The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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T he National Association of Oil and Energy Service Professionals has hosted a trade show that is considered one of the cornerstones of the industry for 60 years. After listening to feedback from exhibitors and attendees, the decision was made to try a new format to see if it would better serve the industry. Instead of having one large event, OESP decided to have two smaller, focused events. The first of these "roadshows" is run- ning May 12-13 at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. Attendees will spend the day Monday (May 12) taking advan- tage of educational opportunities. That evening, a networking event will bring attendees and tradeshow exhibitors together. The format will be small exhibits and tabletop displays. On Tuesday (May 13), more education will be offered as well. Lunch will be served at the trade show, and after lunch partici- pants can leave or stay for additional classes and socializing later in the evening. The events have been designed to work with a typical attendee's busy schedule, and only require a one night stay. The second event will be held in Gettysburg, Penn., at the Wyndham Hotel Sept. 21-23, 2014. It will feature an outdoor area for larger displays and the live firing of boilers. Participants can also enjoy the outdoors during the Dave Nelsen Scholarship Golf Tournament and Oil Heat Cares' Care to Ride event. The traditional convention and trade show will return May 17-21, 2015 in Hershey Pennsylvania. Fuel Oil News interviewed OESP Executive Director Judy Graber to discuss how attendees can best take advantage of show format. FON: There is a lot of emphasis in the industry on exploring new opportunities, and this is certainly an exploration of new opportunities. Garber: It is! I'm getting really good feedback but It's all up to the industry. If the industry does not support it we will have issues, but so far we are sold out which is unusual for any orga- nization in this day and age. And our registrations are coming in and it's pretty exciting to see. FON:what do you think are going to be some of the more excit- ing elements this year with the new format? Garber: The educational opportunities are going to be really exciting. There is a mix that is geared more toward the sea- soned technician and people who are transitioning into manage- ment—it's a much higher level of classes being offered. The goal is to help them in their careers. FON: The trade show is going to be a different format this year, so what you see as the opportuni- ties present with the new format and how should an attendee best take advantage of that? Garber: it's more one- on-one. Because of the expected level of the attendee, he or she is someone that is looking for new products and ways to solve issues and they are going to have more of an opportunity to talk one-on-one with the solution provider when they are in the tradeshow floor. That is exciting. For the exhibitors, you're not dealing with kids that are there from trade schools. The techni- cians aren't excluded either, because they are going to benefit as their bosses benefit either from education or opportunities with new products. FON:I noticed the awards were not on the schedule. Garber: Were taking a hiatus this year. We will be still giv- ing scholarships this year, but we are directing that more at the local level. So if a chapter has students that win a scholarship in its training area, we are encouraging them to have their own din- ner and recognize them. And, we're still going to have our social events to raise money for charity — golf and Care to Ride. Those will take place at our Gettysburg meeting later in the year. FON:What went into the site selection? Garber:We were very deliberate in the locations we chose. I've been studying the tradeshow for years and watching things like where do we do the best? Our attendees do not want to pay for parking, and there are a lot of owners that are uncomfort- able sending their trucks into city locations — obviously not city dealers. Our attendees want to focus on what they are there to do, so we looked at that and said, okay, let's give them a little bit of two worlds here. Mohegan Sun has the gambling element Judy Garber OESP 2014 First OESP Roadshow — Mohegan Sun 12 Spring Show guide 2014 | FueL oiL newS | www.fueloilnews.com