Chad Fowler
YEN Steering Committee Co-chairman
Regional Sales Manager
Adrian Steel Company (Adrian, MI)
It’s hard to believe that The Work Truck Show 2010, held in beautiful downtown St. Louis, has come and gone. The city was very accommodating, offering plenty of great restaurants, bars and casinos. Also, having Anheuser-Busch nearby didn’t hurt either! It’s just too bad it wasn’t baseball season yet — it’s great to see the pride St. Louis has for its team.
More than 8,000 industry professionals attended The Work Truck Show, yielding a packed convention center. Nissan created a stir with the release of its new line of light-duty work vans. Several hundred personnel from Nissan dealerships around the country were on hand, touring the show floor and expressing a great deal of interest in the work truck industry. It’s always refreshing to see new faces eager to learn about our industry.
This year’s show had a positive atmosphere, as if people were “willing” this recession to end. Almost everyone I spoke with shared positive news about their businesses, and more end-users appeared ready to make purchases.
YEN Events
Also at The Work Truck Show, the YEN Steering Committee held its bi-annual meeting to recognize Steering Committee members completing terms; elect new officers; welcome new members; and discuss future YEN initiatives and events. The Committee is focused on furthering the YEN by establishing a strategic direction and goals, as well as recruiting members who are motivated and truly committed to making a difference. I am confident that this Steering Committee is going to make things happen.
For the second year, YEN welcomed Jep Enck, president of Enck Resources, as the presenter of its Leadership Workshop, held in conjunction with The Work Truck Show. Enck addressed growth and development resources to help young professionals become future leaders of their companies, their communities and the NTEA. Following the session, attendees compared notes and renewed acquaintances at the Networking Reception.
Looking Ahead
After a full and exciting week, the show ended on Friday afternoon. As I headed away from St. Louis, the Arch and the rain, I immediately began looking forward to next year in Indianapolis. In addition, I feel we have set the stage for a great NTEA Truck Product Conference in Detroit, MI this September. The next YEN event will be there. I hope to see you then!