Publishers Note

I like InfoComm. I like it a lot more since the floor planners put the audio area next to the lighting and staging area. It made a lot of sense and should have been done years ago. What did this accomplish besides cutting down on the number of steps I took? Well, it added a lot of traffic to the lighting and staging pavilion. I had many lighting and staging exhibitors tell me it was one of the busiest shows they’ve had there.

Drum roll, please…. Ta Dah! This year we’re celebrating the 15th annual Parnelli Awards. This is a fact I am very proud of, and I am sure Parnelli Awards co-founder, Patrick Stansfield, is looking down at us from his production office in the sky, smiling as well. It seems just yesterday the Parnelli Awards were a gleam in our collective eyes. But now, 15 years later and with 37 of the top production people in our field honored, we have hit a milestone year.

There are a lot of great things about running a magazine publishing company. For one thing, it gives you a medium to engage in discussions with others when you have an important topic on your mind that you feel is beneficial to share with others. Through the years, when I have penned a publisher’s note, it has always been about something in our industry. However, this time I am going off-script. I want to chat with you about an organization I have become aware of that is doing very good work for sick children around the country that you might want to know about.

I like history. In fact, I even minored in it in college. I guess I am a firm believer in the old adage, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” Actually, there is some history that is worth repeating. For instance, I’d be happy to take another 15 years like the first 15 years of PLSN. Yes, with this issue of PLSN we are now officially 15 years old — smack dab in the middle of adolescence!

Okay… Who is going to take the first step? Well, I guess it will be me. No, that is not true. It was actually Clive Forrester of All Access Staging and Productions who took the first step around four years ago. Clive took the first step towards better health by buying a Tread Desk. What is a Tread Desk? A Tread Desk is a combination desk and treadmill that enables you to keep your body in motion during the workday instead of being slouched over your desk for eight or more hours a day.