well put together.

The PMRA and MOE attended and spoke on various issues and it was good to see them take an interest.  We are in essence in the same industry, so hopefully more of a sense of cooperation will continue to develop.

Exhibitors:  good group overall, with a nice assortment of the suppliers supporting our business in Canada.

Venue:  the hotel was very nice, held at the Westin Harbour Castle (don’t know where the heck the “Castle” comes from) and for a downtown Toronto hotel was easy to get to.  The hotel’s staff was very accommodating, food services very good (and plenty available for all attendees)

But expensive, which is what you would expect for downtown Toronto.  $40.00 for valet parking???  Wow.

My biggest concern was where was everybody?????   There were several companies from across Canada that normally attend that weren’t there, plus the local attendance was spotty.  With the number of companies working the GTA, I would have thought to see at least another 40 or so represented.

Money?  Time?  Both?  The year we’re having?  Think it was a little bit of everything.

But it begs the question, is the numbers that attend important, or is the information provided important?