I have canvassed close to 100 potential members in our 2002 membership drive for the Fluid Power Distributors Association (FPDA). Sometimes I wonder if these recipients of my phone calls wonder if I am really that lonely driving down the highway. "Surely he must have something better to do" I imagine them saying.

This has been a difficult year for most associations. In a down economy it is necessary to cut conspicuous spending. However, as I talk to most of the fine folks that we have on our list I keep hearing the same question: "How's business?" I believe this is the true issue that makes organizations like FPDA and others valuable even in times like these: trade associations offer the chance to compare notes with your peers in the same industry to allow you to come up with the vision to better position your business for the future.

Let's look at what is happening with FPDA this year. We will hold our fall meeting titled Solving the Profit Puzzle, in San Antonio Sept. 21-24. This convention will be centered on the role of the fluid power industry in a changing economy. To reflect this, our opening speaker Pat Parker will look into the past, present and future of the fluid power industry.

Since our industry has been impacted by the economic downturn so severely, Robert Cornog Jr. will give a presentation on how to avoid becoming an economic casualty and we will feature workshops on improving financial performance, marketing and data mining, differentiation strategy, our first Companion Technology Product Exposition and three days of pure networking capability to talk with those who know our industry.

Members should take advantage of these valuable opportunities. How can you afford not to come?

When you look at the opportunities membership in any trade organization offers, it truly comes down to a "what you give is what you get" proposition. Business is not getting any easier and we are just the next generation to echo that sentiment.

Our grandfathers faced railroads and the telegraph; our fathers, the superhighway and fax. We face the internet. In every growth period, changes in information technology that quicken the pace of information transfer change the competitive landscape.

In each generation, those that succeed do so through the exchange of information among peers. They help each other define where their business should be. Those who don't, die.

Trade associations like FPDA are an investment in the future of your business. There is no other place that you can gather so many people from one segment of industry under one roof to exchange ideas.

If you are in Fluid Power, I urge you to consider membership in FPDA. If you are in another industry, find the association that benefits your industry and become active in it. Find out why people in the know come to these meetings and get involved.

You can talk to your banker and your lawyer but your competitors and suppliers have the best information about what is happening in the industry...

And they come to FPDA.