The past 18 months have been trying on all businesses. Foodservice and publishing have not been immune. Back when the pandemic first started everyone thought, or hoped is probably more like it, that this would be a short-term situation. And the mantra of many companies was to do what it took to weather the storm and emerge from this even stronger.
In our case, that took the form of maintaining our commitment to you, the readers of FE&S. We adjusted our editorial coverage to include as much up-to-the minute information about the pandemic and the way the industry continued to adapt to it. We did this the way we always do in print and online. We did this by keeping our award-winning editorial staff connected to you, the readers, by participating in countless video conferences, phone calls and much more. Our award-winning art and production staff rolled with the changes, too, to ensure the content was easy to access and read. We even launched an updated version of FESmag.com during the pandemic. And our sales staff got creative and innovative in supporting our advertising partners as they sought ways to keep their messages in the public eye.
As I often like to say, it all comes down to the people. I am happy to report our staff remains intact and ready to hit The NAFEM Show floor running. In fact, you might notice one smiling face that may not be as familiar to many of you. That would be Kathy Langlois, our vice president, who joined the company just weeks before the pandemic. Although she has not been on the road due to the pandemic, it does not mean Kathy has not been active getting to know the industry. Kathy’s been to the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers’ Annual Meeting last February, where she got to meet many members of the manufacturing community. And she was part of the Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association’s remote annual conference last year, moderating a few presentations. She also served as a moderator for a custom remote event FE&S held last year. Happily, Kathy has been the rule for us rather than the exception. Each and every person on our staff has been actively engaged in making us more effective in the creation of original content that impacts your business life.
Indeed, the reason we are able to confidently say that we are emerging from the pandemic stronger than before is because we were able to keep our smart and capable team intact and connected to you. And we look forward to telling more of your stories and helping to spread your message for many more years to come.
I look forward to seeing as many of you on the show floor as possible. Please do stop by the Zoomba Group booth #1626 to say hello!