"I am loving the show. The energy here today is fabulous," said Bonnie Lundblad of Sunny Valley International. "I don't know if it's the sunshine here in Tampa, but everyone is so energetic, trying to make sure that they get to see everybody. I've seen a lot of retailers, a lot of wholesalers, a lot of everybody within our industry. I don't know why, but for some reason, I feel like they are just more inquisitive and interactive with everyone at this show. It's really impressive."
She added, "I feel like we might be in a little smaller space. I'm not quite sure because everyone's in one room. There have been times where we're separated in different rooms. I like being maybe a little bit closer; everyone's able to get up and down the rows. I also think that the feeling of being a little closer to each other is creating a lot of energy. You turn around and right behind you is someone else you want to say hi to."
Asked about this year's location, she replied, "I love Tampa. I really do like this convention center. I also think it's great that they have some of the different functions at the different hotels as well as at the convention center so you're getting a little bit of the flavor of each of those places."
She concluded, "I think SEPC has a great formula for a great show. There are so many shows these days, but Southern Exposure really has a great vibe — a lot of energy. I know SEPC works really hard to put on the show. They make it look easy. It almost comes off without a hitch. Whether there are hitches or not, you don't see any. They know what they're doing."
Tim Harrington of Stemilt Growers called Southern Exposure "a really, really well-attended show," adding, "We're seeing people from all over the country — West Coast, Northeast, middle of the country. I've seen all my really wonderful customers that I could hope to see. Not a person was missing. Great show, great traffic."
He said SEPC does "a tremendous job. They always pick a good venue, with lots of activities, events and meetings to attend. The networking is super. We're seeing a lot of our existing base here, folks from Canada, lots from the U.S. We're enjoying showing them some of the new items that we are debuting. We've had a lot of fun things to share with them."
He offered this advice to SEPC: "Keep working the magic you have. Everybody I know loves this show. They love the time of the year it takes place, they love the venues, they love the warm weather. There's lots to enjoy, lots of great people we get to see, not only as business people but as our friends and colleagues."
Josh Auerbach of Maurice A. Auerbach Inc. said, "It's been fantastic pretty much from the very beginning. We've had not only traffic and people coming by, but buyers and growers that we wanted to see and speak with coming to see us. It's been very good."
He added, "We've always liked this show because in addition to seeing some of our friends from the Northeast, there's obviously major businesses down here, and it's nice to be on their home turf."
Charlie Eagle of Southern Specialties said, "This has been a pretty active show. With our booth location, when the show opened we were kind of inundated. We had a little bit of a challenge being able to deal with all the potential customers who walked by. But as the show progressed, it slowed down a little, and we were able to allot better time to potential customers and to spend some time walking the show. It gave me an opportunity to meet some of those people that I've been looking to speak to on the show floor. And we have enough people in attendance with our company to afford us to do that."
The keynote brunch "was excellent, and I was really impressed at the attendance," he added. "This show has grown exponentially since the very first show that we attended. We exhibited at that show in Lakeland, which I think had somewhere in the vicinity of 80 vendors, and this year they're nudging 300. It remains the show that those growers and shippers in the produce industry really want to be in."
He continued, "Every year we try to show all those products that we bring to market. Many of those are available either in bulk or in foodservice packs as well as value added."
Eagle also wanted to mention this about the Southeast Produce Council: "The programs in the organization that are geared toward bringing along younger members of the produce industry are very impactful and very important. They include the STEP-UPP program that has proven to be a tremendous success. Eventually it was divided into two segments: one for retail and one for foodservice. We enjoy hosting those groups. I think we shed light on the value that Southern Specialties as a grower, shipper and importer brings to the industry. And the relatively new leadership class is also a fantastic opportunity for those that have joined our industry who want to grow within the industry."
Finally, David Sherrod concluded his comments about Southern Exposure 2024 with this: "If I have only one word to describe the events during Southern Exposure 2024, it would be 'powerful.' There was an energy that was present from the beginning of the conference that lasted throughout the weekend, and I know it will carry us back to our homes and workplaces."
He added, "We felt the power of the next generation of produce professionals as we celebrated our STARS, STEP-UPP and NGLA classes on Thursday night. That feeling carried over to our SEPC University Educational Sessions on Friday, with Kevin Brown giving us a hugely inspirational speech on how to unleash our inner hero, followed by the highly anticipated Power of Produce with the largest crowd we have ever had in attendance. We were blessed by both our Southern Roots and Good Seeds programs that followed on Friday. The Opening Gala was attended by over 1,600 members and really energized the crowd for Saturday's events. During the Keynote Brunch, Kurt Warner gave us all something to reflect upon in our own lives regarding perseverance and faith."
He continued, "All this and more lead up to one of the best networking expos we have ever seen. So many buyers and sellers were connecting and having intimate conversations for the entirety of the show. I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to all of our unseen heroes who make the Southeast Produce Council what it has become: Together We Grow Higher."
Looking ahead to Southern Innovations this September in Nashville, the council president stated, "We're going to be working on some new partnerships with some other companies to make for a more innovative show. Not the typical food show that everybody's got used to. We're looking at some new ways to bring more innovations and technologies to the floor. We're also making sure that we're doing that with everything that's going on with artificial intelligence and some of the new sustainability efforts. I think it's going to be one of those shows that nobody wants to miss because they want to be on that cutting edge."
