Months ago the Ironworking Contractors Allied Partnership (ICAP), which is the local labor/management group for the industry, decided to host a Construction Expo at Riverscape in Downtown Dayton. It was the first really big event that the entire industry would be involved in to promote the Unionized Construction Industry and the great careers that the trades offer.
ICAP promoted this event like crazy with TV, radio, print and grassroots marketing. They got the equipment, they got participation from all the trades in town (no small feat!)and their corresponding management associations (that’s where I came in) and they organized everything into one big unified event.
They prepared for everything. They booked food, music, city officials, Dayton Fire equipment, Dayton Police equipment, tons of giveaways, demos, and walk-throughs.
Turns out, the one thing you can’t book is the weather. 50 degrees and raining, ALL…DAY…LONG.
I felt so bad for those ICAP guys as they huddled in their tent and looked at the latest printouts from the weather radar. We all stood around Riverscape soaked from setting up and waiting in the cold for a crowd we knew would never show. We did see a trickle of people and some valiant parents braved the weather to bring out their kids, but it was hard not to be disappointed.
Hopefully we reached few people and had a good trial-run for this fall. It was nice to see everyone working together to promote the industry, and it was good to have time just to hang out with each other. I wish Carl had been there to see the truly enormous and ultra cool equipment that everyone set up. (The Sprinklerfitters brought a trailer where they actually set the interior on fire and then put it out with real sprinklers)
We have an awesome industry – when we show it off a little – so here are some pictures from what would have been a wonderful event.
