Page 4 - CMA PROfiles Summer 2015

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Vegas Baby!

by Matt Krig, President
o many Las Vegas memories, where to begin? I am not much on gambling
in a casino; I get my gambling fix every day running a business, rolling the
S dice with quotes, hiring, choosing vendors, seeking out new contractors,
selecting machinery and software. I am not an expert in odds making, or a MIT
math whiz, but as I look at the scale of the city of Las Vegas and how quickly
the skyline changes, I am reminded that it’s the risk takers who are behind it.
Some take risks on the gambling floor; others take risks owning a casino. It
seems pretty clear who has the calculated advantage. I have been to Las Vegas a number of times for
AWFS and even once in the fall for a short honeymoon where we rented a motorcycle and toured all
around and discovered an amazing place outside of the city and the strip. Massive buffets and three
foot tall margaritas are not as much a priority these days as cholesterol levels, sodium intake, a good
night’s sleep and quality time with my family, but I’ll still make it a priority to make AWFS.

I attended my first AWFS in 2005. I brought my wife along, who was just testing the waters in the
business. Times were booming and the show floor was humming with woodworkers eyeing up
equipment and writing checks. There was a general celebratory atmosphere. One of our vendors
hosted a party Ghost bar which is located on the roof of the Palms casino. I thought since we could
see it so clearly from our hotel, we could simply walk there. It turned out to be much further away
than it looked and it wasn’t a real pedestrian-friendly route, rather a shanty town of homeless people
living in the landscaping adjacent to the freeway overpass. The food and drinks were amazing and
the nighttime view spectacular. Too bad we only had fifteen minutes to enjoy it as our pilgrimage to
get there took half the night. Live and learn!

At the 2005 AWFS, I made another interesting transition. I spent much of the show in classrooms
soaking up information I could not have gotten elsewhere, something I had never done before.

Prior to that, I would spend the entire show combing the floor looking for the next big thing and
ignoring the education sessions. There is definitely a lot to be said for spending time in both areas.

In 2009 I attended AWFS. Boy, times have changed drastically. I split a $35.00 room in the Circus
Circus motor lodge and some travel expenses with another shop owner. In four hours we had seen
the entire show. There were so few attendees that some of the vendors were in the isles stuffing
shirts and other giveaways in our bags so they didn’t have to carry them home. We found ourselves
at the Sahara casino enjoying $1 hotdogs and Highlife feeling like our businesses and the industry
had hit rock bottom. It was a difficult time and the despair was thinly veiled by all at the show. I
remember coming home and thinking “it’s really bad everywhere, how can we recover?”

2011 was a turning point for us, things were beginning to look better, but we were still shell shocked
from what we’d been through the last few years and we were feeling worn out and beaten down
by the ongoing effects of the recession. We agonized whether or not we should spend the money to
attend AWFS. In the end it was the education lineup that made the decision easy for us. I still have
my notes printouts and contacts from those classes and I use what learned there each day to make
daily improvements going forward. It was at this show we made some great friends and most im-
portantly joined and became involved in the CMA. We had our minds blown and came away with a
whole new perspective on something we felt we already had a mastery of. It’s hard to put into words
or quantify how the connections and conversations from that show have had a profoundly posi-
tive effect on our lives and business. The network, insights and knowledge from hundreds of shop
owners doing what we do has had a significant impact on some of the littlest things in how we do
business as well as produce cabinetry. I’ve been able to take the best of many businesses and apply
it to my own and watch the culture, products and profits go to new places. It really makes coming to
work fun and life outside work a greater joy. I now attend shows with a great deal of anticipation to
simply visit with other likeminded shop owners as much as take classes, see machines and products.
It’s a reunion of friends and associates where conversations from the forum continue, faces pair with
names we have a great time. See you there! ❖

The Cabinet Makers Association is fortunate to have qualified leaders. Associations need excellent leadership in order to remain
healthy and grow. The Board of Directors has been established not only to direct the course of the Association, but also to meet
your needs, act as a point of contact and answer association related questions.

4 PROFILES • Volume 15 • Issue 3, 2015 • www.cabinetmakers.org