Australia’s Best Butts were at the city’s Great Northern Hotel for the fourth heat of a national contest of that name.
And the Single Width Users Group was in nearby Yeppoon for the start of its annual technical forum.
But the only butts on stage at the Mercure Capricorn resort belonged to SWUG president Bob Lockley and Kodak’s Rob Mollee, whose company had shouted the hospitality for the evening.
A couple of hundred delegates will be back in the city tonight to tour the plant – and Manugraph Cityline press – on which APN prints three dailies, the local Morning Bulletin, plus Gladstone’s Observer, the Mackay Mercury and other work. Another social highlight is the annual gala dinner on Sunday night, at which technical awards will be presented.
Most won’t know what’s in the ‘business’ part of the two-day event until it starts this morning, but take on trust a mix focussed on newspaper print technology and management, and including presentations by vendor representatives and user members.
Lockley – whose ‘day job’ is as web printing and distribution chief executive for Fairfax Media – runs a tight event, with a full programme and no messing… and can, not least because about half the user delegates work for him. And most of the supplier delegates either count Fairfax as a customer, or would like to.
It’s strictly a ‘no selling’ event, but also a great opportunity for networking and relationship-building… and now the country’s paramount newspaper technical event.
No buts.