If I had been given a campaign clasp to wear on a military General Service Medal for every conference I have attended over my 45-year career, the ribbon decoration would probably reach my knees.
So as the great and the good assemble this week for the third, and I am delighted to say, much praised Re:fresh event in London, I am expecting to be asked with hindsight “was it a good conference?”
The answer I always feel is as varied as the range of subjects covered.
First, there is the content, particularly when the speakers come off the prepared script.
Second, or perhaps even first equal, are the question-and-answer sessions when one really gets an insight into what is getting under the industry’s skin.
Third, and much more personal, are the benefits of hearing a good idea from the platform, in the bar, or around the dinner table, which can be put into practical and commercial use at a later date.
And finally, the value of renewing business contacts face-to-face, or making new ones with the same result.
Then of course there are the awards. While prophets in their own land are historically not recognised, winners enjoy considerable kudos from their peers when they step up to claim their prize.
One thing that is certain when comparing today’s scenarios with past events is that the amount of time devoted to such gatherings has mercifully lessened through the years.
It seems incredible today to remember that up until the late 1980s the events which were the annual highlights for members of the Produce Packaging & Marketing Association, the National Federation of Fruit & Potato Trades and the Retail Fruit Trade Federation lasted for three days or more a piece and boasted a full social calendar.
So if ever evidence was needed, this decade reflects that time is money. That the industry is less sociable but possibly far more focused is to my mind no bad thing. To attract delegates, modern agendas have to be relevant and speakers have to provide much more information than in the days of an off-the-cuff overview full of bonhomie.
These talks were often accompanied by slides, which were frequently distorted or even shown upside down. Today technology is king with film and Power-Point presentations the order of the day and research provides the detailed consumer and market information to put the trade into sharp perspective.
Things may have changed for the better, but it brings me to my last point, which remains eternal: success for the delegates is still very much what each individual makes of it.
This too can be hard work - as well as time out of the daily grind - but rewarding. l