Questar's Al Nader

By Ralph Franklin

We flew the cheapest we could —Southwest. I had stripped and gotten through security, which is no longer a problem.  However, trying to prop myself up against a wall and get my shoes on and tied is still a problem.

When I was onboard and seated I still had not heard from Robin Williams or Rick Howard. Finally Robin did show and I learned Rick had forgotten his driver’s license and could not get past security. As you know, about two weeks ago Rick was mugged and robbed one night when leaving a band concert.

We arrived in Chicago. Still no Rick. We grabbed a taxi to Kiki’s Bistro in the  heart of downtown Chicago. We arrived shortly after the TRACS gang had completed its tour of  the Questar facility and were seated in this fine old restaurant. Needless to say, the dinner hosted by Al Nader, head of Questar, and his wife was a highlight of our three-day stay.

Robin and I were seated at Al’s table where we enjoyed fine wine, and I selected the steak. Outstanding. During the two-hour affair Al expanded on what is happening with the marketing of Questar’s video content/DVDs. What’s working, what’s not.

Al and his wife dropped us off at the Seneca Hotel where I shared a suite with Producers Chairman Stan Walsh. Our suite had a full kitchen, two baths, two TVs (which were never turned on) a huge living room and bedroom with two queen beds. It made Albuquerque accommodations look like third world.

I left the Seneca at 7:30 a.m. with my small wheeled luggage bag full of publicity and at 7:37 a.m. was walking through the doors of the Museum of Contemporary Art— just one short block from the hotel. The entrance to our venue was impressive, and our Showcase room excellent, with a high ceiling and a screen high enough so that heads were not a problem. Also large enough so that the picture put you into the film. The sound was excellent.

The Showcase room -Franklin

At 9 a.m., the Showcases started with  MC Robin gabbing the mike and doing a masterful and humorous job in introducing each artist. We saw 20 exciting films—from travel to adventure to documentary.

Robin alternated live presentations with film clips from absentee Artists. What made it more enjoyable was that no two films had the same running time. We had previews that ran from 6 minutes to 13. All the Presenters attending enjoyed it immensely.

Another plus was the Museum’s small restaurant where we could grab a cup of coffee and a sweet roll during the break periods. The last showing ended at 5 p.m. and we were out of there in 30 minutes. Note: Stan had lined up a masterful crew of artists to make this 37^th showcase run smoothly.

Saturday night found a group of us heading out to dinner, yes, walking. With lights, steel and glass rising all around us we had our choice of restaurants. Everywhere you looked restaurants—from pizza, to porterhouses, big and small, expensive to the less expensive. A massive food court in the Water Tower. There were shops and department stores, which would excite any women, especially my wife Carol. And Saturday night the streets were crowded.

The Sunday TRACS business meeting was held in the Seneca, followed by the Filmmakers and Presenters meetings. I started off at the Presenters where I pitched the idea of giving our travel film patrons access to the traveladventurecinema.com online magazine web site through the Presenters’ series and explained how we could do it with little or no work for each sponsor.

We feel that getting the patrons involved in the industry—and especially with the lives of the artists—will build excitement and help stimulate our business. The response was positive with two Presenters asking for the material “as soon as possible.”  Which we will do.

Oh, yes, at the business meeting there was a discussion on alternating East and West cities for the annual Showcase, versus just one location.

All things considered—and I have attended 36 of the 37 Showcases— the Museum of Contemporary Art venue, the Seneca Hotel, the restaurants, shops, plus the Presenter potential was a great combo. And personally, I would consider returning to this location in 2010, provided there was some financial consideration given to Westerners.

Our round-trip transportation cost for each of us was close to $500. Compare that with one Indiana Presenter who took the train back and forth at a daily transportation cost of about $10.

In conclusion, it was a great conference. I want to thank Al Nader, his wife and Questar for inviting us to Chicago and helping make it all happen.

(Ed Note: All photos by Ralph Franklin.)