ASMMA and I.D.A. to meet in San Francisco
Scott Parrish, of Parrish-Keith Simmons: supporting the small distributor.
By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 4/1/1999
San Francisco--The American Supply and Machinery Manufacturers' Assn. and the Industrial Distribution Assn. head to San Francisco next month for their annual Spring Convention. The event will take place at the San Francisco Marriott, May 1-3. Convention planners expect 3,500 attendees.Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will headline the event, speaking to members during the general session on Sunday, May 2. Other convention highlights include a full schedule of educational workshops, a special small distributor forum, several events sponsored by the Young Executives Forum, and the annual Conference Booth Program.
"There are so many things going on [at the convention]," says incoming I.D.A. president Bud Pritchard, president of the Carolina Division of The Ross-Willoughby Co. "The most important thing, I think, is to provide a functional, good educational program covering many avenues."
And Pritchard says that's exactly what ASMMA and I.D.A. have planned. Bill McCleave, Randall Stutman, Adam Fein and Bruce Merrifield are among the industry consultants who will lead the educational workshops slated for Saturday afternoon, May 1. Topics range from customer satisfaction to consolidation to technology. There will also be a workshop titled "Documenting the Value You Add," which reflects the convention theme, "Adding Value Together." The theme and the workshop are part of a year-long value-added promotional campaign ASMMA and I.D.A. began this year.
I.D.A.'s Small Distributor Forum will be held on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hosted by I.D.A.'s Small Distributor Task Force, the breakfast-lunch session is an expanded version of the special small distributor meetings begun at the Spring Convention in Nashville two years ago. Dubbed "a convention within a convention," the workshop is aimed at distributors with $5 million and under in annual sales. Pre-convention registration is required.
"We want to provide a technically and fundamentally sound forum as a demonstration of our support of the small distributor," says task force chairman Scott Parrish, president of Parrish-Keith-Simmons in Nashville, Tenn.
Most of the content for the forum was derived from a study on small distributors that McCleave conducted for I.D.A. last year. The session will begin with a networking breakfast, followed by a seminar on "Access to and Management of Capital and Assets," led by Al Bates of the Profit Planning Group. McCleave will then lead a panel discussion on manufacturer-distributor relationships. The session will end with a networking luncheon and an economic forecast for small business.
Also at the meeting, the ASMMA/I.D.A. Young Executives Forum will announce the winners of 11 scholarships. Three of the scholarships, for $2,500 each, go to students enrolled in industrial distribution programs at universities across the country. The other eight are industry scholarships to the University of Industrial Distribution, the week-long educational program sponsored by several industry trade associations.
YEF will sponsor two fundraising activities for its scholarship program during the convention: an annual raffle and a golf tournament. The tournament will be held on Tuesday, May 4.
The annual Conference Booth Program will be held on Monday, May 3.
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