24 Hours in Vegas

Recently I was invited to check out the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) trade show in Las Vegas with Lincoln Electric “the welding experts” and my friend, Lon Damon.  Vegas is only a four and a half hour drive so I hopped in my car and headed out Thursday afternoon. As I was not scheduled to check in with SEMA until Friday morning I made plans to see my friend and former graphic artist for Bar Rescue Season 1, Joey Ungerer.  Joey now is a graphic artist for the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas and they are lucky to have him.  You can see his wonderful logos on the first season episodes.  Joey is thriving in his new job and I am really happy for his success. It can be tough to make a living in art and so many great artists are forced to walk away from their talent to make ends meet so I am a huge fan of success stories like Joey’s.

Friday morning I headed to the Las Vegas Convention Center and met up with Lon of Lincoln Electric at the SEMA  show. SEMA gathers automotive specialty products from around the world and Lincoln Electric had one of the best booths I have seen at any trade show.  On display they had a robotic welder, a virtual welding machine that scored visitors welding skills, an incredible c and c plasma cutter, mig and tig welding demonstrations, tons of welding gear,

special guests Chip Foose, Jessi Combs, Brian Fuller, and a fantastic team of Lincoln Electric specialists to guide attendees through their top of the line display booth.

I can say that the 9 hour round trip drive in 24 hours was more than worth it to meet up with friends old and new and be part of the amazing culture of cars.  My dad was a mechanic for 40 years and walking the isles, seeing the classics, meeting mechanics and artisans was like going home.