With a background in Journalism and English, I like to think I have a decent vocabulary. However, I don’t know that there are words in any language that sufficiently express how amazing the most recent edition of The Car Wash Show was.

At the 2016 show in Nashville, we were excited to see tremendous growth. This year in Las Vegas, we grew again, jumping up to more than 8,100 attendees. That’s a number we haven’t seen in the industry since 2007.

We also saw 141,000 net square feet of product and services on display. That’s a lot of show floor to visit.

A successful edition of The Car Wash Show is always a good sign. That means the economy is in a good place for our industry, people are full of positive energy and are looking to connect with peers in an experience that International Carwash Association excels at delivering.

We’ve done our best to capture in words and pictures the essence of the record-breaking show. You can read a full recap this issue of the magazine, complete with great photos to help you relive the experience.

The great news for everyone in the industry is that a core tenet of ICA’s strategic plan is to produce the best events for car wash professionals. We are dedicated to providing excellent opportunities for learning, networking and commerce.

To that end, there’s a full slate of year-round event opportunities that you can participate in. Whether it’s attending events like The Car Wash Show Europe in September or Splash! in New Orleans in October, we’re continuing to provide experiences that bring our car wash community together.

You can see articles about both The Car Wash Show Europe and Splash! in this issue of CAR WASH Magazine as well.

In addition, we continue our work in bringing the car wash community together through the power of storytelling across all of our content channels.

In this issue of CAR WASH Magazine, we dive in to how to find and maximize value in your digital marketing efforts, and take a look at how bigger and better data can lead to better marketing.

We also highlight our Emerging Leaders Scholarship winners from this year, and we’ve put together a number of fascinating industry profiles. Don’t miss stories like Mike Huggins, a third-generation car washer who just so happens to also know how to craft an amazing cocktail experience. Or, Jason Anthony, another third-generation car washer and former professional golfer who’s giving his time and talent to the Western Carwash Association.

As always, if there are areas of interest that you’d like to see covered in the Magazine, don’t hesitate to let us know by shooting me an email at mdewolf@carwash.org.

Likewise, if you haven’t had your wash featured in an issue of CAR WASH Magazine, we want to hear your stories so we can share them with the entire car wash community.

I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you at one of our upcoming events.