Fall Convention Heads To Jacksonville, Florida
If you’re looking for distribution in an ever-increasingly difficult market, our Fall Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, October 31 to November 3 will prove to be a great investment of your time and resources.
In response to post convention surveys, we have adjusted this year’s schedule of events.
October 31 – Wednesday will open our Convention with Product Council and Committee Meetings scheduled for the afternoon. The Welcome Reception that evening will give members a chance to visit, before everyone’s schedule becomes packed with distribution meetings. Our Associate Supplier Section Board of Governors will serve as our hosts for this opening event.
November 1 – Thursday will start with a Joint Industry Breakfast and Opening Session. EMDA has selected Damian Mason as our Joint Opening Breakfast Speaker this year. You will enjoy Damian’s funny, farm-themed material, but will also appreciate his advocacy for the industry.
We will follow the breakfast session with Farm Equipment Manufacturers Marketplace, where members of our Marketing Section will be available for brief meetings and a chance to schedule private meetings later in the week. EMDA members will also be holding a similar Contact Appointment Session in the same area of the hotel from 10:00 a.m. until Noon.
Thursday afternoon will feature a General Session with our keynote speaker, Dr. Lowell Catlett: What’s in store for business down the road.
Dr. Catlett is a Regent’s Professor/Dean and Chief Administrative Officer at New Mexico State University’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. An exciting futurist, his knowledge of technologies and their implications on the way we will live and work is addressed in his upbeat presentation.
The General Session will be followed by Product Council and Committee meetings.
November 2 – Friday we start the morning off with a Joint Industry Breakfast Buffet, no speaker, just a great opportunity to visit with others in our industry over breakfast. The rest of the morning is open for appointments or you may want to visit EMDA’s Industry Showcase which provides an opportunity for attendees to visit with many overseas manufacturers and some U.S. suppliers.
At Noon plan on attending our Joint Luncheon Session dealing with the Health Care Law and its impact on small business. Our speaker will be Dr. Robert Graboyes, MSHA, PhD, a Senior Health Care Advisor at National Federation of Independent Business. Dr. Graboyes has been one of the nation’s best sources of information as the current federal mandates have made their way through Congress and Courts.
Following the luncheon, Dr. Graboyes will join Tom Franzen, CIC, ARM for a Q and A Breakout Session. We have enjoyed Franzen’s service as our risk management consultant for over a dozen years. His unique perspective allows him to provide insight into the insurance industry and how local agents and brokers are responding to mandated changes.
Additional breakout sessions for Friday afternoon will be announced in the coming weeks. The program for Friday wraps up at 5:00 p.m. with our Joint Industry Reception.
November 3 – Saturday morning Our Fall Convention will wrap up with a General Session which ends at 10:00 a.m., followed by a few council and committee meetings, all ending well before noon. More information on the general session speaker will be in our next Shortliner newsletter.
To register for this meeting, please go to FarmEquip.org/FC. Here you will find more details about the meeting including, executive and spouse/guest schedules, hotel and suite info, air travel listings, ground transportation options, and dining choices in the area.
