SUNDAY DRIVE
I headed over to Las Vegas from LA on Sunday to begin a week of work with any and all activities regarding the Golf Industry Show (GIS). Once you get out of the LA traffic and metropolitan area it is a very sweet 289 mile trip out to The Strip. The drive on Rte. 10 and eventually Rte. 15 covers many miles of what was formerly US Route 66 and has many a nostalgic spot to visit along the way.
A favorite of mine is Peggy Sue’s Diner in the small town of Yermo, Calif. This is an old fashioned diner with all the décor of the 1950’s and sassy waitress to go along with malts and burgers. The whole trip to Las Vegas takes about 5 hours so this is a great mid-way stopping point. Rest stops are few and far between so one needs to be sure to fill you tank and be sure to realize there can be an hour between toilet locations. When you venture off of a few exits it is reminiscent of Randy Quaid’s mobile home in Las Vegas Vacation.
The desert is beautiful at this time of the year in that the few rains that come have allowed some greening and if you watch closely you can actually see a few plants and shrubs in flower. Away from the highway things are pretty desolate and there is little or no farming. Tumbleweed blows across the highway and a few ghost towns of the past are nearby and with business closures I think there are a few new ghost towns in the works along Rte. 15
Elevation changes are gradual but my trip takes me from sea level to 4500 ft. elevation and then back down to 600 ft. elevation and then up above 4000 ft. again before arriving in Vegas. Quite a pretty sight to see the sun setting over the mountains as the lights of Las Vegas Blvd. and the strip come into view.
MONDAY …SCHOOL IS IN SESSION
On Monday morning there were lots of early risers in the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino lobby. No wonder that our European counterparts and east coast superintendents were in the Starbucks at 5 AM with the many hour time zone change to Pacific Standard Time.
A short walk over to the Las Vegas Convention Center saw a busy scurry of people and machinery in registration, trade show setup, and seminar attendees seeking knowledge and information. I taught seminars that day in Negotiation and Interviewing and had full classrooms and lots of interaction with the students. I can’t think of a better way to spend a day!
By nightfall many more people were arriving at the hotel. The lobby began to fill up with many turf types from around the world.
TUESDAY…..SECOND DAY OF TEACHING
On Tuesday it was off to a second venue for teaching. This day I was in the Riviera Hotel and Convention Center. It was quite different than the LV Convention Center. No doubt that the LVCC is the superior facility but when you teach the show must go on. A day of teaching included topics such as hiring, personnel policies and issues, training your staff, developing a team, etc. Our classroom had a wide array of attendees from all corners of the globe. We had a nice interactive session.
Monday afternoon I attended one of many business meetings for the corporate side of the industry. Grigg Bros. University had an informative educational and training program for its many distributors around the globe. I know that many of the other manufacturers had the same type of meetings going on for their teams.
Tuesday night is the real start of the fun portion of the GIS. I am looking forward to the Opening Reception and several corporate functions. It is a nice way to mix some business with pleasure and network with a lot of different people.
