A Look At An ICAS Business Session

By ANN Correspondent Rob Milford

For airshow performers and promoters, providers and suppliers, the International Council of Air Shows is the one place where they can get together at the end of every year, have some meetings, trade some knowledge, and trade stories about what went right and what went wrong in the year gone by.

The 35th Annual ICAS got underway Monday morning in Dallas, with the opening general session, with a Wright Brothers glider hanging from the ceiling, and a high energy airshow promotional video blasting from three huge screens across the front of the room.

ICAS Chairman Harry Wardwell (below) welcomed several hundred people to the show, and pointed out that the first airshow was in the late morning of December 17th, 1903, when about a dozen people witnessed the Wright brothers take to the air. Wardwell also pointed out that there were no problems with parking, porta-potties, and not a lot of confusion over attendance figures.

He also teased a “ground breaking” announcement about National airshow sponsorship.

He then introduced Jim Murphy (right), former F-15 Eagle driver (Call sign “Murph”) who is president and CEO of Afterburner Seminars, a sales and motivational company based in Atlanta. In moments, Murph launched into a high-energy presentation with graphics, video clips and audience interaction.

He targeted an audience he knows well, and made sure that the message he sends to high powered and high dollar business and sales executives was delivered to people in the air show business.

He also used some inter-service humor and made absolutely sure that we knew that as a fighter pilot, pulling 9 gees, his head weighed 486 pounds, or about what a Blue Angels head “normally” weighs.

Murphy wrapped up his appearance with a pitch for their Teen motivational program, called “Flight Plan for Life” and a pitch for the Careers in Aviation jet team, a business partner.

ICAS President John Cudahy closed out the morning meeting with the release of the 2004 seasonal schedules for the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds and Snow Birds.

Within minutes, the morning session was stampeding towards the convention center, to cruise through about 200 booths set up and well stocked. At ANN, we put on the comfortable shoes, and started cruisin’.

More on the trade show tomorrow!

FMI: www.airshows.org