SEDA to hold first Safety Leadership Forum

Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 5/1/2007

The Safety Distributors Equipment Assn. will hold the first SEDA Safety Leadership Forum at the Resort at Squaw Creek in Lake Tahoe, Calif., June 10-12.

SEDA officials changed the name of their annual conference from Safety Week to the Safety Leadership Forum this year, in part because some of its former co-hosts no longer exist, explained SEDA's executive director Jackie King.

“It's our meeting now,” she said.

She added that the name change, which is part of SEDA's strategic plan, will also help clear up a misconception.

“When it was 'Safety Week' before, a lot of times people didn't want to come because they thought they'd have to come for a whole week,” she says. “It wasn't a week-long event, but because it was in the title, it was what many people thought.”

The Safety Marketing Group—a consortium of safety distributors—will hold its annual meeting at the same Lake Tahoe location starting on the day after SEDA concludes this year, King added, something that should boost attendance at both events as many of SEDA's members are also part of SMG.

Among the speakers at SEDA's Safety Leadership Forum is Brian Beaulieu, chief economist for The Executive Committee, a global organization of more than 10,000 CEOs. He will speak on upcoming economic trends that may impact SEDA businesses over the next few years.

In addition, Mike Marks of Indian River Consulting Group will conduct a seminar on “Working at Cross Purposes,” a look at what drives distributor-supplier relationships.

Robert Wendover will present “Hey Dude! Managing Age Diversity in Today's Workplace.” Wendover is managing director of the Center for Generational Studies, and will look at how a “50-something” can best lead a “20- something”—and vice versa.

In addition, jury consultant and lawyer Mac Fulfer will discuss “face reading.” In “Every Face Tells a Story,” Fulfer will analyze how face reading can provide an accurate assessment of potential customers and a way to improve negotiating, hiring and selling skills.

Other features include SEDA's Executive Conferences, which offer face-to-face meetings between distributors and manufacturers.

For more information on SEDA's Safety Leadership Forum, go to www.safetycentral.org.