Flashback Friday to the Gulf States Horticultural Expo

Posted by Hanna Pettus

Let's take a trip down memory lane... To the week of January 27-31, or as some like to call it, the week of "snowmageddon"or the "snowpocalypse." I like to think of it as the week that I learned how to talk on the phone, and I mean REALLY talk on the phone. Unlike my cohorts who got three days out of school because Auburn got a white blanket of snow, I was in Mobile, AL, where it did something rare, it iced. As Seth posted earlier on the blog, a weather event such as the one that took place in January is one that only happens every 30 years or so. Great timing Mother Nature, great timing, since this was the week that the Gulf States Horticultural Expo (GSHE) was set to take place. Just to give you a little background information, the GSHE is an annual trade show open to people in the horticultural industry and other allied industries. Approximately 3000 people attend the show and there are about 380 companies who exhibit. So, to say the least, ice and snow covering the gulf states area on the travel days of Tuesday and Wednesday was not good. 

My assistantship is through the Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association who "put on" the trade show each year, so I had to go to Mobile to work the show. I got to Mobile on Monday of that week, and as soon as I got to the convention center, there was work to be done. We had to prepare like the show was going to happen like normal, but boy was this year the furthest from that that you could get. We found out Monday afternoon that the city of Mobile was going to be closed on Tuesday, therefore the convention center would be closed. Begin freakout. Set-up was supposed to be happening, what were we going to do?! Mr. Harwell being the calm man that he is, talked to the convention center folks and worked it out so that we could have access to the building regardless of it being closed. No food, no convention center employees to clean and monitor things, but we would make it work. Tuesday came and around noon the mayor of Mobile decided that the city would be closed again on Wednesday. Turns out that was the smartest decision that he could have made because around 2 pm it began to rain, and did not stop until about 9 pm. With the temps at about 28 degrees and dropping lower that night, everything froze... SOLID. 

This is a picture of the crosswalk over the highway connecting the hotel and the convention center. There was about an inch of ice covering everything.

This is outside of the hotel. Looks like snow, but was solid ice.

So the phone part... I'll get to that now. As part of my job, I was responsible for checking the phone messages and calling people back. As you might have guessed, there were a lot of people wondering if the trade show would even happen. We had the slogan "the show will go on" and had to reiterate that to all those who were concerned. I was a meteorologist, highway patrol worker,  and people-calming super hero! You may be wondering, why didn't you just postpone? Well, there was no way that was going to happen. Try getting in contact with 3000 people in just a few short hours and making sure that they all get word not to come into town. It wasn't going to happen. So we went on as we would in normal circumstances. I estimate that I made over 200 phone calls in three days. The ALNLA board members joked that I should put on my resume that I am now an expert in crisis management. An expert? I don't know about that, but I am definitely more confident making phone calls now.

This blog post may be a little boring... I don't have many pictures from the GSHE because we were SO BUSY that week. Oh, did I mention that the city was closed again on Thursday? Yeah, that happened. The convention center was technically closed the first day of the show but we still went on anyways. Harrell's fertilizer company graciously donated lunch for the exhibitors and attendees to have that day. And for that, everyone was grateful.

Until next time, adios amigos! And thanks for following our blog!

Hanna P.