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Missing Terry Guy, 1958 – 2016

Jeff Burnstein, President, of AIA | 03/21/2016

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Last week was the 10th anniversary of my first trip to China. AIA led a delegation of industry leaders to the first machine vision show in Shanghai. A day before the bulk of our group arrived, Terry Guy, who was working with Eastman Kodak at the time, Conard Holton of Pennwell’s Vision System Missing Terry Guy, 1958 - 201 Design, and I took an all-day tour of Shanghai. That day, plus the rest of the days of that trip, were among the most memorable of my 32 year career at AIA.

We were amazed at the beautiful city of Shanghai – it was like being in New York, only all of the signs were in Mandarin. We also struggled to order what we wanted in local restaurants when we didn’t have a translator with us (Terry tried valiantly to get the waiters Missing Terry Guy, 1958 - 2016 to understand that he wanted “spicy beef” – we never got that, but had a great time eating whatever came our way!).

At that time there were open sales of knock-off brand name items such as Rolex watches, Mont Blanc pens, Coach bags, etc. We went to the famous “Fake Market” where Terry was grabbed at every stall by vendors trying to sell him something. We laughed hysterically as he fended them off – his easygoing manner made him a popular target.

The trade show was small and held in a very strange Russian style building, more like an embassy than an exhibition center. Nearly every supplier company exhibiting was from outside of China. Machine vision was relatively new to China, there was a huge language barrier, and we felt like pioneers trying to educate new audiences about this important technology.

At night our group went out together, led by representatives from the German Chamber of Commerce. We all recognized that the Chinese market held great potential for vision, but it would take time to develop.

When the week was over we went to the airport to catch our flights home. They were cancelled, so we spent yet another night in a different hotel. Terry and Conard managed to get on flights the next day, I was delayed one more day, which they teased me about.

This year I took two staff members with me to China. Everything is different from what it was in that first year. The show, under different management, is in a beautiful exhibition center, collocated with several other automation events. Strong domestic suppliers have emerged, the booths are large, the aisles are filled with knowledgeable customers, and Vision China has become one of the world’s most important machine vision events.

The “Fake Market” has gone underground. It is easier to find people in restaurants who speak English (at one, our waitress suggested I order the spicy beef!). The city of Shanghai has grown even more impressive. And, our scheduled flights home all left on time from the beautifully remodeled Shanghai airport.

I spent a good deal of time early in the week telling my staff about the first trip. They probably got sick of me describing how much things had changed from the “good old days” as well as my stories about Terry.

And, then, early in the morning on Wednesday, unable to sleep as always, I checked my email to discover that Terry had died. I can’t tell you the shock that overcame me – I had just seen him in Orlando at the AIA Business Conference, where he was proudly showing off photos of his new grandchild. Terry was a great supporter of the AIA and almost never missed the Business Conference. How could this be?

His death was sudden and unexpected, I was told. That day I shared the news with other industry leaders who were at the show – they, too, were shocked and overcome with emotion.

Terry Guy wasn’t just another industry leader or former AIA Board Member. He was a smart, fun-loving person who was a joy to be around. I can’t imagine how devastated his family must be at his loss and my heart goes out to them.

I’ve been looking at the pictures that accompany this blog to give me some solace. I’ll always smile when I think of Terry in Shanghai and our first trip together. He may be gone, but he’ll never be forgotten.

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