Is it just me, or does BCMC feel like it was more than just eight weeks ago? Maybe it’s the cold weather and snow we’ve been having in the north, but beautiful, temperate Charlotte seems like it was eons ago. This month, SBC Magazine takes a look back at BCMC as a reminder to implement all the great lessons learned over those few short days in October. I always learn a lot during BCMC, whether it’s little nuggets of information to take back to the plant, new and improved equipment and software features, or the personalities of those involved with our industry.
Volunteering for BCMC Build is a great opportunity to learn more about those in our industry, as well as to go out and work your butt off! Where else can you spend three or four days waking up at dawn, working till dark and feeling rewarded knowing you’re helping someone that’s made a personal sacrifice to help our great nation remain the best place on earth to live? BCMC Build is probably the single greatest achievement our association and industry has made over the last ten years. My hat is off to all those who’ve helped with the Build over the years. They’re too numerous to name here, but their efforts have changed the lives of six families across the country.
Among those that have helped the most are our industry suppliers. Each year I volunteer, I notice that Component Manufacturer (CM) volunteers are outnumbered by Supplier volunteers. While everyone’s help is greatly appreciated, I have to wonder why more CMs are not showing up on the jobsite and volunteering their time. Typically the final two days of the build are the most challenging to find people to volunteer, which could easily be remedied by CMs coming in a day or two early to the show to work on the Build. I would like to lay down a challenge to CMs across the country to become more involved in BCMC Build for 2015!
BCMC and the Build are year-round activities, not just a couple days each October. Next week, the BCMC Committee will be meeting in Milwaukee to work on next year’s show. We’ll be discussing various items including the schedule, educational sessions and tours. Every year we take a close look at the feedback we received from the previous show, and try our best to implement as many improvements as we can. In case you didn’t have an opportunity to give your feedback this past show, or haven’t made it to a show in a few years and would like to relay a couple ideas that would persuade you to attend, please feel free to email me. BCMC truly is a conference that works tirelessly to drive as much value as possible to those who attend. I’m already looking forward to Milwaukee in 2015!