An associate of mine introduced me at the local Business Networking International (BNI) group. I found the group warm and welcoming and filled with the prospects of many referrals and contacts in the region. So I decided to put a petition in to join them as a member! The biggest advantage for Wildcat Engineering Solutions is that as a member we would be the exclusive Mechanical Engineer and 3D Printer in the group so all members would refer people to us for those activities and we could reciprocate with our referrals for their services.

Looking forward to networking!

So I made it to my first eSAX event! The program was hosted at Funhaven, and to be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect with the potential mix of business dress with kids casual, but things were professionally handled and looked great. We took over their upper room party area, which was nicely set up for the venue. Things did get a little warn half way through the night, I guess Funhaven didn’t have a chance to turn their AC on, but we managed to make it through the night with ice cold drinks.

Dylan Black (from boom 99.7) was our host for most of the night, though Jarrod Goldsmith did have to start things off as Dylan was rushing from a previous work engagement.  This time around, was slightly different from eSAX’s usual format and  I was told that normally a guest speaker is brought in, but this time we had a panel of entrepreneurs (the sponsors from the show) to which we could ask questions of. Most of the questions were good or funny, especially all the ones about singing or singing requests. Though there were a couple of odd questions that almost seemed out of place for the venue…

Things took off with an update from our beloved Mayor Jim Watson on the plans for the new light rail system (all good, things are on budget and on time at the moment!) and he thanked Jarrod for hosting eSAX and getting the entrepreneurial community going.

I also had a chance to catch up with Brittany Richardson-Reed of Creative Equilibria Promotions and found out that despite their new building be structurally unsound and them having to move again things are going a growing well for her business. I’ve also been talking to her about some promotional material for Wildcat Engineering Solutions so expect to see some of that stuff soon! She brought in this pair of cute stuffed giraffes (as a representation of her logo) and I had to ask her for a photo shoot with the little guy wearing Jarrod’s fedora!

One of the nice things about working in the defence industry is getting to know the people and companies who help protect Canada. This year at CANSEC I was able to reconnect with a number of old friends and colleagues and catch up on the latest defense technologies and development of things to come. I was even able to make a bunch of new friends, contacts and see some of the really neat ideas and plans to protect Canada and our neighbouring allies.

Some of the highlights of my walk around the tradeshow  included:

Diplomatic Delays

So the second day of CANSEC I was arriving on time when everything ground to a halt. I figure there must be some kind of accident with all the people rushing to get to the trade show. After about 15 minutes of sitting in the car a flood of police motorcycles came rushing through and then finally a diplomatic train of cars. I guess I got to see someone important… though I am not entirely sure who it was?

TAPV

I know things have been rough for TEXTRON and their sub-contractors with all the delays. It was good to see them out at CANSEC in full force with a demo TAPV all spruced up and at the show for all to see. I hope you guys the best in sorting this out and getting everything on track again for your 2016 deliveries.

Argo

I had a great chat with the gentlemen at Argo, their multi purpose ATV are pretty awesome for civilian or defense applications and their remote controlled version had some pretty neat little features on it.

Double Barrelled 9mm

Ok I am not a woman’s fashion expert by any means however, this sweet young lady and her colleagues and I happened upon the booth at the same time and the Italian salesmen and the four of us started talking about this odd handgun he had on display. The joke was that this gun would be perfect for the young lady, it would fit nicely in her hand bag and she’d have two shots for the price of one. In the end we as a group decided she shouldn’t get it as the kickback would probably send her flying or at least clock her in the head…

Remote Control Helicopter Case

So a few years back I received this remote helicopter set as a gift, its a great toy to play with the kids, however it only runs for 6 minutes and requires 60 minutes to recharge the battery… Anyway I am checking out the Production Case Booth and find the same helicopter set used as demo for this company’s line of pre-cut foam and cases. Nigel Lever made me a pretty good offer on the foam insert cut-out as they already had it done… which I am still considering!

Lots more things to see, many more people to meet and a great chance to make contacts. More to follow in my post CANSEC blog next week.

Today’s CANSEC event was pretty busy, but over all a great day. Made many new contacts and touched based with some old friends. Many new technologies out there with great potential. More details to follow in my post event update.