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OUNTER-TECH By Mandy Aguilar
Sensor Not Included recently returned from Industry Week in Las Vegas, ready to share all the new technology on display at AAPEX. But, my dear readers, we are going to hold back on that column until next month. If you allow me, I’d like to talk to you about a topic that’s a lot closer to home. This year’s pilgrimage to Vegas was a way for me to truly network with peers and colleagues. Networking is always a big part of any trade show; heck, oftentimes it’s the only reason worth going. For us, the networking usually starts months before the show as our team, spread throughout Florida and Puerto Rico, plows through several conference calls and countless emails to create our “Vegas Agenda” (a truly collabora-
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Amazingly, or perhaps not, not one person in the room knew what Raymond was talking about...
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December 2013 | Counterman
tive document that we all share using Google Docs, so every member of the team is on the same page). This shared document is a thing of beauty! A road map, wish list and cheat sheet, all rolled into one, which allows us to digest and process every one of our 50-plus scheduled meetings at AWDA and AAPEX. Because we value our time in Vegas, as well as our vendors’ time, this shared agenda makes us a better team. At a very personal level, those conversations with our various vendors and partners lead to some of the most rewarding on-the-job experiences we’ve ever had; a true testament to the power of face-to-face communication. Yes, the meetings can be rewarding, but they can also be a drag. This year, however, we had a very special treat as one of our own, Raymond Guffey, was honored as 2013 Counter Professional of the Year. This is perhaps one of our industry’s highest recognitions, awarded by this fine publication and sponsored by the folks at Affinia. We are very lucky to count Raymond in our ranks and congratulate him on this most wonderful achievement. It was Raymond’s first opportunity to attend Industry Week, and we were delighted to have the coolest kid in the class hang with us at the show! Raymond joined us at AWDA. For a guy who’s never been in those meetings, he took to it like fish to water, sharing and opining up like a CEO. So there we were, an already well-prepared team made even better by riding with the Counter Professional of the Year, taking names and making deals! On that second day at AWDA, meetings started rolling into one another. At times you can’t recall if you are talking to a brake guy or a chassis conglomerate. It’s time to dig deep, recall that agenda prepared months in advance and plow, plow, plow your way through the end of the day. Finally, our very last meeting rolled in at 5 p.m. Agenda or not, we were down for the count. As we slumped our beaten bodies and drained minds on the Venetian suite in the last room of the unend-