World Grain - June 2019 - 80

FEATURE: AN UNPLANNED PATH TO A SUCCESSFUL JOURNEY

recognition and control, stored grain entrapment prevention have been top priorities for GEAPS' continuing education programs as far back as can be traced in whatever
records exist. Those two areas of focus were at the top
of the list that inspired GEAPS' creation of the Grain
Industry Safety and Health Center for training and education in 1979.
While reliable data on grain entrapment incidents does
QRWWUDFHEDFNWKDWIDUWKHWUHQGOLQHIRUVLJQL¿FDQWO\UHduced incidents in commercial operations is clear and
compelling evidence that the sustained focus and collective effort by industry leaders has had a positive impact.
But because many incidents are attributable to human failure to recognize and control potential hazards, continual
improvement requires continuing education.
WG: GEAPS' membership has grown by leaps and
bounds and its annual Exchange is bigger than ever. What
has been the key to this growth?
KREJCI: The key to GEAPS' growth and success is the
persistent and unwavering pursuit by leaders and members of GEAPS' vision to being and remaining indispensably relevant and trusted as THE knowledge resource for
continual improvement in grain operations safety and
HI¿FLHQF\
As far as the GEAPS Exchange goes, it's our big deal.
Everybody on the staff here focuses a lot of attention to
the details of the Exchange. We are very sensitive to the
quality of the programs, attendee and exhibitor experience. People who attend the Exchange tell us it's a really
nice show. For our industry, it has a "wow" factor. It isn't
the biggest show, but it's the biggest show that only does
what GEAPS does. Some international shows are larger,
but they cover a broader scope. But if you're looking for
the operations solutions that GEAPS people are looking
for, it's all there.
WG: How effective has your continuing education program partnership with Kansas State University been? In
ZKDW ZD\V KDV LW PXWXDOO\ EHQH¿WHG WKH WZR RUJDQL]Dtions? Do you see room for even further growth in the
area of distance education?
KREJCI: The GEAPS+KSU professional development
programs partnership has been successful because it aligns
with the missions of both organizations and we are collectively committed to success. The distance learning component has been recognized for excellence and innovation
on three separate occasions by the University Professional
and Continuing Education Association. Individuals from
more than 30 countries have taken at least one course and
we have experienced increasing use of our courses and
operations management credential program by employ80

Growth means fewer sites meet
criteria for GEAPS Exchange
Some eyebrows were raised when GEAPS unveiled its
list of future Exchanges and Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.,
was selected to host the event for three straight years
beginning in 2022.
Is this a trial run to see if Kansas City should be a permanent site for the annual event, which routinely draws
nearly 3,000 attendees and more than 400 exhibitors
from 20 or more countries?
Yes and no, said David Krejci, executive vice-president of
GEAPS, noting that "it turns out it could be a trial run, but
the decision wasn't initially made to make it a trial run."
The organization traditionally has moved its annual
Exchange, which includes a trade show, networking opportunities and educational programing, to various sites
around North America. Finding the right-sized venue at
the time of the year when the Exchange is traditionally
held (late winter/early spring) has become increasingly
difficult as the event has grown.
"Where we can go and afford to go is really limited,"
Krejci explained. "Everybody likes one big, giant hall with
no columns, and suddenly you have a pretty short list of
where you can go. Right now, we're renting 400,000
square feet of space for the exhibition, and that prevents
us from going to some places that we've been in the past."
He said after some debate, GEAPS decided that it
wanted to go to sites with enough space that they
could accommodate the event's growing number of
participants and not turn people away, which had to
be done at this year's event in New Orleans, Louisiana,
U.S.
"Of all the sites that fit, Kansas City fits the best,"
Krejci said. "The exposition hall is larger than we need
but it's all one space. When the International Board
chose Kansas City for the 2022 location and began
looking at 2023, there was no place that met the site
selection criteria that year except Kansas City. We then
asked Kansas City for a three-year proposal. We were
able, in a competitive market, to guarantee space at today's rates. They told is if we buy all three years, they
would lock in the prices."
While holding Exchange at the same site for three
consecutive years will test the merits of a fixed location,
we won't know the results before we need to select the
sites 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028.
"The big challenge is what are we going to do?"
Krejci said. "Some people think this is what we should
have been doing all along, while others disagree with
that."
GEAPS Exchange will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., in 2020 and Columbus, Ohio, U.S., in 2021.

June 2019 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - June 2019

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