Grant Gochnauer - Blog : Technology : Foundation

Last Friday, June 22nd, United Stationers celebrated 25 years on the NASDAQ. To celebrate this amazing feat, my dad was asked to open NASDAQ on that Friday. The whole family flew to NY to attend the opening bell. The whole experience was amazing. The first thing I noticed is that the NASDAQ floor is really just a television studio. There are no people running around like crazy holding tickets, yelling out orders, or any craziness. Instead, there is just a small little studio in Times Square where everything is digital and produced.

As you walk into the building, the first thing you notice is how cool the lobby is and the blue soft lighting. There are many screens some of which are within tall glass showcases

After getting settled my dad was interviewed. Once the interview was over, we all went down into the studio. The idea was that all of the executive officers of United Stationers and our family would be behind my dad as he signs his name which officially opens the NASDAQ. Again, since this is a studio and everything is computerized, he literally signed an electronic signing device which immediately put his signature up on Times Square. It was very neat to see him write his signature as it appeared on screens that tower over the entire times Square. Of course, we joked with him that he should have written www.vodori.com as his signature so we could get a little free press but he didn’t go with it :). We even joked he should have had some Vodori hat on or a Vodori t-shirt that he could just fling open at the opportune time. Either way, it was pretty neat standing in front of the camera and seeing yourself on the huge Times Square screen.

Definitely an amazing experience!