Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will be presenting the keynote address, speaking to the STAFDA conventioneers on "Leadership: Taking Charge." Powell was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 65th Secretary of State in January 2001, a position he held until January 2005. Prior to that appointment, he was chairman of America's Promise—The Alliance for Youth, a national non-profit organization dedicated to mobilizing people to build the character and competence of young people. He also is the best-selling author of his autobiography, My American Journey.

Powell also served as a professional soldier for 35 years, holding a variety of command and staff positions, and rose to the rank of four-star General. Other titles include: Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during which he oversaw 28 crises, including Operation Desert Storm.

Steve Farber, a full-time consultant and president of Extreme Leadership, Inc., will lead attendees through a workshop titled, "The Radical Leap: Extreme Leadership at Work & Beyond." Farber will show STAFDA members how to influence, transform and change the world at work and with customers using his LEAP (Love, Energy, Audacity and Proof) framework, a format that illustrates how one can radically improve their business and life. According to Farber, in today's chaotic and fast-paced world, business leaders must demonstrate an unprecedented level of passion, determination, foresight, dedication and fearlessness. Farber also is the author of The Radical Leap: a Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership.

George Hedley started his company with an old Datsun truck and $500, and was able to build a $50 million construction and real estate development firm in seven years. Today, Hedley Construction & Management in Costa Mesa, Calif., is one of the top 10 general contractors in Southern California, specializing in commercial, industrial, retail, office and government projects. In his workshop, titled "The Business Success Blueprint," Hedley will share his experiences of starting, growing and building his business into a systemized, management-run company. He'll explain his formula for creating long-time loyal customers, how to focus on bottom-line priorities, and the skills needed to continuously improve, grow equity and build wealth. Hedley also will share his seven steps to install systems for finances, estimating, operations, production, marketing, sales, personnel and management.

Michael Marks, the popular speaker at STAFDA's Distributor Ski Meeting, will present a workshop on "Designing a Workable Sales Compensation Plan." Principal of Indian River Consulting Group, Marks will lead attendees through his research that shows that there is no relationship between a company's sales incentive plan structure and its gain or loss in market share. Instead, he has found, the key element separating share gainers from losers is how well the incentive structure is aligned with the company's business objectives. Marks will outline these incentive structures, as well as the best practices of creating a workable sales compensation plan.

Dr. Kathy Newton will lead attendees through her session, titled "Employee-Based Management: Finding & Keeping Good People." An assistant professor at Purdue University and a faculty member of the University of Industrial Distribution, Newton will help members identify productivity gaps at their companies and improve supervisory skills. Newton also works with distributors worldwide tackling issues regarding distributor channel management, strategic planning, and quality control in her role as vice president of Quality Innovation Systems, Inc.