Peter Letizia
8 mins
Good morning team SHMP and I wanted to take this time to update all of you on Aquaculture 2019 in New Orleans. The event was a success in every way. First I’d like to thank the World Aquaculture Society for putting together such an awesome event as well as the city of New Orleans and it’s people for opening their arms and hearts to us in sharing their traditions and culture with us. New Orleans did themselves proud and will always hold a special place in my team and family’s heart for their spirit, hospitality and vibrance. For those of us longs Aquaculture conferences have come a long way from the small auditoriums and hallways to this multi level conference bringing together some of the worlds leading companies committing to aquaculture all under one roof. It seems like a distant memory now of Huricane Katrina and the devastation this city and state had to overcome but to be here and see this town in its fully restored glory and reverence shows us all the value of "Faith & Trust" in that people with a united cause can overcome any devastation, Secondly I would like to address the naysayers who admonished us for not spending our precious resources and time in a booth. We knew in advance everyone who who be attending this event, what each of them had to offer, and what we needed to do to with each of them to go forward with next steps. Out of all of the wonderful representatives present at this show we only targeted four attending companies. Of the four companies we are associated with none of our business with them happened in that venue. Of course we visited them at their stations and said hello and engaged in some small talk but they weren’t able to speak to us in any detail. We knew that. They are there communicating generally to the masses to try and engage in as many conversations as possible looking for that special unknown relationship and were busy shaking hands and exchanging business cards and stress balls and other colorful paraphernalia. People were racing through the event with bags overflowing as they raced around punching their bingo cards for an event prize based upon visiting the greatest number of booths. My contacts weren’t there for me to absorb there venue time so I was able to visit them in under an hour and then cruised the remaining exhibition hall in another hour with all of the remaining contributors of filter, drum presses and aquaculture tank and product providers and miscellaneous wares. Standing for three days in this capacity for us would have been a missed opportunity as all I needed inside the event was two hours total. The real event for us took place in a small secluded table and chairs for up to six people across the street, away from the noise and chatter, at the Sheraton. We started each morning with a hearty business breakfast and then spent 20+ hours parading in a group of scheduled professionals from around the world from 10 AM to 7 PM straight with maybe one five minute rest break. This table was affectionately nicknamed the “Godfather table” by day two as I sat in the same spot for three days and never moved. No lunches, no phones, no email, no messages, no drinks, no breaks, no small talk. Every hour on the hour a new group of targeted contacts met us to provide details for new opportunities and our plan for moving ahead. I believe we will do business with everyone who I met with from around the world. Nothing was impromptu and nothing was left to chance. Out of all of the attending professionals moving ahead I want you to know not one of them asked me about “the harvest” and they were all decision makers…. not guys who know other guys. One company executive who was one of the four attendees organizations we visited actually said when I asked what would it take for us now to do a project together as we are a small growing firm and you are a large established organization and he said “can you deliver me a system that will work and solve my problem” and the answer was yes. In conclusion the show was a raging success and Natural Shrimp will be announcing any material event that occurred during this period as that is there sole decision. What I will tell you is that everyone we met got it. Every meeting went better than I had anticipated and am excited about building upon this momentum and to provide all of you with the results you so justly deserve. All we ask is for the understanding that we are your team and trust in that we have a plan and are executing against our plan regardless of all the noise surrounding us at this event and in most every other forum. There will be more to follow shortly but as one of your representatives I couldn’t be more proud of our team, our acceptance as an organization, and the value we will bring to all we entertained. I hope each one of you have a great week and remember “a house divided will not stand” so we must remain unified and SHMP strong as we are all involved in a special company at a special moment in time to make a contribution and hopefully a small difference as that would truly be a blessing to us all. Thank you for your continued support. Copper Bottomed.
