S&D 2017 = Fifty Shades of Brightness, German Meditation Music, Teddy Bears

Here is my colleague Zaneta’s “behind the scenes” take on Schedulers and Dispatchers and some of her highlights and observations from the trip. It is perhaps the most positive piece ever written about the effects of sleep deprivation. Thank you Zaneta, Attila, and Stepanka (aka “Stephanie”) for yet another wonderful trade show.

On Monday, February 6 at 3:45am in the morning the Prague part of the team consisting of Attila Papai, Stepanka Dleskova, and myself woke up and got ready for a 16-hour journey to a place we have always dreamed of visiting: Fort Worth, Texas. In all honesty, up until a few months ago we had never heard of Fort Worth, but we are all willing to try new places, especially in Texas, where they say everything is bigger and better.

Just around that time, across the pond, our colleague Gareth Danker was already in Texas picking out his favorite teddy bear and preparing to get ready to go to sleep.

“The 11 and half-hour long flight was challenging, but thanks to beer and wine we made it,” says our trade show veteran Attila who is losing weight rapidly with this diet.

During the flight I found comfort in German meditations that Lufthansa offers in their Well-Being TV program. Because who doesn't love a good German meditation? Ja, das ist richtig.

Fort Worth greeted us with weather so bright and warm, we cancelled our movie plans for that week and thought that Fifty Shades Darker would just be too rude to watch in sunny Texas. The gratitude we felt for the sun and for not having to wear winter boots was overwhelming.

Full of energy and soaking in the bright sun, we decided to go for a run. We did not even realize that it was midnight Prague time and that at that time we were awake for almost 20 hours, not counting the occasional onboard naps in between beer and meditation.

The sunny afternoon provided us with a lot of energy and we ran almost five miles through downtown Fort Worth and then Trinity Park. It was a challenge at first as we could not locate the river we wanted to run along. After chasing down and then scaring off a middle-aged male jogger, we ran toward a friendly young woman who showed us the way. We got back to our hotel full of adrenaline and happiness, which was followed by the first unhappy signs of jet lag and exhaustion.

Our spirits got back up again at 3am Prague time when we met one of our amazing clients for a superb dinner, even though it was almost breakfast time for the Prague team. “We envied Gareth for his fresh look, and the seven hours of sleep he got the night before. It is no coincidence that he was the life and honey of the party that night,” says Stepanka. This may be the first time Gareth has ever been the life of the party, but as they say there is a first (and last) time for everything.

We felt much better on Tuesday as we got a wonderful nine hours of sleep. The first task of the day was setting up the booth which we brought from Prague along with 23 aviation teddy bears. These cuddly little things brightened the trade show mornings of many clients and business partners who received them as a presents. Plus Gareth got to add one to his collection.

We had a wonderful lunch downtown and then attempted to walk toward the Historic Stockyards in Fort Worth for some bull sighting, but it was not meant to be. But we would see them a couple days later.

The Welcome Reception for the Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference started off in a wonderful way. Zaneta and Stepanka wore polka-dot dresses that caused a lot of attention and lovely compliments. So did Attila for losing all the weight. But he never gave away his secret as he steadily sipped on the refreshing Corona they served.

Wednesday was when the real work officially started. We met a lot of customers and business partners on the second day of the conference. NBAA predicted record breaking attendance and they delivered! The show was very busy and we were almost sad to be kicked out of the convention hall to take a break and get some lunch.

Wednesday evening was very special for us as we co-hosted our annual Schedulers Party. We co-sponsored with our friends from ASMCorp, ITP-OPS, and LimoLink. Lisa from Limolink deserves the brightest hug from Mr. Grey himself for throwing such a wonderful party. It was a blast. It was huge. You would have loved it. Total Winner.

The highlight of the night was the Backstreet Boys song they played for me. It was so exciting and romantic and I would not have wanted it any other way. My love of the Backstreet Boys did not go away with my teenage years, much to the embarrassment of the rest of the team. Thanks to the open bar, my on-stage Backstreet performance might not be remembered by a lot of guests, but we do have it on video!

Thursday morning was difficult and far from bright. But we made it! And soon found ourselves at the next party that was held at the Riverside Ranch in the Stockyards. “We made it there after all, but we were smarter about it this time and took an Uber,” says Stepanka.

The official NBAA party was amazing, and we had a blast as well as opportunity to say goodbye to our friends, clients and business partners we met again at the tradeshow. They are the ones who make the show brighter for us every year.

This show would not be what it is without the wonderful people that work in the business aviation industry. Attending this show is of course work, but also an opportunity to meet face to face and learn more about each other and our business.

The work meetings and new sales leads are always brightened by good natured humor, friendliness, a positive atmosphere, and lots of giveaways we all collect and take home to our co-workers or significant others.

So thank you everyone, for making this show few shades brighter and ultimately a true success!