Calling the event a "Roadmap for the Future," the Industrial Supply Assn. held its Fall Business Expo Nov. 20–22 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago's Rosemont section. ISA officials estimated that 1,600 people attended.

ISA was formed earlier this year by the merger of the Industrial Distribution Assn. and the Industrial Supply Manufacturers Assn. Each fall, on the weekend before Thanksgiving, those two organizations held a similar Expo at the Hyatt. So while this was another in a line of annual events, it was also the first of its kind.

An array of workshops and presentations highlighted the first day of the Expo. Chuck Holmes, vice president of sales and marketing for Fastco Threaded Products, gave a presentation on "New Directions for Inside Sales—For Senior Managers."

"It's difficult to sound smart these days when talking about inside sales," he laughed. "I used to have more answers than I do now."

Holmes urged his audience to design a sales approach "from the customer back." He also suggested that distributors in attendance consider creating a career path for their warehouse and inside salespeople, to "keep good inside salespeople in inside sales."

Prior to Sunday's opening session, a breakfast was held for small and emerging distributors (those with sales of less than $7.5 million). "Extending the Value of Small, Specialty and Emerging Members: Programs That Really Work" was facilitated by William McCleave, of W.R. McCleave & Assoc.

Distributors listened to brief presentations of case studies from once struggling, but now successful companies. Roundtable discussions ensued, with each person contributing feedback and reactions to the presentations.

John Buckley, ISA's executive vice president, told attendees at the opening session that "the last six months, since ISA has been in existence, have been very interesting, very exciting and very busy. I consider myself very lucky to be at the helm of the association at a time when the industry is coming back as strongly as it is."

Tom Berger was wearing two hats at the Expo, both as ISA president and president of Fuchs Machinery, Inc. of Omaha, Neb. Berger said in his remarks that "although an annual convention of manufacturers and distributors has taken place for over 50 years, this marks ... the first time we're meeting as equal members of one association."

Berger left open the question as to whether ISA would continue to have both a spring convention (ISCON, set for Toronto in May, 2005) and a Fall Expo beyond 2005.

"The annual conventions have been the trademark grand products of both predecessor organizations...as well as the most successful service offerings and financial lifelines of the associations," he said. "You do not consider changing your number one product casually."

Berger later announced that ISA has formed what he called "a strategic partnership" with NetPlus Alliance, a buying group, "to combine our two national meetings at the ISCON convention in Toronto in May, 2005," Berger said.

NetPlus Alliance has approximately 200 distributor members (many of them not yet ISA members, Berger added) as well as 125 manufacturing members it says it will bring to the Toronto event.

Berger also said that in early 2005, ISA will conduct a 10-city series of "face to face sales calls...bringing the association to the members and potential members. Rather than talk about the service package, we'll show it off." Specific dates and cities on the tour will be announced on the ISA Web site in the near future.

Craig Riley, publisher of INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION, presented an Excellence in Distribution Award to the 11 members of the task force that brought I.D.A. and ISMA together to form ISA: Jim Beckstein; Berger; Wes Delnea; Mort Harris; Alan Gilbert; Bill Matthews; Steve Short; Ray Reynertson; Roger Taylor; Tim Tevens and Dave Thompson. In addition, ID contributed $1,000 in their names to ISA's educational foundation and an additional $1,000 in ID's name to that foundation.

Dave Salathe, chairman of the Young Executives Forum, and vice president of sales at Quality Mill Supply, reported that nearly 30 YEF members attending the Expo also participated in a project at the Chicago Boys & Girls Club, helping with painting and interior decorating and spending time with kids at their Windy City location.

A well-received keynote address by author and Detroit Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom followed the ISA presentations. Most of Albom's talk did not deal with sports but instead drew movingly from his book Tuesdays With Morrie, about his former Brandeis professor's inspiring attitude as he suffered and died from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).