Final Thoughts

I anticipate doing some new things this year. Since this is a year of change, and we will be in a virtual setting, it is time to adapt to the new world order. The close of the conference will be unique in that I am bringing in two people I worked with during my steel sales career. They do not know one another and are located on opposite ends of the world. Over the years I have grown to appreciate their knowledge and have accepted their counsel on many occasions. The two guest speakers are Tom Cullen, owner of Magic Coil Products, and Micheal Setterdahl of the Global Advisory Board of the GFG Alliance. I worked for Tom when he was president of Duferco Steel Trading, and I was an agent that represented Michael’s company Novosteel. They have hands on, unique perspectives on the industry, both here and abroad.

If you have not yet registered for the 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference you still have the opportunity to do so. You can click here, or you can go to www.smusteelsummit.com or you can send an email to Events@SteelMarketUpdate.com. We are here to help you and your company adapt to the new world because we don’t yet know what next year is going to look like… Oh, I did notice we are getting new companies who have never attended one of our conferences before. I’m an old sales guy, I want to meet the “new blood” before someone else does.

This week’s SMU Community Chat Webinar was about the platform we will be using for this year’s virtual conference. The 45-minute recording of the webinar is available to anyone who would like to view it. I think you will find it interesting, whether you plan on attending the conference or not. You can retrieve the recording by clicking here or going to www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/blog/smu-community-chat-webinars

I don’t speak of politics much on these pages. There are times and places to express one’s opinion, but a steel industry publication with a diverse client base is not the place to prosecute a position. Yet politics and political ideologies are there facing all of us each and every day.

This country is going through a change. Change is never comfortable. Just the opposite. I grew up in the 1960s. A time of assassinations, an unpopular war, racial and economic inequities and riots. It was also a time of hope as seen through my eyes as a child and then a young adult through the words and deeds of many brave men and women. It was a time when Congress and the president passed life-changing pieces of legislation such as Medicare and the Voting Rights Acts. We went to the moon and many claimed to have attended Woodstock. During my life I lived in Georgia for 32 years. Congressman John Lewis was laid to rest today in Atlanta. He was one politician I admired for his commitment from a young age, his courage to do hard things (especially so young), his passion for freedom, opportunity and equality for all Americans. Now, more than ever, I pray others will find the courage to follow in his footsteps.

As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.

John Packard, President & CEO