CPG Booth
Every year (2020 notwithstanding) the American Public Works Association puts on their Public Works Expo (PWX). This year from Aug. 29th to Sept. 1st, the great city of St. Louis was designated to host, and being so close to home, Cloudpoint decided to jump at the chance to get in front of a larger audience. PWX 2021 was our first foray into exhibiting on the national stage, and we learned a lot of lessons along the way, but came out of it with a host of great contacts from all over the country.
Bill went down on Saturday and started the hectic and hot set-up with boxes, packing material, carpet and display pieces being trucked in from all over the country. Over 340 vendors scrambled on Sunday to start the show, and due to some last minute shipping delays, Jon had to bring down the last couple of pieces in the morning, but we could not have been happier with our booth set-up and selection.
Look at that slick mask!
Nestled between Esri and the Technology Solutions Theater, Jon and Bill masked up and ready to go, started trading business cards and handing out white pages. After a great first day of the Expo, they decided to hit the town and scope out dinner places for the rest of the team coming down the next couple of days. Thankfully Jon and Bill both have impeccable balance and were able to zip around the city on their handy scooters with only a minimum of honking horns thrown their way.
Bill doling out some knowledge.
Monday morning really kicked into high gear as a full day of the Expo started up and four more staff joined in the fun: Erin, Matt, Hunter, and Tyler. While not talking to potential clients we took turns catching some time in the Dome (yea where the Rams used to play) watching the PWX Roadeo. The Roadeo is a skills contest for heavy machinery operators, and we can all attest that these folks are extremely talented, with some serious bling to prove it. Monday night we were joined for some great BBQ by a good friend, and work collaborator, Burt McAlpine, who happens to live in Missouri.
Tuesday was another full day of exhibiting with the entire team, with everyone pitching in to talk to prospective clients about our expertise in GIS. Data collection, dashboards, utility networks, and managed services were all on the docket. We were proud to get a shout-out from Esri during their indoor mapping presentation as being on a short list of valuable business partners with the ArcGIS Indoors Specialty. As the expo closed up and we Tetrised (is that a word? well, it is now) everything back into the van we reflected on the good, the not-so-good, and established our game plan for following up with all of the wonderful people that stopped by and talked with us.
So after a long weekend (not to mention the months and weeks spent on planning) we came out on the other side with a better understanding of ourselves and how to best promote our company and the fantastic work that we do. To anyone reading this that stopped by booth #2442 we appreciate you and look forward to working with you now and far into the future. For everyone else, know that we appreciate you as well, and can assure you we will see you again soon!
