NYers Love Dallas (Off the Gridiron)

Vickerman & Associates' John Vickerman (whom we snapped during a CREW national convention plenary session at the Omni Dallas last week) says nine of the 10 busiest ports are in Asia (six in China alone), including the two busiest: the Port of Shanghai and the Port of Singapore. The Port Authority of NY & NJ will have to spend $2.6B to get ready for the bigger vessels coming through the Panama Canal, he says; the biggest national competition for the ports is the Class 1 Rail Intermodal System.

We found the women from Studley's NYC and DC offices: New York operations director Valerie Carlise, DC managing director Wendy Feldman Block, New York chief economist Heidi Learner and event marketing director Rose Panos. Despite being in Dallas, they didn't have any cowboy hats (nor would they want to upset the Giants and 'Skins by hopping on the bandwagon).

We also caught up with four past national CREW presidents: Valerie Wood & Associates prez Valerie Wood ('97), QAV Partners' Deborah Quok ('04), White & Williams' Joan Rosoff ('03), and, from New York, globeDottingtravel's Dotti Cunningham ('98). Joan says CREW has grown to 9,000 members and this convention had record attendance.

At dinner Thursday night: (seated) Emerson International's Marla Lamb, Clifton Larsen Allen's Jill Klingon, The Situs Cos NY head Anne Jablonski, and Akerman's Beth Zafonte; (standing) Parking Cos of America's Susana Chavez, Old Republic National Title Insurance's Jan Fisher, C&S Cos' Barbie Schalmo, and Akerman's Heather Himes.

Now that thousands of women are back at their desks today and ready to work the stacks of business cards they accumulated, here's a big wave goodbye from Dallas. Seated are Butler-Burgher Group CEO Diane Butler, Norton Rose Fulbright US real estate head Jane Snoddy Smith, Shark Tank star and Barbara Corcoran of The Corcoran Group, HFF's Susan Hill, and Nitsch Engineering's Judy Nitsch; standing are Cassidy Turley's Beth Lambert-Saul, CREW CEO Gail Ayers, North American Title Co's Elissa Plotsky, and DFW Airport's Tiffini Miller.