Texas Week
At Glass TEXpo this week
This week I get to go to one of my favorite states and will see a ton of my favorite people when I visit Glass TEXpo in San Antonio. I always enjoy attending this one because the folks in the great state of Texas always lay out the best welcome mat possible. Probably one of the main things I’ll be digging around on is taking the temperature of the attendees on how their business and market is going right now. I do know some spots in Texas have gone soft, a very rare feeling for that region as even through some of the worst of times, Texas has stayed busy. So I’ll be curious to see what is happening and what the outlook is. I’ll obviously report back here next week. If you’ll be at this show, I hope to run into you and catch up!
Elsewhere…
The latest pod
ICYMI, my latest podcast is out and it’s really getting a lot of nice feedback. I had the dynamic duo of Jeff Dalaba and Ben Beeler on to talk certification in the glazing space, Asta Fivgas on talking about her role at Reflection Window and Wall and getting more women involved in our space and Austin Casey on talking about helping glass shops become much more efficient. I learned a lot and enjoyed catching up with some very cool people. Please check it out, and thank you for the support!
You can watch on YouTube, or listen here as well as wherever you listen to podcasts like Apple, Spotify, Google etc.
VIG
It continues to get me fired up seeing the excitement around the VIG side of things. Evidently there was a recent gathering where the best of the best came together to dive in on what can be done in the space and that is a positive step forward. I’ve noted before that I love the passion and approach of people like Michael Spellman and Dave Cooper who live and breathe this product and companies like Vitro that are doing all they can to keep advancing it. Good stuff!
Promotion in the industry
Also good stuff, the promotion of Charles Lubecke at Q-Railing. He is now taking on the role of Director of Project Solutions there. I have been a big fan of Charles for a while, he’s got a seriously strong set of skills and it’s nice to see them being utilized! Now the big question though, does this mean Charles will not be in charge of building the Q-Railing exhibit at GlassBuild? That stand never disappoints so whomever may be taking on that role has massive shoes to fill! Congrats on the news Charles!
Airport expansions
Lots of airport expansion news but the biggest one I saw was terminal D at Atlanta Hartsfield is getting upgraded. That is great news. It’s obviously going to be a pain while it’s happening but when done that will be very nice since Atlanta is a massive hub and that terminal needed it. Obviously, the airport is expanding because they know GlassBuild this fall in Atlanta will be jam packed and they are preparing for the glass industry crush of attendees. LOL. Also from what I read this will be a modular build too, which I think is cool and will be fascinating to see it play out.
Pop culture news
Last this week, some pop-culture. On TV, the Amazon series “Citadel” is off to a promising start despite some brutally misplaced glass usage on a train. But aside from that boo boo, it’s got some potential overall. In theaters I saw “Big George” about the life of boxer and pitchman George Foreman and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. On Big George, solid movie, was not as good as it could’ve been given his very interesting life, but as a sports fan and history guy I enjoyed. As for “Guardians”, I leave the Marvel/Disney expertise up to my son, but I have always liked this particular series and the latest installment did not miss. The music once again in Guardians featured some inspiring choices. Anyway, if you liked the previous movies, I think you’ll love this one.
