Be there for each other. Otherwise, we wouldn't be there at all.

I was at Denver last weekend and Saturday night, a storm blew through and took out several displays.  I talk about this a lot because it is a reality.  It doesn’t always matter what you did wrong or right, sometimes; you can do everything correctly and it still comes down.  What makes it all better and keeps us going is each other. Perfect strangers help each other to make it back on the road.  We have to have each other’s backs at all times.

I helped pick up the wreckage of a display that was near me.  The artist decided to pack up and go home and given the amount of damage to her equipment and displays, I would have been hard pressed to stay too.  She will be back, she said.  She was already shopping for a new awning as she pulled away from the show grounds. The reason? Because we were there for her.

There is a lot to be said for being a helping hand.  Whether it is water on a hot day, use of a ladder or sharing a cooler; big or small the assistance of others keeps us going. We must always keep in mind that we are in this together. We need to be there for the promoters too. When it is hot, they are hot too.  When the crowds are down, they suffer lost revenue as well. In order for their show to be a continued success, we need to be successful too and they are aware of that too.  Promoters feel each theft, wrecked display, revenue loss and crowd reduction along with us.

Try to keep in mind that each time something happens, it is a learning opportunity for all.  I learned an important lesson this last weekend.  Someone timed their exploration of displays when security wasn’t close.  In and out and I lost a piece of equipment.  I left it where it could be seen, it was my fault; not the promoters. I keep telling her that, but she is the promoter and she still feels the pinch like I do. 

Be there for us and we will be there for you.  That is the way it works.