A groundbreaking initiative is transforming the traditionally male-dominated ground support equipment industry, one connection at a time. The Women of GSE movement celebrates its first anniversary this year, having evolved from a casual conversation to a powerful network supporting women across aviation ground operations.
Started by passionate industry professionals from companies like Mallaghan and XSEED, the Women of GSE initiative creates meaningful networking opportunities at major industry events. Their impact was perfectly captured by one attendee who approached organizers after a European event saying, "I came here not knowing anyone and I'm so thankful that I had this time to network and meet people." This simple yet profound testimonial demonstrates how these gatherings transform the conference experience, especially for newcomers to the industry.
The group has developed several ongoing programs, including monthly spotlights featuring women from various sectors of the industry—from CEOs to engineers—and is now launching their "Women of GSE Give Back" initiative. This new charitable program will support the Resurrection Preschool in Winter Garden, Florida by collecting essential school supplies during the upcoming GHI conference in Orlando. Collection boxes will be available throughout the event, accepting items like crayons, markers, and double-sided tape, along with cash donations that will be converted to Amazon gift cards for the school.
Women of GSE welcomes anyone interested in supporting their mission. You can connect with them on LinkedIn by searching for their distinctive purple logo, attend their networking event at GHI Orlando on Wednesday at 1:30 PM in the Speed Networking area, or simply stop by to contribute to their charitable initiative. As they move into their second year, their message remains clear: GSE is "a great place to work with good people" where women can thrive, connect, and make a difference both within the industry and beyond.
Looking for reliable and flexible ground support equipment leasing solutions? Look no further than Xcēd! As your trusted partner, Xcēd specializes in tailored operating leases for ground handlers and airlines, offering top-notch equipment and flexible terms to suit your needs. Whether you're seeking the latest electric GSE or traditional equipment, Xcēd has you covered with competitive rates and exceptional customer service. Keep your operations running smoothly and efficiently with Xcēd. Visit xcedgse.com today and soar to new heights with Xcēd Ground Support Equipment Leasing!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Matthew Weitzel (00:08):
Celebrating 10 years of trailblazing and ground
support, Xced marks a decade asyour leading partner in ground
support equipment leasing at theforefront of both short term and
long term leasing solutions,Xced adapts to your unique
operational needs, whetheryou're ramping up for peak
season or planning for long termgrowth, we provide the right
(00:28):
equipment to keep youroperations running smoothly.
This anniversary, we renew ourdedication to empowering your
ground operations withefficiency and innovation. With
Xced, you're equipped forsuccess today and prepare for
the challenges of tomorrow. Xceddriving excellence on the ground
year after year. Explore more atxcedgse.com
(00:56):
this is John Pfister. I'm BrianYoder. This is Matthias muigni.
This is William Martinez, andyou are listening to GSE
podcast.
All right. Well, welcome toanother edition of the GSE
Podcast. I'm Matt Weitzel, and Iam here with Abby Hepler and
Karla Harrington. Abby is withmalahan. We've had them on the
(01:18):
podcast before, and Karla iswith Xced. So how are you all
doing this morning? How's itgoing?
Abbie Hepler (01:26):
We're great. Matt, how are you doing?
Matthew Weitzel (01:28):
I'm doing great, Karla, this is your
great, yeah, I know you'regreat. This is the second time
that I've had I think this isyour boat, yeah, second time for
both of you on the podcast,yeah? And I think the last time
that both of you are on thepodcast, we were talking about
women of GSE, we are going to goback over that topic, because
(01:50):
this is what this podcast isabout. It's about women of GSE.
It's a well, I'll let youexplain what it is, but, but,
yeah, I just wanted to kind ofdive in and figure out what's
going on with women of GSE. Iknow that you all are going to
do something at the ninthAmerica's GHI in Orlando.
Abbie Hepler (02:08):
Yes. So the women of GSE was, was really founded
to, you know, just bringtogether and empower women in
the industry. We know that it'sa male dominate, not, excuse me,
dominated industry, and we justsaw a an opportunity there to to
really come together, and youknow, some of the initiatives
(02:29):
that we'll talk about here in alittle bit, but you know, we're
looking at it as a way to makean impact in the industry and
use our platform to to do so aswell. So Karla, do you have any,
yeah,
Karla Harrington (02:41):
we definitely want to use our platform to
encourage other women to comeinto the industry. It's a great
place to work good people towork with, I think for the most
part, GSE itself is super fun,right? Kind of dorky, but we
love it, and it's a really goodplatform for us to encourage
other people, educate otherpeople, and just to continue to
(03:01):
grow the network of the women inthe industry, as well as
hopefully add more malecounterparts in there. Yeah,
Matthew Weitzel (03:09):
and I love this, actually, is this great?
I'm so glad you all are doingthis. I know that we had a
conversation at the eighthAmericas GHI, is that kind of
when you all launch this?
Abbie Hepler (03:21):
Yes, so this the GHI in Orlando, will be our
anniversary, our first year. Sowe did our first event in
Toronto, had great success withthat, and since then, it's just
continued to grow and developwith our memberships and our
following on LinkedIn. And youknow, since then, we've started
(03:41):
our monthly women of GSEspotlight, which has been great
to get to know women acrossdifferent areas of the industry.
And so that brings us to ourfull first full year. And you
know, we're excited with excitedto launch our women of GSE give
back initiative. And I thinkthat's gonna be really great,
(04:03):
yes,
Karla Harrington (04:04):
just, I want to reflect a little bit on the
last year. I can't believe it'sbeen a full year. This is
incredible. We it was from aconversation to a LinkedIn page
to people registering attendingthe GHI mix and mingle that we
had from, I think we had 1415,women there, I want to say, and
it was just, just a value add,right for all of us to know each
(04:28):
other. It's great way for ourcustomers to get the best of
both worlds right, doingbusiness with us directly, but
at the same time, we're able toconnect them to other companies
that may have solutions fortheir for whatever hurdles
they're addressing at the time.
So 12 months, and I love thespotlight that we have every
month for a woman in GSE, we'vehad CEOs on there. We're looking
(04:48):
at hopefully having someengineers on there as well as
just industry colleagues. Soit's a really great place, and
we hope that people will find aninterest. And will continue to
support it, and, moreimportantly, look into
supporting our causes as we moveinto GHI in Orlando. Yeah,
Matthew Weitzel (05:09):
and Karla, unfortunately, I'm going to have
to bring this up, and that isthe fact that you missed the
show the GSE Expo Europe, andthey
Karla Harrington (05:19):
Yeah, really, really diving that knife deeper
into my heart. I know
Matthew Weitzel (05:23):
I'm sorry. So I happened to be there and I got
to see the women of GSE, had anevent that was held there, and
you all had a lot of people. Ithought that, yeah, I thought
that was a really good turnout.
How many people do you thinkwere? How many women, I guess I
should say, how many women doyou think were in attendance
there at that yeah, I would say
Abbie Hepler (05:43):
it had to be close to 30 or so that we're at the,
yeah, the Portugal event. So itwas great. I was just like, a
minute late, but as soon as Igot there, the women formed a
circle, and everybody wentaround and introduced themselves
and just talked a little bitabout what they do in the
industry. And it was great. AndI think the biggest takeaway for
(06:05):
me was I had one woman come upto me at the end and said, You
know, I came here not knowinganyone, and I'm so thankful that
I had this time to network andand and meet people and and so
now I can come here tomorrow andjust be in a better position. So
that was, that was really neat.
I
Matthew Weitzel (06:23):
love that. I remember it was my, like, you
know, first, and I thinkprobably even, like, my second
year, where I was walking aroundthese conferences and these
shows, and I didn't knowanybody, you know, I knew the
people that I worked with, but Ididn't know anybody from any
other aspects of the industry.
Intimidating. It is thatposition, exactly, and this in
That's right, I hadn't thoughtabout that. But that is, that is
great that that she can then goto these things and see the
(06:45):
people that she knows, andinteract and then you all can
introduce her to people frommalahan, from Xced, that that
she can interact with, andthings like that. So yeah, that
is, that's an amazing story. I'mreally glad that that happened.
So where have you gone in thelast year from starting the
LinkedIn page, like, where hasthis like, where has this
developed? To you're doing theLinkedIn page and you're doing
(07:05):
spotlights on women. What elseis happening in the last year?
Karla Harrington (07:10):
Oh, our biggest launch, I think, will be
at the GHI in Orlando. Wedefinitely want to give back to
the community, especially wherethese conferences are being
held. It's important for us toshow more than anything, is that
we're supporting people where weare right like, as little as we
may think this is, it could bereally big for those people who
(07:31):
are affected. So I'll let you,Abby, talk a little bit more
about that.
Abbie Hepler (07:35):
Yeah. So at the Orlando event, we'll be
launching our women of GSE giveback initiative. And you know,
we know some people in Orlando,like yourself, Matt, but you
know, we were asking around forsome possible charities or
places that we could donate. Andso we came across the
(07:56):
resurrection preschool of wintergarden Florida, and it's a state
funded school. And basically theschool cannot mandate the the
parents of the students to tobuy supplies for the school. So,
you know, they try, but it canbe difficult for some families.
The costs add up. So we thoughtthat this would be a great
(08:19):
opportunity for our platform orindustry to come together to
really make a difference in thelocal community. And talking to
the administrators there, theyare just overwhelmed with our,
you know, the kindness and thesupport from the industry to to
make a difference. So that'sreally exciting.
Matthew Weitzel (08:37):
So what will you be well, how can people
participate in this drive. Yeah,
Karla Harrington (08:42):
so, you know, we're not asking for people to
donate computers, unless youreally want to, we'll take it.
But really, we're looking at,you know, simple things,
crayons, Sharpies, double sidedtape. There's a list on our
LinkedIn page of all thesupplies that we'd like to
collect, and in lieu of, youknow, a supply need, we can
(09:05):
collect cash donations wherewe'll then we'll be turned into
an Amazon gift card for theschool to purchase their own
supplies. So that's just alittle bit of the information,
but we'll have booths at the GHIconference that are willing to
collect these items on ourbehalf. So at the end of the
conference, Abby and myself andI think we'll probably ask a few
(09:27):
other folks that havecontributed to take an Uber
there and drop it off, have theopportunity to meet some of the
people that will be affected byour donations in a good way. And
we're excited to see some ofthat that is yeah.
Abbie Hepler (09:41):
So yeah, sorry at the show. No, you're good at the
show. We'll have collectionboxes so donations can be
dropped there throughout theshow.
Matthew Weitzel (09:51):
Okay? So people should bring stuff with them if
they can, or they can stop byWalmart or Target or whatever,
pick up. Them supplies and dropthem off, correct? Nice. All
right, that's
Karla Harrington (10:04):
that's collecting through the show.
Just want to make sure, if youforget, you know, on Tuesday or
Wednesday, we'll still be thereThursday collecting. So please
feel free call to action, go getyour supplies or give a cash
donation. A few dollars will goa long way for these kids. Yeah,
Matthew Weitzel (10:20):
for sure. Okay, awesome. And then what do you
all? Are you all doing an eventat the GHI this year?
Abbie Hepler (10:26):
Yes, so Wednesday, at 130 in the afternoon, at the
speed networking area, we willbe gathering there for a women
of GSE event. Yes,
Matthew Weitzel (10:40):
everybody's so all women are the even if you're
not part of the LinkedIn group,or are you to see all these
women gathering? Can justanybody come over?
Abbie Hepler (10:48):
Absolutely, 100%
Matthew Weitzel (10:50):
Matt, you can come over. Yeah, I attended the
one in in Portugal. I'm gonna goahead and drop that again for
you. And and I was, I was theprincipal photographer. I'd like
to believe. So, I mean, therewas real photographers there,
but, I mean, I was there and Ihad a and I had an iPhone, so I
captured a lot of lot of greatphotos of all the women there.
(11:11):
And, yeah, it'll be, it'll be agreat event. I'm glad you all
are doing it. I'm so glad thatyou all were able to join me
today and talk about it. Whatelse, like, kind of is in the
future that we can kind of talkabout too. Are you going to do
anything at the GSE Expo in LasVegas? We
Abbie Hepler (11:28):
are, yes. So we're in the we're working through
that right now. We'll also haveanother women of GSE give back
opportunity there. So we'reworking out the details of all
of that now, but we'll share itas soon as possible. But yes,
we're looking forward to havinga great event there and and
gathering with with the women ofGSE in Las Vegas.
Matthew Weitzel (11:51):
So what is the process to to join, I guess,
like, if I'm a woman in GSE andI'm listening to this podcast
right now, what do I do? Whatare my next steps?
Abbie Hepler (12:01):
So we do have a registration link on our
LinkedIn page, but we justwelcome anyone at the these
events to to join us. They canlearn more there. But, you know,
give us a follow on LinkedIn.
That's where all of the updatedinformation about events is. And
then again, there's aregistration for email
notifications as well.
Matthew Weitzel (12:23):
Yeah, okay, all right. So yeah, men and women of
GSE, let's, let's go and supportthe women of GSE. You can find
them just by going into yoursearch tool on LinkedIn, women
of GSE, and you'll be able tofind their pretty purple logo,
right? Yes, absolutely,absolutely. So Abby, what are
you looking forward to justoutside of of women of GSE at
(12:46):
the GHI conference?
Abbie Hepler (12:48):
I'm really looking forward to connecting with, you
know, people that I know, butalso making new connections
there. It's always a great agreat time. It's, you know, more
of an intimate show. So you getgreat one on one, time with
people. So looking at theattendee list, it looks like
it's going to be well attended,and just looking forward to
seeing my colleagues there.
Yeah,
Karla Harrington (13:10):
absolutely.
Spending time with people in theindustry is always profitable.
On both ends, we learn so muchof what they're experiencing,
and we get to, hopefully,problem solve. And more than
anything, just spending timewith people that you call
friends, right? These are thefolks that we travel with and
spend time with when we're awayfrom home and from our families.
And it's always a good time.
Matthew Weitzel (13:30):
Yeah, yeah. And we got so we have the show in
June, and then we have, youknow, the big one in September,
and we're going to be able tosee each other a lot over the
next few months. So I'm reallyexcited. I love it when the when
the expo is in, in the US on thestate side, so that way, that
way, I'm guaranteed to be ableto go and have two major events
(13:52):
where we can see all of ourcustomers and all our vendor
partners and all that kind ofstuff. So very much looking
forward to it. Obviously, I'mreally glad that it's in
Orlando, because that means thatMatt doesn't really have to
travel. I just have to drivedown the road a little bit and
check into my hotel. But I thinkit's a great venue, especially
if people want to bring theirfamilies and things like that,
because there are some things todo around here, a few, a few
(14:14):
things. Yes, that's true. Yeah.
So yeah, anybody bringing theirfamilies down from this group?
Or is it leaving the kids athome, yeah,
Abbie Hepler (14:21):
leaving the kids at home talked about it, but
yeah, you know how, like, you'rebusy for morning tonight, they
can do their own thing, butyeah, logistically, I think
they're just gonna stay home.
Matthew Weitzel (14:34):
Yeah, it is crazy. I was kind of telling my
wife about my schedule for thatweek, and she's like, tell me a
little bit about it. I'm like,well, we get there like, 8am and
I'm done by about midnight, 1amyou know, and it's just like,
and that was like every night,and I was like, so I just, you
know, I'm gonna be busy theentire time it, but it's so much
fun, and it's so much funconnecting with everybody, so
(14:57):
it'll be a great time. I justanything. Else that we want to
cover. Did I miss anything onthe women of GSE? Just
Karla Harrington (15:04):
want to say thank you, Laura for doing all
the work behind the scenes.
She's in Ireland. She actuallyflew back to Ireland this week,
so we were not able to ask herto join, but she's such an
intricate part of our success onLinkedIn, as well as internally
as we plan events and happening.
So thank you, Laura. We missyou. Thank
Abbie Hepler (15:24):
you, Laura, couldn't do it without you.
Yeah,
Matthew Weitzel (15:26):
that reminds me. Are we going to do the
malahan shamrock golfing thingagain this year? We better be
Yeah, no or I mean, is malahandoing it? Yes, yes, absolutely.
When the sign up start for that.
So
Abbie Hepler (15:42):
the details are out on our LinkedIn page. Yes,
no registration is open, so I'llprobably bring a QR code or
something. We had something likethat at the GSE Expo last year,
so I'll check with Laura, andmaybe I can have a QR code there
at GHI for people to registerfrom. Yeah, I
Matthew Weitzel (16:03):
was able to attend that last year, and it
was, it was an amazingopportunity to go out and golf
and see all those people. Andagain, just another point of
connection, and just for aspecial cause as well. So, yes,
absolutely. So y'all will havesomething at the booth then, and
they can talk to you about Yes.
So make sure you stop by thenowahan booth and talk to Abby
about about the sham. Was itShamrock? Yes, the Shamrock
(16:23):
classic. The Shamrock classic.
Yeah, exactly. So awesome. Allright. Well, anything else,
thank
Karla Harrington (16:33):
you so much, Matt for giving us the
opportunity to share, obviously,what we are trying to get done
at GHI. And just want to remindthe listeners, please bring some
some supplies, if not some cashdonations. Would love to give
back to that preschool and, youknow, make a big effect in their
lives. So
Matthew Weitzel (16:51):
yeah, who should they hand the cash to?
Abby or Karla?
Karla Harrington (16:55):
Yeah, either one. Either one. Keep each other
honest. That's for sure.
Matthew Weitzel (16:58):
There you go.
Absolutely awesome. Well, thankyou all so much for joining me
today. I really appreciate itand see you soon in Orlando.
Great. Thank
Abbie Hepler (17:05):
you, Matt. All right. Thank
Matthew Weitzel (17:07):
you all bye.
Thank you for tuning in to thisepisode of the GSE podcast. We
hope you found it informativeand engaging. If this episode
resonated with you, please shareit with your colleagues and
peers in the ground supportequipment community. Your
support is invaluable to us.
We'd appreciate it if you couldtake a moment to rate and review
(17:29):
our podcast. Your feedback notonly encourages us, but also
helps expand our reach withinthe GSE community. Keep an eye
out for more episodes as wecontinue to explore the dynamic
world of ground operations,bringing you the latest trends,
insights and stories from theindustry. Thank you for
listening to the GSE podcastuntil we meet again. Stay
(17:49):
grounded and keep pushingforward.
Celebrating 10 years of trailblazing and ground
support, Xced marks a decade asyour leading partner in ground
support equipment leasing at theforefront of both short term and
long term leasing solutions,Xced adapts to your unique
operational needs, whetheryou're ramping up for peak
season or planning for long termgrowth, we provide the right
(00:28):
equipment to keep youroperations running smoothly.
This anniversary, we renew ourdedication to empowering your
ground operations withefficiency and innovation. With
Xced, you're equipped forsuccess today and prepare for
the challenges of tomorrow. Xceddriving excellence on the ground
year after year. Explore more atxcedgse.com
(00:56):
this is John Pfister. I'm BrianYoder. This is Matthias muigni.
This is William Martinez, andyou are listening to GSE
podcast.
All right. Well, welcome toanother edition of the GSE
Podcast. I'm Matt Weitzel, and Iam here with Abby Hepler and
Karla Harrington. Abby is withmalahan. We've had them on the
(01:18):
podcast before, and Karla iswith Xced. So how are you all
doing this morning? How's itgoing?
Abbie Hepler (01:26):
We're great. Matt, how are you doing?
Matthew Weitzel (01:28):
I'm doing great, Karla, this is your
great, yeah, I know you'regreat. This is the second time
that I've had I think this isyour boat, yeah, second time for
both of you on the podcast,yeah? And I think the last time
that both of you are on thepodcast, we were talking about
women of GSE, we are going to goback over that topic, because
(01:50):
this is what this podcast isabout. It's about women of GSE.
It's a well, I'll let youexplain what it is, but, but,
yeah, I just wanted to kind ofdive in and figure out what's
going on with women of GSE. Iknow that you all are going to
do something at the ninthAmerica's GHI in Orlando.
Abbie Hepler (02:08):
Yes. So the women of GSE was, was really founded
to, you know, just bringtogether and empower women in
the industry. We know that it'sa male dominate, not, excuse me,
dominated industry, and we justsaw a an opportunity there to to
really come together, and youknow, some of the initiatives
(02:29):
that we'll talk about here in alittle bit, but you know, we're
looking at it as a way to makean impact in the industry and
use our platform to to do so aswell. So Karla, do you have any,
yeah,
Karla Harrington (02:41):
we definitely want to use our platform to
encourage other women to comeinto the industry. It's a great
place to work good people towork with, I think for the most
part, GSE itself is super fun,right? Kind of dorky, but we
love it, and it's a really goodplatform for us to encourage
other people, educate otherpeople, and just to continue to
(03:01):
grow the network of the women inthe industry, as well as
hopefully add more malecounterparts in there. Yeah,
Matthew Weitzel (03:09):
and I love this, actually, is this great?
I'm so glad you all are doingthis. I know that we had a
conversation at the eighthAmericas GHI, is that kind of
when you all launch this?
Abbie Hepler (03:21):
Yes, so this the GHI in Orlando, will be our
anniversary, our first year. Sowe did our first event in
Toronto, had great success withthat, and since then, it's just
continued to grow and developwith our memberships and our
following on LinkedIn. And youknow, since then, we've started
(03:41):
our monthly women of GSEspotlight, which has been great
to get to know women acrossdifferent areas of the industry.
And so that brings us to ourfull first full year. And you
know, we're excited with excitedto launch our women of GSE give
back initiative. And I thinkthat's gonna be really great,
(04:03):
yes,
Karla Harrington (04:04):
just, I want to reflect a little bit on the
last year. I can't believe it'sbeen a full year. This is
incredible. We it was from aconversation to a LinkedIn page
to people registering attendingthe GHI mix and mingle that we
had from, I think we had 1415,women there, I want to say, and
it was just, just a value add,right for all of us to know each
(04:28):
other. It's great way for ourcustomers to get the best of
both worlds right, doingbusiness with us directly, but
at the same time, we're able toconnect them to other companies
that may have solutions fortheir for whatever hurdles
they're addressing at the time.
So 12 months, and I love thespotlight that we have every
month for a woman in GSE, we'vehad CEOs on there. We're looking
(04:48):
at hopefully having someengineers on there as well as
just industry colleagues. Soit's a really great place, and
we hope that people will find aninterest. And will continue to
support it, and, moreimportantly, look into
supporting our causes as we moveinto GHI in Orlando. Yeah,
Matthew Weitzel (05:09):
and Karla, unfortunately, I'm going to have
to bring this up, and that isthe fact that you missed the
show the GSE Expo Europe, andthey
Karla Harrington (05:19):
Yeah, really, really diving that knife deeper
into my heart. I know
Matthew Weitzel (05:23):
I'm sorry. So I happened to be there and I got
to see the women of GSE, had anevent that was held there, and
you all had a lot of people. Ithought that, yeah, I thought
that was a really good turnout.
How many people do you thinkwere? How many women, I guess I
should say, how many women doyou think were in attendance
there at that yeah, I would say
Abbie Hepler (05:43):
it had to be close to 30 or so that we're at the,
yeah, the Portugal event. So itwas great. I was just like, a
minute late, but as soon as Igot there, the women formed a
circle, and everybody wentaround and introduced themselves
and just talked a little bitabout what they do in the
industry. And it was great. AndI think the biggest takeaway for
(06:05):
me was I had one woman come upto me at the end and said, You
know, I came here not knowinganyone, and I'm so thankful that
I had this time to network andand and meet people and and so
now I can come here tomorrow andjust be in a better position. So
that was, that was really neat.
I
Matthew Weitzel (06:23):
love that. I remember it was my, like, you
know, first, and I thinkprobably even, like, my second
year, where I was walking aroundthese conferences and these
shows, and I didn't knowanybody, you know, I knew the
people that I worked with, but Ididn't know anybody from any
other aspects of the industry.
Intimidating. It is thatposition, exactly, and this in
That's right, I hadn't thoughtabout that. But that is, that is
great that that she can then goto these things and see the
(06:45):
people that she knows, andinteract and then you all can
introduce her to people frommalahan, from Xced, that that
she can interact with, andthings like that. So yeah, that
is, that's an amazing story. I'mreally glad that that happened.
So where have you gone in thelast year from starting the
LinkedIn page, like, where hasthis like, where has this
developed? To you're doing theLinkedIn page and you're doing
(07:05):
spotlights on women. What elseis happening in the last year?
Karla Harrington (07:10):
Oh, our biggest launch, I think, will be
at the GHI in Orlando. Wedefinitely want to give back to
the community, especially wherethese conferences are being
held. It's important for us toshow more than anything, is that
we're supporting people where weare right like, as little as we
may think this is, it could bereally big for those people who
(07:31):
are affected. So I'll let you,Abby, talk a little bit more
about that.
Abbie Hepler (07:35):
Yeah. So at the Orlando event, we'll be
launching our women of GSE giveback initiative. And you know,
we know some people in Orlando,like yourself, Matt, but you
know, we were asking around forsome possible charities or
places that we could donate. Andso we came across the
(07:56):
resurrection preschool of wintergarden Florida, and it's a state
funded school. And basically theschool cannot mandate the the
parents of the students to tobuy supplies for the school. So,
you know, they try, but it canbe difficult for some families.
The costs add up. So we thoughtthat this would be a great
(08:19):
opportunity for our platform orindustry to come together to
really make a difference in thelocal community. And talking to
the administrators there, theyare just overwhelmed with our,
you know, the kindness and thesupport from the industry to to
make a difference. So that'sreally exciting.
Matthew Weitzel (08:37):
So what will you be well, how can people
participate in this drive. Yeah,
Karla Harrington (08:42):
so, you know, we're not asking for people to
donate computers, unless youreally want to, we'll take it.
But really, we're looking at,you know, simple things,
crayons, Sharpies, double sidedtape. There's a list on our
LinkedIn page of all thesupplies that we'd like to
collect, and in lieu of, youknow, a supply need, we can
(09:05):
collect cash donations wherewe'll then we'll be turned into
an Amazon gift card for theschool to purchase their own
supplies. So that's just alittle bit of the information,
but we'll have booths at the GHIconference that are willing to
collect these items on ourbehalf. So at the end of the
conference, Abby and myself andI think we'll probably ask a few
(09:27):
other folks that havecontributed to take an Uber
there and drop it off, have theopportunity to meet some of the
people that will be affected byour donations in a good way. And
we're excited to see some ofthat that is yeah.
Abbie Hepler (09:41):
So yeah, sorry at the show. No, you're good at the
show. We'll have collectionboxes so donations can be
dropped there throughout theshow.
Matthew Weitzel (09:51):
Okay? So people should bring stuff with them if
they can, or they can stop byWalmart or Target or whatever,
pick up. Them supplies and dropthem off, correct? Nice. All
right, that's
Karla Harrington (10:04):
that's collecting through the show.
Just want to make sure, if youforget, you know, on Tuesday or
Wednesday, we'll still be thereThursday collecting. So please
feel free call to action, go getyour supplies or give a cash
donation. A few dollars will goa long way for these kids. Yeah,
Matthew Weitzel (10:20):
for sure. Okay, awesome. And then what do you
all? Are you all doing an eventat the GHI this year?
Abbie Hepler (10:26):
Yes, so Wednesday, at 130 in the afternoon, at the
speed networking area, we willbe gathering there for a women
of GSE event. Yes,
Matthew Weitzel (10:40):
everybody's so all women are the even if you're
not part of the LinkedIn group,or are you to see all these
women gathering? Can justanybody come over?
Abbie Hepler (10:48):
Absolutely, 100%
Matthew Weitzel (10:50):
Matt, you can come over. Yeah, I attended the
one in in Portugal. I'm gonna goahead and drop that again for
you. And and I was, I was theprincipal photographer. I'd like
to believe. So, I mean, therewas real photographers there,
but, I mean, I was there and Ihad a and I had an iPhone, so I
captured a lot of lot of greatphotos of all the women there.
(11:11):
And, yeah, it'll be, it'll be agreat event. I'm glad you all
are doing it. I'm so glad thatyou all were able to join me
today and talk about it. Whatelse, like, kind of is in the
future that we can kind of talkabout too. Are you going to do
anything at the GSE Expo in LasVegas? We
Abbie Hepler (11:28):
are, yes. So we're in the we're working through
that right now. We'll also haveanother women of GSE give back
opportunity there. So we'reworking out the details of all
of that now, but we'll share itas soon as possible. But yes,
we're looking forward to havinga great event there and and
gathering with with the women ofGSE in Las Vegas.
Matthew Weitzel (11:51):
So what is the process to to join, I guess,
like, if I'm a woman in GSE andI'm listening to this podcast
right now, what do I do? Whatare my next steps?
Abbie Hepler (12:01):
So we do have a registration link on our
LinkedIn page, but we justwelcome anyone at the these
events to to join us. They canlearn more there. But, you know,
give us a follow on LinkedIn.
That's where all of the updatedinformation about events is. And
then again, there's aregistration for email
notifications as well.
Matthew Weitzel (12:23):
Yeah, okay, all right. So yeah, men and women of
GSE, let's, let's go and supportthe women of GSE. You can find
them just by going into yoursearch tool on LinkedIn, women
of GSE, and you'll be able tofind their pretty purple logo,
right? Yes, absolutely,absolutely. So Abby, what are
you looking forward to justoutside of of women of GSE at
(12:46):
the GHI conference?
Abbie Hepler (12:48):
I'm really looking forward to connecting with, you
know, people that I know, butalso making new connections
there. It's always a great agreat time. It's, you know, more
of an intimate show. So you getgreat one on one, time with
people. So looking at theattendee list, it looks like
it's going to be well attended,and just looking forward to
seeing my colleagues there.
Yeah,
Karla Harrington (13:10):
absolutely.
Spending time with people in theindustry is always profitable.
On both ends, we learn so muchof what they're experiencing,
and we get to, hopefully,problem solve. And more than
anything, just spending timewith people that you call
friends, right? These are thefolks that we travel with and
spend time with when we're awayfrom home and from our families.
And it's always a good time.
Matthew Weitzel (13:30):
Yeah, yeah. And we got so we have the show in
June, and then we have, youknow, the big one in September,
and we're going to be able tosee each other a lot over the
next few months. So I'm reallyexcited. I love it when the when
the expo is in, in the US on thestate side, so that way, that
way, I'm guaranteed to be ableto go and have two major events
(13:52):
where we can see all of ourcustomers and all our vendor
partners and all that kind ofstuff. So very much looking
forward to it. Obviously, I'mreally glad that it's in
Orlando, because that means thatMatt doesn't really have to
travel. I just have to drivedown the road a little bit and
check into my hotel. But I thinkit's a great venue, especially
if people want to bring theirfamilies and things like that,
because there are some things todo around here, a few, a few
(14:14):
things. Yes, that's true. Yeah.
So yeah, anybody bringing theirfamilies down from this group?
Or is it leaving the kids athome, yeah,
Abbie Hepler (14:21):
leaving the kids at home talked about it, but
yeah, you know how, like, you'rebusy for morning tonight, they
can do their own thing, butyeah, logistically, I think
they're just gonna stay home.
Matthew Weitzel (14:34):
Yeah, it is crazy. I was kind of telling my
wife about my schedule for thatweek, and she's like, tell me a
little bit about it. I'm like,well, we get there like, 8am and
I'm done by about midnight, 1amyou know, and it's just like,
and that was like every night,and I was like, so I just, you
know, I'm gonna be busy theentire time it, but it's so much
fun, and it's so much funconnecting with everybody, so
(14:57):
it'll be a great time. I justanything. Else that we want to
cover. Did I miss anything onthe women of GSE? Just
Karla Harrington (15:04):
want to say thank you, Laura for doing all
the work behind the scenes.
She's in Ireland. She actuallyflew back to Ireland this week,
so we were not able to ask herto join, but she's such an
intricate part of our success onLinkedIn, as well as internally
as we plan events and happening.
So thank you, Laura. We missyou. Thank
Abbie Hepler (15:24):
you, Laura, couldn't do it without you.
Yeah,
Matthew Weitzel (15:26):
that reminds me. Are we going to do the
malahan shamrock golfing thingagain this year? We better be
Yeah, no or I mean, is malahandoing it? Yes, yes, absolutely.
When the sign up start for that.
So
Abbie Hepler (15:42):
the details are out on our LinkedIn page. Yes,
no registration is open, so I'llprobably bring a QR code or
something. We had something likethat at the GSE Expo last year,
so I'll check with Laura, andmaybe I can have a QR code there
at GHI for people to registerfrom. Yeah, I
Matthew Weitzel (16:03):
was able to attend that last year, and it
was, it was an amazingopportunity to go out and golf
and see all those people. Andagain, just another point of
connection, and just for aspecial cause as well. So, yes,
absolutely. So y'all will havesomething at the booth then, and
they can talk to you about Yes.
So make sure you stop by thenowahan booth and talk to Abby
about about the sham. Was itShamrock? Yes, the Shamrock
(16:23):
classic. The Shamrock classic.
Yeah, exactly. So awesome. Allright. Well, anything else,
thank
Karla Harrington (16:33):
you so much, Matt for giving us the
opportunity to share, obviously,what we are trying to get done
at GHI. And just want to remindthe listeners, please bring some
some supplies, if not some cashdonations. Would love to give
back to that preschool and, youknow, make a big effect in their
lives. So
Matthew Weitzel (16:51):
yeah, who should they hand the cash to?
Abby or Karla?
Karla Harrington (16:55):
Yeah, either one. Either one. Keep each other
honest. That's for sure.
Matthew Weitzel (16:58):
There you go.
Absolutely awesome. Well, thankyou all so much for joining me
today. I really appreciate itand see you soon in Orlando.
Great. Thank
Abbie Hepler (17:05):
you, Matt. All right. Thank
Matthew Weitzel (17:07):
you all bye.
Thank you for tuning in to thisepisode of the GSE podcast. We
hope you found it informativeand engaging. If this episode
resonated with you, please shareit with your colleagues and
peers in the ground supportequipment community. Your
support is invaluable to us.
We'd appreciate it if you couldtake a moment to rate and review
(17:29):
our podcast. Your feedback notonly encourages us, but also
helps expand our reach withinthe GSE community. Keep an eye
out for more episodes as wecontinue to explore the dynamic
world of ground operations,bringing you the latest trends,
insights and stories from theindustry. Thank you for
listening to the GSE podcastuntil we meet again. Stay
(17:49):
grounded and keep pushingforward.
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