Two Annual Meetings, Two Separate Objectives

When any association has enjoyed the growth that we have over the last few years, it’s important for the staff and leadership to remember that, while the majority of our members have been with us for decades, just under 20% of our members joined in the last 24 months.

With that in mind, here’s a quick review of the goals and objectives of each of our annual meetings.

Fall Convention

This was the birthplace of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association. What began as a funding mechanism for a social function with wholesalers in the late 1940s had grown into an association by 1951.

Securing the wholesale distribution of our members’ products was the primary reason for holding the meeting then, and today the meeting remains focused on providing a venue for manufacturers to meet with key distribution contacts. As much as distribution networks have changed over the last 60 years, finding and meeting with independent sales representatives or wholesalers still cannot be done more effectively than during our annual Fall Convention.

The 2014 edition of our Fall Marketing & Distribution Convention will be at the Rio All Suites Hotel in Las Vegas, NV, November 4-7. In addition to an attractive room rate of $99, members will find special discounts of as much as $200 on our registration fees—the earlier you register, the more you save. Details, along with online registration, are available at FarmEquip.org.

Manufacturers with questions about the Fall Convention will find our Association staff not only ready to provide information on the meeting, but also willing and able to put new members in touch with non-competing members who will be happy to offer advice on how to make the most of this important meeting.

Our Association is committed to building on the past success of this meeting. With our 2015 Fall Convention set for October 27-30, in Kansas City, MO, we are pleased to announce the selection of San Diego, CA, as the location of the 2016 meeting.

Spring Conference and Supplier Showcase

This annual meeting also has enjoyed over 60 years of success in bringing our Associate Supplier Members together with our manufacturers. Its pace is a bit more relaxed, with suppliers as likely to discuss their goods and services with manufacturers on the golf course or trap shooting range or during a plant tour as they are in the hotel’s meeting rooms and halls.

Over the last few years, general sessions for this meeting have dealt with issues ranging from risk management and succession planning to new purchasing tracks and advances in robotic equipment.

Following up on two years of sell-out attendance, the 2015 Spring Conference and Suppler Showcase is scheduled for March 18-21 in Charlotte, NC, with several members already working to arrange plant tours in the area. The Spring Conference is the perfect meeting for newer Supplier Members to start building relationships with our manufacturing members.

Because we intentionally book the Spring Conference at smaller hotels, our Supplier Showcase is limited each year to about 50-60 booths and has sold out well before the meeting in each of the last few years. Supplier Members interested in displaying in 2015 are invited to book their space now by calling Tricia at the Association office to select their booth location and receive the special early reservation discounted rate of $269, good only through Sept. 11, 2014.

We are currently scouting locations for the 2016 Spring Conference & Supplier Showcase, and we invite you to share your location suggestions at FarmEquip.org/SC15Survey/.