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FOGHORN
wonderful space to kick off the week to come. PVA lead-
ership, committee members, and PVA staff were treated to 
a delicious spread of hors d’oeuvres and dinner, along with 
the very special privilege of batting practice in the Cincin-
nati Reds’ private hitting tunnels located in the bowels of 
the stadium. Each interested invitee was handed a helmet 
and bat and sent in to face a Reds staff member. From a 
personal perspective, it has been a very long time since 
I competitively tried to hit that little white baseball. I sit 
through dozens and dozens of games each year as I watch 
my son play high level youth baseball, and you quickly take 
for granted how simple of a concept that “see the ball, hit 
the ball” provides. I sadly went one for four, but I didn’t 
pull any muscles so that will be chalked up as a success in 
my book. For the record, with my tail tucked between my 
legs, my wife and sister went two for four. 
The convention got fully underway on Monday as the first 
of 60 learning sessions began with more than 90 speakers 
scheduled to present over the four days of the convention. 
Formats ranged from educational sessions to roundtables 
to lunch-and-learns, all with the goal of not only delivering 
information, but engaging audience members in sharing 
their own experiences and knowledge. This sharing of in-
formation between all our members is where the true value 
of being at the convention comes from. It is impossible to 
quantify the benefit you get from being in a room with 
operators and associates who all understand your operation 
and issues facing your business. There is simply no better 
way to get impactful ideas and advice in running your busi-
ness than being a participant at MariTrends. 
FOGHORN FOCUS
There is simply no better 
way to get impactful ideas 
and advice in running your 
business than being a  
participant at MariTrends. 

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