DIRECTOR’S DESK

Staying Safe and Informed

BY JOHN OSPINA

John Ospina is GAWDA’s executive director. He can be reached at GAWDA Headquarters in Hollywood, FL, via telephone at 844-2513219 or via email at jospina@gawda.org. A s life gets back to normal, we have begun to feel more comfortable meeting face-to-face at customer locations, industry events and personal events. There seems to be no slowdown in the amount of change and information we must contend with on a daily basis. As business ramps up, so does everything else. Regulatory agencies continue to implement policy changes and increase inspections. Washington continues to move forward with infrastructure spending proposals and tax changes.

So, how do we help keep you informed? GAWDA continues to provide monthly webinars, like our consultant’s roundtable and the monthly ITR economic updates. We partner with sister associations to bring you additional webinars on timely subjects, as needed, to keep you informed. We also record and save many of these webinars in the GAWDA members-only site to ensure that the information is available when you have the time to listen to them. With the introduction of GAWDA TV, it is now easier to provide more industry news and information. All GAWDA TV episodes are available on YouTube. Whether you take the time to listen in your car, while you exercise, while you get ready for work, or during your workday, they’re available whenever you are. So, we hope more of you make this your daily go-to place for industry news and information. For a sneak peek at upcoming consultant roundtable discussions, look at the article starting on page 14, where our consultants discuss their perspectives on how regulatory changes will likely affect our industry in the coming months.

Members continue to show strong support for this years’ SMC. Attendee registration numbers are well over 400 delegates at the time this article was written. With President Biden’s goal of getting every adult access to vaccines by May, many members have already gotten vaccinated. For those who have not yet gotten their vaccinations, or have only gotten the first of their two shots, be assured that we will still have safety protocols in place. You can read about the current list of protocols titled “Know Before You Go” on page 36. We will continue to monitor the situation up until the opening day of the SMC and will make adjustments as needed.

You can find complete information on the SMC agenda, reception and Contact Booth program beginning on page 28. It includes many special features including the reunion of “In a GAWDA da vida” - the GAWDA Band at the welcome reception. During our first networking breakfast, we will have a special presentation of “Since We Last Met,” to honor the industry friends we’ve lost this past year and a half, followed by some welcome comments. Learn more about all our educational programs and be sure to let us know which ones you plan on attending. You will notice that the Contact Booth program layout not only has all booths separated, but the aisles have traffic flowing in one direction. This again is set up to keep everyone safe.

We are all looking forward to a productive and memorable reunion at this year’s SMC. As always thank you for your continued support of our association and industry.