InfoComm14 - The Final Booth Babe Commentary (hopefully)

I've been quietly reading and observing from the sidelines all these posts and comments regarding “booth babes” at InfoComm this year (and I use that term reluctantly) but now I feel I need to throw my 2 cents into this discussion.  I've been in the A/V integration industry for about 10 years now.  There are many tremendous women in this industry, some of whom I've had the pleasure to meet and get to know.  I can’t stress this enough:  I truly believe that if you keep doing what you are doing and at the high level you are doing it at, the mindset at these shows will evolve to the point where the booth babe mentality will be a thing of the past.  Your actions will help create growth and opportunity in our industry not only for women but for all people.

For 25 years prior, I was in the musical instrument industry where we attended NAMM shows twice a year. I worked for a guitar manufacturer and it was a lot of rock and roll.  The sexist, booth babe presence was much more rampant throughout those shows.  I think that human nature dictates that after a while you get immune to it all.  Unfortunately, that’s probably what happened to me, so when I go to the InfoComm shows I really don’t think twice about it, until now.  Leonard Suskin’s initial blog post brought that into the light and it really sparked a lot of comments. That’s good.  It gets us all thinking.  That is the first step to induce change, right?  I believe the people in our industry are smart and influential and we will evolve to the point where this becomes a thing of the past.  If you keep seeding your lawn with good seeds the weeds will eventually choke out and die.  Enough said.

Did You Hear About Fred?

Early one morning last week while in the office composing some emails, I received a short email from Robert who works at a large university medical center.  Robert was asking me about a projector mount I had ordered for him.  At the end of his email he asked me one short and simple question.

"Did you hear about Fred?"

My heart skipped a beat as if I already knew the answer.  I had not heard anything about Fred but my subconscious was somehow aware.  I had hoped that he must have meant something else.  You see, I had become close with Fred over the months and probably knew more about him than most of his other business acquaintances.  I had worked with him on several projects and we were just finishing up one project that was particularly intense and I had spent a great deal of time with him on it.  During those months I learned about his family life, his home town, his politics, his education and about his motorcycle. 

Monday, July 18th was the day Fred left this world.  A woman who he did not know, was at his side offering him comfort on the shoulder of the Dan Ryan Expressway before the paramedics arrived.  Robert worked with him for 11 years and for Robert, this was the same day that his daughter came into the world.

I knew Fred for only one year but I feel I knew him for many years.  He was a very smart and kind individual with a great sense of humor and a pleasure to be around.  Even though our relationship was initially business-based within the audio visual world of design, I feel he became my friend and I will miss him very much.