It’s time for a Nile adventure! The Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association  (STAFDA) is excited to welcome conservationist, geophysicist, and adventurer Pasquale Scaturro to its 49^th Annual Convention & Trade Show, Nov. 9-11, at the Phoenix Convention Center. Part Bear Grylls, part Indiana Jones, Scaturro will take attendees the full length of the Nile as STAFDA’s General Session keynote speaker, Monday, November 10. His inspiring presentation will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by STAFDA President Dale Hahs II, AIS Industrial & Construction Supply, Denver, CO.

Scaturro is one of the most successful and accomplished mountain and river expedition leaders in the world exploring the far reaches of the planet for more than 35 years. His exploits have taken him throughout North and South America, Africa, and the former Soviet Union. 

Pasquale’s river descents include the Bio Bio in Chile, rivers throughout North America, and the Omo and Zambezi in Africa. His historic 114-day, 3,260-mile Nile First Descent Expedition, the first complete descent of the Blue Nile from its source high in the mountains of Ethiopia down the full length of the Nile River to its mouth at the Mediterranean Sea, will be the focus of his General Session presentation.  

He also has been an active high-altitude mountaineer and the leader of numerous expeditions to mountains worldwide – including three to Everest. In 2001, he conceived, organized, and led the National Federation of the Blind’s Everest Expedition where he accompanied blind climber Erik Weihenmayer to reach the summit.

Scaturro, a bush pilot in Namibia, currently manages a wildlife conservation preserve there as well as geophysical oil and gas exploration and development projects in many of the most remote, dangerous, and politically and technically challenging places in the world. Scaturro has filmed rafting and mountaineering projects for ESPN, PBS, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic Channel.

Registration for STAFDA’s Phoenix Convention & Trade Show opens Monday, June 23, at 8:00 a.m. Central from the members-only section of its website, stafda.org. STAFDA’s host hotels, Sheraton Phoenix Downtown and Renaissance Phoenix Downtown, will also begin accepting reservations within STAFDA’s room block on June 23. 

For more information on the STAFDA Convention & Trade Show or membership, contact Catherine Usher, cusher@stafda.org, 262-784-4774 or 800-352-2981.