Back in the US of A

by Martin Moodie |
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Martin Moodie

Martin Moodie is the Founder & Chairman of The Moodie Report.

[Back from left: Erik Juul-Mortensen, Sarah Branquinho, Mandy Sime, Michael Payne, Jose Chao, Jon Kent, Loraine Motta, Pancho Motta, David Granek, George Horan; Front row from left: Christine Deussen, Martin Moodie, Pat Bernstein, Carmel Horan, David Bernstein]

Last year I missed my first Duty Free Show of the Americas in over two decades due to illness so I am delighted to be back in Orlando as the IAADFS-run event swings into action.

For many years, former IAADFS President David Bernstein has hosted a welcoming dinner for industry friends. Last night he did it again in some style at Hawk’s Landing Steakhouse & Grille. The veteran travel retail executive (pictured below speaking) seems to defy the aging process, he’s still fit as a fiddle, lean as a whippet and sharp as a tack. He’s also a hell of a host.

We toasted friendships, absent friends (Harry Diehl, Colm and Breeda McLoughlin were much missed), good health and much else besides.

David’s wife Pat (below with Pancho Motta)  made a poignant speech in which she explained how much David’s friends in travel retail meant to him. All of us thought the same in reverse.