Run the Damn Dock.

Author: stuart mitchell

  • Forklift Power Rankings: Episode 1

    By someone who’s seen every corner of the show floor

    It’s time we talk about the real MVPs of the trade show and corporate event world: forklift operators.

    They don’t show up in keynote photos. They’re not on speaker panels. But if you’ve ever watched a show floor transform from a sea of crates into a polished experience in just a few days — you’ve seen their work. These crews are the heartbeat of the dock. They run on pride, precision, and pure grit.

    Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of producing some of the largest and most complex events in the world — from Sweets & Snacks to McDonald’s Worldwide, Google activations, and even the LinkedIn global corporate event. Across every show, one thing has become clear: not all forklift ops crews are created equal.

    So, just for fun — and with a deep appreciation for the trade — here’s my unofficial, unapologetically biased power ranking of the best forklift operator teams in the country: Oh and here’s my dads in the video…

    The Mack Rankings. No reflection of the Stu Rankings.

    1. San Francisco Teamsters

    Deep talent, bold innovation, and unmatched drive. They move like a symphony and problem-solve like engineers. The gold standard.

    2. Chicago Riggers

    Masters of machine rigging. If you’ve got a 20,000-lb CNC machine or a giant custom structure, this is the team you want on the floor. Their rep is ironclad.

    3. Atlanta (IATSE 834)

    Best large-show crew in the country. That’s not just my bias talking — it’s reality. They’re fast, disciplined, and rock-solid under pressure.

    4. Philadelphia

    Rugged, no-nonsense, and reliable when it matters most. A crew that gets it done without the fluff.

    5. Dallas

    If it has an axle, they can drive it. Adaptive, hardworking, and always in motion. You’ll rarely find them standing still.

    6. St. Louis Teamsters 600

    A proud legacy with real muscle behind it. These operators carry a rich tradition — and a serious skill set.

    7. New Orleans (IATSE 39)

    Experienced and dependable. Deep bench strength, especially in tough setups with tight windows.

    8. Nashville (IATSE 46)

    Not the biggest crew, but home to some of the sharpest operators in the industry. Pure talent at the top.

    9. Las Vegas

    No denying the depth here — Vegas can throw hundreds on the floor. But with that scale comes some inconsistency. When they’re on, they’re elite.

    10. Kansas City Teamsters

    This crew doesn’t get enough love. Prideful, fast, and gritty. They show up with a chip on their shoulder — and it shows in their work.

    This list isn’t about who’s “best” — it’s about recognizing excellence in all its forms. Each of these crews has their own culture, their own hustle, and their own way of making a show run. They all deserve their flowers.

    What keeps me hooked on this work is exactly that: labor relations. Getting to know these operators, learning their strengths, building trust, solving problems side by side — that’s what I love most about this business.

    So yeah, this list is all in good fun. If you’ve ever moved freight, flagged a truck, or built a booth from the dock up — you’ve got a place in this conversation.

    Who would you move up?

    Who’s missing entirely?

    Let’s hear it from the people who keep the docks running and the booths standing.

    #TradeShowLife #ForkliftOps #UnionPride #EventProduction #LaborMatters #CorporateEvents #RunTheDamnDock

  • Freightman.

    So the show Landman has crossed my desk recently and I can’t help but see myself in the dust and diesel of Ole Billy Bob… A guy walking into rooms full of suspicion, trying to do a hard job in a harder world. The difference? My oil is freight. My wells are trade shows. And the land I cover isn’t Texas—it’s the cracked pavement of cities like Memphis, Nashville, St. Louis, Indy, Columbus, and Louisville.

    I run the freight operations for the largest geographical region in my company. That means I’m the one on the hook for making sure millions of dollars in show freight moves in and out of convention centers on time, without getting lost, broken, or caught in union gridlock. I navigate labor politics in places where the handshake doesn’t matter if your last name isn’t known. And I do it at an age when people still ask, “How long have you been doing this?” as if experience can only be measured in decades, not disasters avoided.

    The truth? This isn’t glamorous work. It’s long nights, unpredictable freight schedules, and 4 a.m. warehouse calls. It’s solving problems most people don’t even know exist—like making sure a client’s booth doesn’t get buried behind crates or helping a trucker make a 2-inch turn through a 10-foot dock door while half a dozen departments argue over who’s responsible. It’s not sexy, but it matters.

    I’ve heard it all.

    “You’re young.”

    “You sure you know what you’re doing?”

    “Are you Mack’s son?”

    And then five minutes later they’re asking me to fix something their department couldn’t handle.

    There’s a strange kind of resistance in this industry when you come in young but competent. They like your energy, but they doubt your judgment. They want your hustle, but not your opinion. What they don’t realize is that age doesn’t teach you how to survive when four departments collapse onto the freight desk at once, or when a 40-foot trailer disappears in a union yard. Experience does—and I’ve earned that the hard way. Not to mention if it’s true your frontal lobe does not develop prior to age 25, but is molded by life experience. My brains decision making mechanism is strictly grounded in trade show logic. Which is as blue collar as it gets…

    Like Bill the Landman, I didn’t get here by accident. I earned every mile of this territory. I’ve walked docks in the middle of the night, stood between feuding departments, and taken the heat for problems I didn’t cause. And I still show up early and stay late—because even if the industry hasn’t caught up to me yet, I’m already ahead of it.

    This isn’t a complaint. I love my job. It’s my life. I love the grind. But don’t mistake youth for weakness. We’re the ones who will change the way this work gets done—and still carry the load while we’re doing it. Stay tuned.

  • Sweets 25’


    Ever wonder what really goes into building one of the largest snack expos in the world?

    We don’t just move boxes — we move the entire show.