Now I know why the GCSAA was so slow to release this news… because it wasn't news. The only way an announcement should be made about Rosaforte's presence at the show is if he accidentally left his reporter's notebook in the men's room and needed help finding it.
I know I sound bitter, and I hate to gripe about the GIS because it's my old colleagues who put on the show. I know they're doing all they can to make it a success. But I heard it said out loud over cocktails at last week's STMA show in Daytona Beach, Fla., in reference to the GIS; sometimes you need to be reminded that you have to spend money to make money.
I don't know that an A-list personality sells more tickets to the show, but in my opinion it helps (especially if you promote that celebrity). The person doesn't have to be an A-list celebrity, I'll take B- or C-list in a down economy. I think of all the GIS shows I've been to, and I always appreciated when they had a Norman Schwarzkopf or even a David Feherty (Feherty is two steps up the celebrity ladder from Rosaforte, in my book) to speak. It was an added bonus to being at the show, something to get people talking.
