Unless you are a brand-new reader to this publication, you probably know that, due to COVID-19, TCIA opted not to hold TCI EXPO this year, which had been scheduled for the end of October in Baltimore, Maryland.
Not surprisingly, every other arboricultural trade show or conference scheduled between June and December either canceled outright or switched to a virtual meeting. This left a huge void for arborists who look forward to networking with their peers and previewing the equipment and services they wish to bring into their operations.
There is a saying, “When one door closes, another opens.” Actually, Alexander Graham Bell’s full quote continues with, “but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Instead of just standing still and staring at the doors that had closed for you and for us, we looked for an open door and decided to bring you the Fall Showcase issues for October and November.
On pages 22 and 23 in this issue, you’ll find our Fall Showcase Exhibitor Listing, providing the names and website addresses of the exhibitors who would have been sharing their latest products and services at this fall’s shows were it not for this pandemic. Then, starting on page 24 and interspersed throughout the issue in alphabetical order, you’ll find brief profiles of about half of the companies featured in the listing. This month, it is the companies whose names start with “A” through “I.” Profiles for the rest of the exhibitors will be featured in the November issue.
These profiles serve as bookends for high-quality editorial content covering many of the topics usually covered by speakers or in forums at the fall shows, including business, safety, arboriculture, training, plant health care and more.
Our rationale for presenting the Fall Showcase includes:
• We want to make sure you still see who would have been at the fall shows and do not miss out on what they have been up to.
• We want to provide updates on equipment and services new to the market.
• For our staff, our fall show is so much more than a job. We get energy and a deep sense of fulfillment from the show. We genuinely miss all of you! And since we cannot be together in person, we wanted to find some other means of staying in touch.
• The Showcase is an opportunity for our exhibitors to let you know that, even though we are not in Baltimore, they are still here and ready to interact with you and let you know what is new and how they can help you improve your business.
As difficult as this pandemic may be for many of us, it likely has been harder on our corporate partners who advertise and exhibit, and who support what you do. We wanted to show our support for them.
We hope you enjoy this issue, and we hope to see you face to face sometime very soon. Take care and be safe!
