NBAA’s annual Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference (SDC) continues to grow, and this year's event was another record-breaker. Held last week in Fort Worth, Texas, the show attracted more than 2,900 attendees and the show floor featured 541 exhibitors, including 66 international companies, evidence of the show’s increasingly global relevance. “The record-setting attendance and sold-out exhibit floor highlight the fact that SDC continues to provide high-quality education, networking and business development opportunities for this important segment of the business aviation industry,” said Mike Nichols, NBAA’s vice president of operational excellence and professional development.
While in the past, all booths in the exhibit hall were restricted to 10-by-10 feet, for the first time this year companies were allowed to occupy areas of up to 10-by-40 feet, engendering both positive and negative feedback from showgoers. This year’s event also offered more than 30 education sessions, with focuses on career development, operational excellence, international operations and more.
Continuing the show’s tradition of giving back to the host city, the S&D committee sponsored two initiatives. One had volunteers packing laundry baskets with approximately $3,100 worth of household cleaning supplies to support domestic violence victims through “Ana’s Baskets” of Safe Haven of Tarrant County. The other, in its seventh year, collected gently used business clothing items donated by show attendees and exhibitors to benefit Dress For Success Dallas/Fort Worth and Workforce Solutions of Tarrant County, which will give the garments to local residents seeking jobs. Universal Weather & Aviation, a longtime sponsor of the event, held a company-wide clothing drive before the show and collectively donated more than 300 pounds of clothing.
At the conclusion of 2017’s event, the S&D committee turned its attention to next year’s conference, which will be held in Long Beach, California, from February 6 to 9.