The Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Assn. heads to Nashville next month for its 31st Annual Convention & Trade Show. The event will be held at Nashville's Gaylord Opryland Hotel, Nov. 4-6.

Convention planners expect a strong turnout again this year. As of early September, convention registration was running 6 percent ahead of last year's rate, and booth reservations for the trade show were up as well, according to STAFDA's executive director Georgia Foley. Last year's convention in Las Vegas drew a record crowd of more than 6,000 people and featured a record 933 booths at the two-day trade show.

This year's STAFDA show opens with the Technology & Consultants Fair and a series of educational workshops on Sunday, Nov. 4, and features a 12-hour trade show that runs from noon to 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 5, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Convention highlights include a private concert at the Grand Ole Opry House by country singer Martina McBride and a keynote address by Christopher Gardner, subject of the recent movie, “The Pursuit of Happyness,” starring Will Smith.

Workshop presenters include Dr. Al Bates, president of Profit Planning Group in Boulder, Colo.; Alan Beaulieu of the Institute for Trend Research; IT security expert Mike Foster of The Foster Institute; and time-management expert Laura Stack, president of The Productivity Pro.

STAFDA president Greg Drouillard of Target Building Systems and Mike Fraser of Stabila will give state-of-the-industry speeches during the convention's General Session on Monday, Nov. 5.

For more information, go to www.stafda.org.