January 28, 2009 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Wednesday at ABA was very busy…I worked in Orientation all day, and did floor tours all day long (9am - 6pm).  I lost count of how many tours I did, but my pedometer (worn as a joke more than anything) clocked nearly 7 miles walking that day!  Not a joke, after all!

As you probably know by now, I love doing the floor tours.  It’s like a mini Seminar program, as I get to not only explain what goes on at ABA over the week, but I get to teach some basics about how to have the most success during the week.  I always love talking to a small group on a tour, and seeing the “lightbulb moment”, as I call it.  It’s like the old cartoons…when someone grasps what you’re saying, and really believes it, you can almost see the lightbulb over their head illuminate.  Their face lights up, the get a half-smile of recognition, and you can see that you’ve helped them understand something important. There’s no better feeling in the world than that.

Besides that, I get to meet new people in Orientation.  It’s the #1 reason why I volunteer, and spend so many hours in Orientation every year.  It gives me a chance to meet new customers for our Theatres!  I meet new Operators, new suppliers, even college students, and they all are potential customers of the Dutch Apple, or one of the Broadway Palms.  But I already talked about that in the post about Tuesday, so I’ll move on to a surprise I received on Wednesday evening…

I was actually taken to dinner by an Operator!  A very good friend asked if I’d like to go to dinner with him and his wife.  It ended up being those two (who’s identity I will not reveal, as I know some who read this blog will immediately ask to be taken to dinner!), Sandee Robinson from Cracker Barrel, and me. And it was wonderful…we talked a little business, but more about the Operator’s expanding empire, and the new opportunities that have come his way.  Mostly, we just relaxed in the company of friends.  I had not spent enough time with Sandee in the past, and I will make it a point to rectify that error in the future.  Thanks, Mr. X and Mrs. X!

And now to bed…tomorrow is going to be a big day, as the Marketplace REALLY starts.  If only I could figure out how to sleep in a strange bed.  It always takes me several days at a convention to get used to the bed…I guess I’m weird that way.

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January 20, 2009 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Sorry…I’ve been meaning to sit down and write out my thoughts about Charlotte, and the amazing week we had there for ABA.  But other things have been stealing all my time lately (won’t bore you with the gory details here, but if you’re on FaceBook, you’ve probably already seen most of it!).

But I’ll get started here now, and I have a lot of impressions, thoughts, and insights from someone who spent waaaaaay too much time walking back and forth across the show floor every day.

I arrived in Charlotte on Tuesday, to help with setup for the Orientation Center.  But there was very little to do, as KJ Jordan had gotten in before the rest of us, and was so bored she got 90% of the area setup before we were even in the hall! I got to spend a lot of time with KJ this week, and she’s good people.  I find myself wanting to visit her museum (Virginia Living Museum in Newport News) more than ever.  I may just have to take the family on vacation to that area this year…I KNOW the kids would go nuts over her place.

And that’s one of the things I tried very hard to teach the Star Delegates this year…there is a tendency in us all to focus on those green namebadges. Sure, we’re all there to meet with the Operators, but I’ve lost count how many friends I’ve made over the years with the red, yellow and orange name badges as well.  And they (we?) travel too, and are always looking for new places to visit.

I get a lot of phone calls during the year…”Hey, we’re in town.  Can we come see a show?”  Sure, some of them are asking for freebies, but everyone understands when I give them my employee discount.  And those are people who will advertise for you.

You know from past reading on this blog that I’ve had my “run-ins” with one David Sorge.  Now, don’t get me wrong…we give each other a terrible hard time, but I don’t have many friends in this biz as close as David (and Deanna).  They came to visit my theatre about a year ago, on a long overdue vacation to Lancaster County.  Do you know how many times I’ve overheard David telling everyone and anyone how much he enjoyed his visit here?  And I know he doesn’t just do it for me, as I’ve snuck up on him several times,and overheard him.  I have a walking advertisement for my theatre, and it’s someone a lot of people really respect.

More to come…

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