A tale of two SEPC conferences, worlds apart

Wow. Just wow.

Our world went bananas between Southeast Produce Council’s Southern Exposure trade show and conference in late February 2020 in Tampa and this next one coming up, the hybrid version April 6-8 in Orlando.

So. Much. Major. Change.

When I look back at that last SEPC show, I think of that moment I and my colleagues at The Packer, Ashley Nickle and Tom Karst, took a breather after racing around the packed trade show and education sessions, taking notes, photos and videos, as well as posting on social media for up-to-the-minute comprehensive coverage.

By text message, we agreed to meet up at some round tables in a lobby portion of the conference center as the events wound down and a waterside party closed out the conference. We swapped conference stories, experiences and just laughed and talked about our lives, while nibbling on some finger food.

That was the last time I saw my coworkers in real life.

This show was one of the last major trade shows in our industry before COVID-19 pandemic health and safety measures kept us away from crowds and some of us working from home to various extents across the country.

Less than two weeks later, everything shut down in New York City, where I lived. It was empty and quiet on those typically thronged streets, except for the sound of ambulance sirens 10 times more often than usual.

Usual. Normal.

Those words, especially that last one, became overused buzzwords, yet their meaning precious to many.

But then racial injustice protests and civil unrest exploded throughout the U.S.

And then the record-setting California wildfires. And alarming events leading up to the transfer of power between U.S. presidents after a contentious election.

As if a pandemic wasn’t enough.

Back at that 2020 SEPC show, my biggest concern was returning to the trade show traveling circuit with a 4-month-old baby at home. I was nursing and finding it difficult to lug my equipment around and find private accommodations with an electrical outlet to maintain my supply.

I also was thrilled to be back in the workforce, with my peers, discussing the wider world and issues outside my home and family life.

Ha ha ha! Hindsight, am I right?

The first few months of motherhood feel like a quarantine of sorts, but with much, much, much less sleep, free time and free hands.

Little did I know that while my baby got comfortable at daycare that first month, he wouldn’t be back for a while. Instead, he got to watch Mommy work at home. He got to nap on my chest while I wrote articles. He cooed and sighed while I interviewed a Georgia farmer about his crop season.

He required feedings during staff Zoom meetings, quite the logistical challenge.

Professional life and private life became even more blurred.

Trying to juggle it all without the support of childcare providers, school teachers and extended family members brought home how much our economy needs childcare to keep its workforce, well, in the workforce.

Working from home full-time with an infant is challenging, to say the least. Working from home full-time with a toddler or several young children — unsustainable.

Thank goodness this industry is so family-oriented and flexible. However, not all of us made it through this yearlong turbulence with our jobs, families or health intact.

As spring 2021 breathes new life into the northern hemisphere, many of us are reflecting on how much we’ve been through.

Along with the Viva Fresh Expo March 26-27 in Dallas, this SEPC conference comes soon after the country’s one-year COVID-19 anniversary, after more than 550,000 people in the U.S. died from the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While we’ve all been affected differently, the pandemic has changed something in our lives and in our work.

We miss the human interaction of our business. Everyone says the produce business is built on relationships, and the best way to build and maintain those is through face time, in real life.

But we’ve embodied the other overused buzzword — pivot — and done what we can and in new ways, often with the aid of technology.

With more and more vaccinated people and restrictions easing, there’s hope that we’ll again be energized (or overstimulated) by the crowds and enjoying (or complaining) about the constant travel.

There’s hope that I can stop by your trade show booth and say, “Hey, what’s new with you and your company?” in real life.

There’s hope that my biggest family concern while working away from home is missing my son while loving my career — not whether one of us will get or spread the coronavirus.

There’s hope that I can be at a gala again, wowed by a human fountain shooting water out of her fingers while her arms swirl around to music and lights, as I was wowed that February 2020.

There’s hope that I can dance yet again in a silly costume with colleagues and other produce professionals at conferences like SEPC’s Southern Exposure.

That we all can. If you’re into that sorta thing.

— Amy Sowder is The Packer’s Northeast editor