The concept of connections was at the front of my mind in Richmond as I once again saw that the ACS Conference is truly a place where members connect to share ideas, information, challenges, and the joys of cheese. There are few events and few professional communities where the feeling of connection is so palpable. One place this really rang true was during the opening Cheese ³ Talks. John and Kendall Antonelli of Antonelli's Cheese connected with over 1,000 attendees in the audience through their open sharing of the challenges they have faced personally and professionally growing their small business. I saw these connections again as friends shared a beer at the Cheese Crawl while supporting the ACE Foundation; and again when an Open Networking session on proposed EU Tariffs led to an impromptu, on-site meeting of industry leaders and ultimately an ACS Member Update to disseminate the important outcomes from those discussions.

 

I encourage all of you to value these connections and take time to stay in contact with those with whom you connected in Richmond. Certainly, these connections are valuable to your business and professional life. But more importantly, value them for the intangibles they bring to your life: the serendipity of clicking with a like-minded thinker; the humor of a shared experience; the camaraderie of realizing someone is facing the same challenges as you. ACS is unique because of the part each one of us plays in making those connections to build a strong cheese community.