The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on 2020.
For contractors, it has been a myriad of change including new cleanliness and sanitation protocols and the likelihood of renegotiated contracts for numerous customers seeking to save some money.
Economically it has been bad enough. The hospitality and convention center businesses have just been absolutely hammered by COVID-19, which has led to alterations in snow removal contractors having opportunities for continued education in learning the most efficient and effective ways to operate their business.
The Accredited Snow Contractors Association Executive Summit was rescheduled from late July to mid-September due to the impact of the virus.
In addition, the Snow & Ice Management Association’s 2020 Snow & Ice Symposium will be an online event August 26-28. Originally scheduled for dates in mid-June, the event was rescheduled to the August dates due to COVID-19. Subsequently, the Connecticut Convention Center, the host facility for the 2020 Symposium, announced that it would not be open in August for events.
Both events are expected to still offer the myriad of educational opportunities they usually do.
ASCA’s event, at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort in Florida Sept. 16-18, is currently slated to be in person with proper safety protocols in place. Multiple speakers will offer presentations on various topics including assessing properties, short and long-term planning, ice management best practices and more.
SIMA’s virtual Symposium will include a virtual tradeshow and a mix of live and recorded educational sessions. In past years, attendees had an opportunity to set-up one-on-one meetings with specific vendors, illustrating the purpose of the tradeshow in setting up those important business relationships. This year, SIMA will attempt to keep that feeling alive through an Internet connection.
The challenge for both associations is getting people to attend either of the events. When will the world adapt to living with this virus? Who knows? For now, COVID-19 is something we must live with and try and adjust to. I encourage you to sign up for one or either of these events and keep plowing and learning,
