Daytona is not dead.
Heading to the National Breeders Expo in Daytona was a bit stressful this year. The buzz in the industry was the show was dead, and this would be the last year. You have to realize that our hobby was built on the success if shows like the NRBE. For 21 years people have traveled from a far just to see some of the coolest animals and buy their future breeders and pets. To think it was coming to an end was more then I cod imagine. So was it really over?
I’d be lying if I said I was not anxious Friday night, and I certainly had a hard time sleeping. Saturday morning came and we went down the the expo center. There were a lot fewer vendors, but the quality of animals at the show was incredible even with the lack of what seemed like a 1/3 of the tables. With 5 minutes until the show opened I did my normal peek at the line to get in the show. I was pleasantly surprised to see one of the longest lines I had seen at this show in a few years. The doors opened and as the people swarmed in the isles fill up quickly. Within no time our booth was buzzing with people. I’m not sure how many people came through the door, but it seemed like a much larger crowd then the year before. How were sales you might ask? To be honest we didn’t sell like we had years ago, but we did have what I would consider a successful show. In the end I have no clue what the future is for the Daytona expo, but I know one thing…. The NBRE is far from dead.
