The loudest cheer at the Contractors 2000 business session came when executive director Charlie Avoles informed members that they would no longer seek to affiliate with other industry organizations. It was the kind of ovation a ballplayer gets when he smacks one out to end a slump.
C-2000 had been in a slump for about a year. Its Board had been in talks with at least one industry consolidator about being acquired. Its respected executive director went to work for someone else. The group lost some key members to an upstart competitor, and some veteran members were grumbling that C-2000 wasn't doing enough to keep them interested. Attendance at its biennial "Super Meeting" last February was down by about a third from previous gatherings. Nobody knew where the business education group was headed.