Many ASPE chapters rely on local product shows as a major source of income. The Saint Louis group found a way to make it work for all.
Several months ago, writing in a competing magazine whose name conveniently escapes me, an old friend Pete Warshaw lamented the poor attendance at some ASPE chapter product shows and educational programs. He specifically referred to an event earlier this year that featured presentations by the editors of two magazines serving the plumbing engineering community of which, naturally, I was one.
The people I met there were friendly and seemed interested in my remarks on the history of plumbing. Either that, or they had mastered the oh-so-useful art of falling asleep with their eyes open. In either case, I was grateful. But Pete's point is well taken. A speaker with a tiny audience feels as forlorn as a tennis instructor in a nursing home. After my presentation, I manned a booth at the product show, where I was the one on the verge of nodding away.