Prior to leaving for the HPBExpo in New Orleans, we all knew that we were tempting fate. The coronavirus had been making headway and headlines from Wuhan, China, at the beginning of January, through Europe, to North America. It had landed in Kirkland, Washington, at the Life Care Center, around the first of March.

That was a short 30-minute ride from Travis Industries.

Kurt Rumens, Travis’ president, called; he had already made his decision. There was no way he would take himself and other employees to the HPBExpo in New Orleans. He felt it was too dangerous for anyone from around Kirkland to be walking among a large gathering of attendees at a trade show.

Kirkland became ground zero for the virus; two weeks later, New Orleans was vying for that position.

What were we thinking?

We could see the pattern – the long road from Wuhan to our backyard.

In our office we were of two opinions: a few didn’t want to go, others felt a commitment to go because our company puts on the Vesta Awards Program, an important part of the Expo (at least we feel it is).

So we elbow-bumped our way around the crowd, laughing a bit every time we did it. We used the small bottle of disinfectant that the HPBA had provided, and washed our hands frequently.

We also learned that the HPBExpo was most likely the only convention being held in the U.S. during that time frame. All others, at least 170 of them, had been cancelled.

Did they know something that we didn’t?

Once we returned home, one person in our party was feeling poorly (she had a low-grade fever). Two others in our party have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and their daughter is showing signs of having it.

Meanwhile, we’ve heard that at least five others who attended the Expo have been diagnosed with the virus. Will there be more, perhaps many more? Of course, how could there not be when 5,000 or so people occupied the same space in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center?

Following the Vesta Awards we walked back to our hotel. It was around 9pm or so, and the sky was dark. There were no cars on the road, and no one on the sidewalks – except us. Such stillness is highly unusual in a city the size of New Orleans, particularly one with 24/7 partying in its DNA.

It conjured images from sci-fi movies, you know, when there’s few others who survived the multiple nuclear blasts that have devastated the planet – except, of course, our little party of seven.

The Big Winner at the Vesta Awards

Napoleon walked away with three major awards. The company was a Winner in both the Wood Products and Electric Products categories, and was awarded the Daniel J. Melcon Award for Best-in-Show – Hearth Products for its Smart Wood Stove. Its Eco-mode technology measures particulate emissions in real time, and automatically adjusts the burn characteristics to maintain the cleanest burn possible.

For the first time, the hearth industry will be gathering hard data that can prove the cleanliness of its products. That’s what innovation looks like.

Best-in-Show Outdoor Room Products

The winner in the category of Outdoor Hearth Products was the Donovan gas fire pit. Its Dual Heat technology provides four different uses: as a fire pit, patio heater, table, or both fire pit and patio heater. An infrared emitter rests below the tabletop and warms your legs, while the top of the fire pit warms your upper body. When others say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” that’s innovation as well.

Next stop: Nashville, Tennessee.