I found myself in a decision making position four years ago whether to keep a show date and go ahead as scheduled or postpone the show, or cancel it completely -which many people did at the time. It was a very tough decision which needed to be done within days after 9/11/2001.

I was working as the director of events at SYS-CON Media, the parent company of International Yacht Vacations & Charters Magazine.

We had a large international trade show planned in New York Hilton, where we were expecting more than 3,000 delegates to participate from around the world. The conference was going to take place on September 23-26, 2001. Ten days before our New York City event, we woke up with the news of terror attacks. It was a very difficult decision at the time and we did not cancel our event. After four years when we look back, our conference was the only trade show which took place after September 11 and through the end of that year, anywhere in the world. Our opening day keynote speaker, who lived on the West Coast, had to fly from San Francisco to London to get to New York. We stood tall and delivered th conference on its scheduled dates.

I'm reading lots of criticism directed toward the organizers of the Ft Lauderdale International Boat Show for their decision on not cancelling this year's event. I have been there, done that, been in their shoes myself. I was on the phone with Rudolph Giuliani's press people on one hand, who were asking us not to cancel our conference which New York City desperately needed, and I was on the phone with the families of 9/11 victims on the other line. We lost one of our speakers who was in one of the planes which hit the buildings. It was a war zone.

When we look at the circumstances Ft Lauderdale is in this year, all I want to say is "the show must go on." I know many exhibitors, especially the European companies, will not be able to attend the International Ft Laudedale Boat Show this year. They will be back next year. But I personally don't criticize the show organizers and the City of Ft Lauderdale for not cancelling the show at all.

posted Tuesday, 1 November 2005 11 AM EST