Well, here we are folks, what a fantastic turn out for the 14th MPL Conference.

I am Derrick Sones with Cole International and I’m very appreciative to have the opportunity to welcome all of youto Canada.

Cole International is indeed grateful that MPL has allowed us to be the first ever Official Host of an MPL conference and I thought I would take just a moment to express my gratitude to MPL.

Since joining MPL in 2014 our journey has taken us to some diverse corners of the world – Barcelona, Manila, Colombo, San Jose, Athens & most recently Cannes.  You know, interestingly enough, I recall mentioning to my wife who joined me in Athens in 2019 – I said to her that “it’s too bad though that MPL will never come to Canada”.  
My wife Lana seemed confused and simply asked me – “why would you say that?”  

I said, “I think it’s obvious – look at the places we’ve have been to, they all have beautiful sun-kissed beaches and warm, tropical, climates – that doesn’t exactly scream Canada, does it?

And then I heard whispers from comments made in Cannes that they were thinking of Canada and that it had been a dream of Sophie’s to bring a conference to Canada.  The call eventually came from Sophie and I was instantly elated.   I told Sophie – Cole stands ready, Derrick and Atul stand ready – whatever you need from us, we are there for you.  

Like so many of you in this room, we all want to play host to guests from across the globe.  Just like you, we are proud of our country and when I sat back and reflected on the decision that MPL made to come to Canada it really resonated with me about why I appreciate MPL so much.  

Beyond just having a lot of patience in listening to members ask for this, and ask for that, and always listening with sincerity and gratitude.  From introducing new programs & partners, MPL continually strives to raise the bar.  But when MPL advised they wanted to come to Canada it really hit home.

While many of you, like myself, have had experiences with other forwarding networks, here is why MPL is special in my opinion.  They have always believed that while other forwarder networks may welcome their members to their conferences, MPL takes their conferences to their members.   Now I’m sure, from a logistical perspective, it would be much easier for Sophie and the MPL team to have the same conference, in the same city, at the same hotel, at the same time, every single year.   

But that’s not MPL’s style.   MPL takes their conference to the members. They work with new hotels, new booking agents, golf clubs, new dinner venues, and shuttle companies every single year.  In fact I can guarantee you that if Sophie and team haven’t started working on 2024, they will be as soon as this conference is complete.    And so, on behalf of all members, I personally would like to say thank you to MPL, and a huge thank you to Sophie for bringing MPL to Canada.

My hope for all of you over the next few days and your time here, beyond the sights & sounds that Toronto has to offer, that you have a chance to connect with one another, exchange ideas, and to foster the relationships that make the MPL network more than just a series of connections on a map.  Let us embrace not just the physical journey that brought us all together, but the shared aspiration to connect, learn, and enrich our lives through this experience.

And so, in closing, on behalf of myself, my colleagues Atul, and Michael and Barbara out in the adjoining room, and in fact on behalf of all Canadians in this room right now it gives me great pleasure to officially Welcome you all to Toronto.

Thanks everyone!

“Thanks also to you Butterfly 😊”