With convention attendance down 10 percent compared to 2004, Industrial Supply Assn. leaders were focusing on the future at their Business Expo in late November. A plan to grow membership, increase convention attendance, and focus on the association's value proposition was unveiled during the meeting, which took place Nov. 19–21 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare and the Rosemont Convention Center in suburban Chicago.

The meeting marked the end of an era, as ISA will change to a one-convention format this year with its spring ISCON show, May 20–22 in San Antonio.

Members of ISA and its predecessor groups held two yearly conventions—one in the spring, and one in Chicago the weekend before Thanksgiving—for more than 10 years.

ISA president Tim Tevens revealed a mixed bag of news in his speech to the membership. Though convention attendance was down 10 percent compared to the 2004 Business Expo, he said turnout was higher than it was at the group's spring meeting in Toronto six months earlier.

In addition, though ISA has added close to 200 members in the last year-and-a-half, it was not enough to offset the decline in membership due to a lack of renewals in recent years. According to Tevens, the new members include 90 new companies, along with 98 members of the NorthAmerican Industrial Representatives Assn., a group that closed its doors this year and whose members were welcomed to join ISA.

Tevens told members that the association has been "unable to plug the hole in the bottom of our boat," stating quite simply that ISA is losing too many members.

ISA is taking steps to remedy the situation, Tevens said, pointing to the association's new one-convention format, and an incentive-based membership drive aimed at increasing convention turnout.

The membership drive puts the burden of increasing ISA's numbers on all current members. Called "Member get a Member," the program rewards members with free registration, airline tickets and hotel stays for the group's May meeting, depending on the number of new members they recruit.

Tevens asked members to, "Ask not what your association can do for you; ask what you can do for your association," borrowing a line from President John F. Kennedy.

Tevens also explained ISA's new value proposition, which is: "To assist all members to increase sales, decrease expenses and increase profitability."

To do that, ISA will focus on four key areas: sales and marketing; cost reduction; productivity; and the yearly convention.

One of the biggest changes next year will be to the convention. The conference booth program will become a conference and trade fair, combining, "the best of the conference booth program with a trade show," as Tevens explained. The education portion of the convention will be different as well, with an expanded program covering three tracks: management, sales and operations.

The changes will add up to an event packed with more information and more focused workshops, Tevens said.

ISA's spring convention will be held at the Marriott River Center in San Antonio.