Pack your hiking shoes and ski vest (for that late-April snow), because NAHAD is headed to the mountains of Colorado Springs. The 32nd Annual NAHAD Meeting and Convention is being held April 30 – May 4 at The Broadmoor.
Learn, Share, Connect is the theme this year; fitting, as the convention can arguably be considered a four-day networking event. With programs like the NAHAD Young Executives Luncheon, Speed Networking, and the Manufacturer and Associate Hospitality Suites, bringing a box (or two) of business cards might be the best decision you’ve made all week. In the convention brochure (distributed to members and past attendees earlier this year), NAHAD President Jim Reilly invites and encourages attendees to take advantage of all the convention has to offer. “Learn during our educational sessions and in conversations with your peers, share your company’s expertise with your suppliers and your customers, and connect in a meaningful way with all of the over 1,100 hose and fittings specialists that we expect to see,” he wrote.
While Reilly technically opens the event Saturday afternoon with his welcoming remarks, perhaps the true kick-off is the Gala Dinner and George W. Carver Award and Presentation that evening. Amy Purdy, double-leg amputee, Paralympic bronze medalist in snowboarding, best-selling author, Dancing With the Stars alum, and co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports, will be the featured guest speaker.
By now it’s common knowledge that the downturn in the oil and gas industry will have drastic effects on fluid power as a whole in 2016. The big question on everyone’s mind is: How much of an effect will this new trend have on business, and what can be done to combat it? Tom Gale, president of MDM Analytics, and a panel of industry leaders address this concern during the Industry Leaders Panel: Critical Issues for the Hose Industry, where they will discuss “navigating rapidly shifting trends in natural resources, shifting workforce demographics, and the evolving global economic landscape.”
Make sure you have your Wheaties for breakfast Sunday morning, because school is back in session. The UID-in-a-day program offers six sessions—three concurrent meetings in the morning and three concurrent meetings in the afternoon—each of which focus on a different facet of sales, from enhancing the bottom line to enriching relationships. Topics for 2016 include: Inside Sales 101; Value Added Selling; Know More! Relationships; and The Real Profit Drivers. Attendance can be used to earn credit toward a Certificate in Innovation Distribution from Purdue University.
Tuesday features the Showcase of Hose Solutions. Take a tour of the latest hose, fittings, equipment and services offered from the more than 150 manufacturing companies exhibiting at the showcase, and talk shop over the breakfast and lunch buffets provided to registered attendees.
Enjoy music, food and cocktails during the closing reception, when you have one last opportunity to network and make lasting business connections. And don’t forget to carve out some room for sight-seeing or one of the many excursions offered to attendees and their guests, such as the Foothills Jeep Tour or Pikes Peak Cog Railway Tour.
Last year’s convention in Miami was my first, and as someone still new to the fluid power industry, it was an overwhelming yet eye-opening and amazing experience. Meeting new people at the Manufacturer and Associate Sponsored Hospitality Suites, networking over breakfast, participating in the Fish Bowls, and making connections while lounging poolside or on the beach, what could be better? I had an absolute blast last year, and I can’t wait to do it again this year. See you in Colorado!
Register for the Convention here.
Register for the Showcase here.
NAHAD
nahad.org
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