LAX April 2010

GFG Conference dusts off volcanic worries to forge ahead with its LAX conference…

CONFERENCE NEWS – LOS ANGELES, USA – SPRING 2010

 

 

“Three times a LA LA Lady” for the Global Freight Group conference …

GFG Group Administrator, Rachel Marchant, reports on the Los Angeles conference, 25 – 27 April 2010

 

Nature tries to disrupt another GFG conference…

It did seem particularly bad luck that, after circumnavigating the typhoons to attend the Fall conference in Manila, our members now had to fight the flight chaos, brought on by the Icelandic volcanic dust, in order to reach the Los Angeles conference. At one stage I thought I might have to operate via webcam for the meeting. With members from as far away as Asia having their connecting flights affected by stopovers and stranded planes, it was not only the Europeans struggling to take off. However, luck was on our side and everyone managed to fulfil their travel plans.

The result was a very healthy spring style attendance of 50 people, of which 44 were delegates representing 26 member companies. Given that the conference is optional and expenditure is being curbed due to ‘crisis’ concerns, we felt there was a strong turnout. Our loyal supporter and sponsor, Logiware, was represented by Alan Palmore and it is good to see business growing steadily between the GFG members and Logiware.

 

Palatable platters at Palate…

The Directors’ dinner was held at Palate restaurant, offering a very quirky setting with almost dungeon-like brick walls. The food was superb in its variety and quality and, accompanied by excellent service, our visit to Palate was certainly a very palatable experience.

 

LAX welcomes the GFG, Embassy Suites style…

Having become very familiar with the Embassy Suites amenities since we started using them for our casual spring conferences in 2005, we were not surprised by the Manager’s Reception providing drinks and snacks over a two hour period. However, it was beyond their normal hospitality to let us have almost the whole cocktail reception area to ourselves, providing an excellent opportunity for our members to enjoy each others’ company over a libation or two. With the reception included in the room price, all we had to do was bring the party and of course we obliged with the great company of our GFG friends.

 

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Meeting targets…

Of course, despite all the socialising to kickstart the conference, the main focus is work. The Board of Directors’ meeting is a day long event, followed by the General Assembly on Monday morning. It is only after these that the sales meetings start. Topics covered during the meetings were: membership status reviews, the new FMC filing requirements, the sales leads programme and the acquisition of D Kratt International.

A new member for Panama was also introduced. Javier Villalobos of Cargo Express in Venezuela, introduced Rafael Sevillano and Anna Ponce from his Panama office.

 

Photos: Mr. Javier Villalobos introduces Rafael Sevillano of Cargo Express Interoceanica of Panama at the Directors’ meeting.

 

Sponsor Logiware returns once more …

It was with pleasure that we welcomed Alan Palmore from Logiware to another conference.   After addressing the members and updating them about Logiware’s developments, Alan invited questions.   During the remainder of the conference, Alan set up his table with demonstrations and advice available for any members who required his services and logistics software expertise.

 

Sales Meetings – getting down to serious business…

The sales meetings are the business forum of the conferences, with the casual conference format offering far more time for members to spend in discussions. This is the forte of the spring meeting – more operational staff in attendance able to give hands-on feedback of shared freight.

When the large contingent from local hosts Ken Hamanaka met with HonduAmerican’s team of three, there was quite a meeting!   Photo right: Ken Hamanaka and HonduAmerican

 

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Cheesecake Factory sees mass global influx …

On Monday evening, as has become tradition, a very large group of GFG members went out to dinner. The Cheesecake Factory did an excellent job of catering to 49 people – almost simultaneously – so that we could enjoy a meal together.

 

Farewell to LAX…

After another successful meeting, plans go ahead for the main conference in Budapest in October 2011, which will see over 60 companies meeting in the beautiful city for more business and entertainment…

 

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