Editor's Notebook April 2023

Craig Mongeau - Editor in Chief - April 2023

By the time you'll read this, it'll be April, but I'm writing this on March 16 having not slept for the past 37 or so hours. I just returned from Vegas. No, I wasn't doing "Vegas things," but instead working ConExpo-Con/AGG … the biggest construction industry tradeshow in North America, held every three years.

The show keeps getting bigger and more exhausting, both to attend and to cover as a member of the industry media. It's become a lot like the Disney World version of a trade show where there is no way to spend any quality time in any and all of the exhibit halls and lots in just one day; it'll take several if you don't want to miss any of the equipment and manufacturers of that equipment you might be thinking to add to your fleets. Each day at the show, you should expect to walk at least 11 or 12 miles … seriously. The exhibit halls are massive and depending on where you're going, the distance between exhibit halls is formidable.

The "Bigger is Better" philosophy definitely is on display at ConExpo with the hundreds and hundreds of exhibitors and the thousands upon thousands of equipment models. I've said it before in this column, but it is worth attending at some point, nonetheless, if you have the time and the budget.

This said, though, I'm a fan of humility and in a world that seems dominated by social media where collecting clicks, views and likes is valued by some people as if it's valuable currency, I believe small stuff has incredible value, too. Smaller, more focused trade shows — like ones where you can just spend a day or just a few hours traversing and still find exactly what you're looking for or need — offers immense value, because "Time is Money" also is a pretty important philosophy. And I think — well, I know—that many of you must believe this, too, because we're blessed here at Superintendent's Profile to see so many of you at the N.Y.S. Highway & Public Works Expo each October. Balance in life is a wonderful and necessary thing and that's what I need to do now … get some sleep. Have a great start to Spring.