Never Too Early to Start Thinking Conference

With Spring almost in the rear view mirror and Summer fast approaching, it is time to start putting together the building blocks for the 2009 NARMS Spring Conference and Exhibition. The 14th annual event will be held on April 4-7 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Division committees are busy making travel plans for their annual summer meetings, new ideas and features are currently being discussed and sponsors are already getting on board.

There is very little rest for the NARMS staff, Board of Directors and Divisional Committees as they converge in the next month or two for their annual mid-calendar year planning sessions. At the very top of each agenda will be development of new and exciting educational and networking opportunities for those traveling to Colorado next April.

Several new ideas are making the rounds including the inclusion of a Member Services Expo, which would be a B-to-B meeting venue for members and potential customers. The Expo would be accompanied by some form of digital support on www.narms.com. The committees and the board will give this idea much consideration to see if it is feasible and viable for the organization.

Another idea being kicked about is the inclusion of a Virtual Trade Show in support of the committed 2009 Spring Conference Exhibitors. The exhibiting companies will be eligible to participate in a graphically-rich web page on www.narms.com. Each company will be able to offer a video, link to their website or a static graphic describing the services available. The Virtual Trade Show will run on the NARMS website from January through April and will only be offered to those who are also exhibiting in Colorado Springs. The thought here is that the more than 2 million views per month will entice exhibitors to commit to the show earlier in order to reap the benefits in the months leading up to the show.

And speaking of support, many members and others have already committed to a 2009 Spring Conference sponsorship. The following companies have already committed to being a sponsor and thus will have their names appear in the July edition of the NARMS TODAY and in the Spring Conference Sponsorship Brochure that will be distributed later this summer: Synergy Systems, NaturalInsight, Notable Impressions, Mosaic, Prism, Lawrence Merchandising, bds marketing, Nintendo, and Crossmark. If you are interested in joining this list, contact Dan Borschke right away so you can be included in the print pieces. You can choose to not be billed until January 2009 or be billed immediately.

With all this activity, you can see that the leadership at NARMS is always on the job for you. As always, your ideas and support are always welcome. Contact NARMS HQ or a member of your Divisional Committee with your thoughts and actively participate in the process.