With less than three weeks before attendees begin arriving in San Diego, California for the 27th Annual Meeting & Convention of the Association, anticipation is building for a robust convention with high attendance. More than 800 people have registered to attend and almost all of the 142 Contact Tables for the Showcase of Hose Solutions have been sold.
The theme for NAHAD's 27th annual meeting and convention is ABOVE AND BEYOND. President Alex McGill explains the choice of the theme. "If I had to characterize the past year, I would use words like challenging, erratic, inconsistent, and relentless. As company owners and managers, many of us found that the times required us to be resourceful, resilient, alert, persistent and persuasive. It was definitely not the time to sit back and wait for business levels to return to what we experienced in 2007 or 2008. Working harder and smarter has been the key. Many of us have had to make do with less resources, remember our core competencies and think outside the box - beyond the normal scope of our business models. We have all had to go ABOVE AND BEYOND."
Attendees are encouraged to arrive in San Diego by midday on Saturday, April 2, in order to participate in a special networking activity and to listen to the first two presentations which will set the stage for the following three full days of convention activities. And, most importantly, so that they will have the opportunity to participate in what will prove to be one of the highlights of this year's conference, the Welcome Aboard Reception on the magnificent USS Midway.
Other associations have compressed and shortened their meeting schedules in response to pressures to get participants in and out of a convention in less time, so that they will have less time away from the office. In considering scheduling for the 2011 convention, the NAHAD Board made a conscious decision to leave the program length intact. The reason is that the Board wants attendees to have time to fully engage and to spend time in a variety of pursuits. The combination of learning and networking, whether it is during a NAHAD meal, a scheduled appointment with a trading partner, a round of golf or with new acquaintances bicycling or kayaking in the California sunshine.
Over the years, those members who fully engage at the conference have found that they have solidified relationships with suppliers, relied upon trusted colleagues with similar businesses to share best practice tips and gained a new level of respect and support for each other's endeavors.
Want to attend, but haven't registered yet? Online and fax-in registration is still open. Members may view the full list of current attendees in the Members Only section of the NAHAD web site www.nahad.org