Massive BEC Recap
What you missed in Vegas
Well, that was a heck of an experience. BEC 2025 was genuinely fabulous from start to finish. From Jeff Haber leading off to Troy DeGroot closing, the number of solutions provided was extensive and insights more numerous to count. The networking as well was undefeated. So, on this post, I will offer a little flavor of my own and link to others who have the space to go deeper. Then I’ll drop into my annual run of who’s who from the room. Buckle in, this is going to be a long one.
Overall, the vibe was positive but you could feel that lingering worry floating over the room. My friends from Canada were trying to deal with what was coming their way, and then many in our space were dealing with softer than normal conditions. The one thing I know is we are a resilient industry. Always have been. Whatever the challenge, we’re going to keep working through it. At least that’s the way I see most of the folks in our world. I will say that the presentations by Jeff Haber from W&W and Jay Bowman from FMI helped lend some perspective to the process out there and that helps. Sometimes it’s better to have visibility even though what’s ahead may be ugly.
On the content, I loved it all. The presenters were stellar and they spent a ton of time crafting and perfecting. Kudos to all. Hard to pick a favorite. The two I mentioned already were amazing. The Brock West interview of Construction Lawyer Chip Bachara was fantastic. The room was enthralled with Bluebeam insights and tips from Troy DeGroot. The codes talk, safety talk, 2nd chance workforce, Lean, PK and Alyssa podcast, and trends piece from Guardian all had takeaways and had me noting things left and right.
Session deep dives
The Glass Magazine dynamic duo of Tara Lukasik and Rachel Vitello were all over it and provided this coverage via LinkedIn. Check these posts out as they provided a ton of detail. Great job by both!
People of BEC
Now on to the people section. If you’ve never read a recap of mine, I tend to drop a lot of names. I love networking and truly enjoy meeting new folks. So, this is my chance to call it all out!
The Sunday reception delivered like always, a packed room, a ton of connecting going on. Very special. I got to run into 2 of the guys that made BEC 2024 super for me in Bill Brown and Danny Bostic of Harmon. They took me on a tour of a skyscraper they were glazing in Nashville. Both guys are class acts and Danny was rocking a very impressive beard! With the “legendary” beards of Brandon Bellegarde and Tyler Faulk missing (rough not having them, missed them, but understood why they couldn’t swing it) Danny sits alone atop the leaderboard beard wise. Also at the reception I got to meet and chat with the “Fab Five” from Precision Glass Industries. I started the week at their place and ended it meeting five talented people, Carlos Menendez, Lisa Carlyle, Phillip Lawrence, Amanda Lucas, and Brian Thetford, impressive and very cool. Gareth Reardon of Synergy Glass was wonderful to run into and I was appreciative of his kind words about my daughter Natalie. I got a few seconds with the great Brian Thomas of Super Sky, I enjoy every interaction there even if it's quick. And same goes with Omar Maalouf of Momentum Glass. In this case, me getting a bit of one-on-one time with Omar is rare since he’s hugely in demand, so I was grateful.
As the event went on, I got to catch up with old friends all over. Fantastic people like James Wright, Tom Donovan and Lorne Flaig of Thompson Innovative Glass. Seeing the “Gold Standard” Heather West (best PR person around) never fails to deliver. Also on that comms side, not only did I see marketing wiz Rich Porayko, but for the first time in all these years I got to meet his wonderful wife and son! That was epic for me. I also finally met Barbara Kinney of NVOY Architectural Products, that was excellent as was seeing the rest of the NVOY crew in the sales GOAT Art Huard, Pamela Meyer, and Shawn McHale.
I continue to be impressed with Travis Nevins of IUPAT. That dude cares about our space immensely. That vibes with me. Great he was here as was Jason Lamberth (another epic beard guy.) Just good people. Also good? The industry Front Man, lead singer Carl Christ, along with Rachel Herrick of DFI. They were hustling thanks to having another show across the street! Saw the Aragon crew! For the first time I ever I did not screw up Matt and Joey when I saw them. That was big. And getting a bit of time with Drew Forester is top notch. He may be the most genuine guy in our space. Awesome. I was honored to see the great Randy Brooks of Gardner owning the treadmill in the fitness center. It was too early and he was on fire, so I had to slink away, couldn’t keep up. And as it always happens at BEC, I see the outstanding Shelly Farmer of Pellecure when she grabs her badge. We say that we’ll catch up as the show goes along and then she disappears into a crowd of adoring fans. Every year. I was pleasantly stunned to see one of my favorite bloggers David Vermeulen of TGP. Didn’t know he was coming. That was neat.
New people to meet. Quite a few. I was super impressed by Brock Naylor of Reed Rubber. That is one sharp cat there. Another young notable buck was Kai Knitter of Oahu Metal and Glass. His dad Chris is a favorite of mine and it was a great moment in meeting the next gen. I did not know Josh Lipman of Steel Encounters before this, obviously I am huge fan of his company, so it was super to get to meet another team member from there. Old friend, the multi-talented Jose Rodriguez of Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope introduced me to new friend Jamie Kernohan. He even has her listening to my podcasts, thank you Jose and great to meet you, Jamie. And last, as the show was ending, I got to chat with Mike Blankenship and Travis Martin of Blankenship Glass. I was blown away at their enthusiasm for the program and dedication to our industry and learning more to advance their business.
A few more. It’s not BEC if I don’t to see people that always come like Pat Pennington of Kovach. They’re making some excellent news out there. Joe and Mike Clabbers of National Glass, Chris Fronsoe of Vitro, Syndi Sim of Q-railing, and Brad Thurman of GGI who gets to host all of us in Louisville next year!
We were missing some folks this year. Aside from Brandon and Tyler mentioned above, Kip Larison from Pioneer had to miss, though having Coleman Jones from there at the event makes things fly. Bummed that Eric LeClair of Vicone Rubber missed thanks to cancelled flights. Sara Neiswanger of NGA, who has been one of my “ride or dies” at BEC for many years, missed because she was at home with a spectacular new addition. So happy for her.
A few more before we wrap, the big brains were in force, brilliant minds like Jeff Dalaba of NACC/AGMT, Joe Kaiser of Herzog, the technical legend Charlie Boyer, and of course the engineers that can fix anything, NGA’s Urmilla Sowell and Georgia Scalfano.
And speaking of NGA. Events like these are not easy to pull off. There are tons of moving parts and pieces and the team there works tirelessly to make things as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. So many talented, classy people on site this year making it fly. Molly Grenn, Wendy Rochelle, Gwynn Breckenridge, Casey Horres, Cameron Francis, Tristan Scoffield, Jenni Chase, Amy Hadfield, and Holly Robinson were all off the charts. It really is an honor for me to work with them all. Of course, for more than 20 years I’ve known Katy Devlin and she grows more talented every year, and her planning here was exquisite. Also, I can’t leave out Rock Star Melanie Dettmer. The enthusiasm and care there keeps me going.
Last but surely not least, seeing Nicole Harris honored from the stage with a new industry award was super special. Nicole deserved that and the heartwarming ovation she received. Her efforts go way beyond what many people see or have seen, and when this industry was fractured and there was a void, Nicole stepped up and in and turned it all around. This was her last BEC as CEO and I hope we made her proud with our effort.
I know I missed a bunch of people. I always do and I am sorry. My brain is more mushy than normal and as I told a few people my eyes are so bad I can’t see name tags well anymore! So please give me a pass. This was an event for the ages and I am now already gearing up with excitement for GlassBuild this fall in Orlando. For me there is nothing better than having a chance to talk and learn from the best in our world. I thank you all for that. Now, let’s go fight the good fight and push forward through whatever muck is out there and come out on top!
See you next week with a traditional blog (with notes from my “day after” in Vegas) and a new podcast episode too!
