34th Annual Meeting February 24-27, 2013 The Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

Transcription

1 34th Annual Meeting February 24-27, 2013 The Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

2 WASDA 2013 Schedule of Events Sunday, February 24, :00 pm 5:00 pm Board of Directors Meeting & Working Lunch 5:00 pm 7:00 pm Registration 5:30 pm 7:00 pm Welcome Reception 7:00 pm Dinner on own 7:30 am 12:00 pm Registration 7:45 am 9:45 am Committee Meetings with Breakfast 7:45 am 8:15 am: Associate Member Committee 8:15 am 8:45 am: Membership Committee 8:45 am 9:15 am: Marketing Committee 9:15 am 9:45 am: Program Committee 9:30 am 10:30 am Spouse/Companion Breakfast/Introductions 9:45 am 10:15 am General Business Session/Committee Reports 10:15 am 10:30 am Break 10:30 am 11:45 am Building Loyalty: Why Satisfying Customers is Never Enough, James Kane 11:45 am 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 pm 5:00 pm Free Afternoon 5:30 pm 7:00 pm Networking Reception 7:00 pm Dinner on own 7:00 am 8:00 am Board Meeting and Breakfast 8:00 am 11:00 am Registration 8:00 am 11:00 am New Pathways To Growth, Mike Marks 9:30 am 10:30 am Spouse/Companion Breakfast 11:00 am 5:00 pm Free Time/Golf 6:30 pm 7:30 pm Reception 7:30 pm 10:00 pm Dinner and party Wednesday, February 27, :00 am 10:30 am Distributor Forum - DBE Compliance: The Mug-Shot of Noncompliance, John H. Dannecker 2 REGISTRATION The deadline to receive the advance registration discount is Friday, January 25, To pay by check, download a registration form from and fax it to WASDA Headquarters at (215) Online registration will be available in January. Advance Registration Fees: By January 25, st and 2 nd Delegate $650 3 rd and Additional $550 Spouse/Companion $200 Golf Tournament $225 Regular Registration Fee: After January 25, st and 2 nd Delegate $800 3 rd and Additional $700 Companion Fee $200 Golf Tournament $225 Refunds Full refunds will be given only when written cancellations reach the Headquarters office by Friday, February 8, Refund requests should be submitted to Monica Mobley at mmobley@fernley.com. There will be a $50 processing fee for all refunds. Refunds after February 8, 2013 will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Refunds cannot be made for net amounts under $10. Please note that refunds may take up to 90 days following the meeting to be issued. It is your responsibility to cancel hotel room reservations.

3 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS FEATURED SESSIONS Building Loyalty: Why Satisfying Customers is Never Enough James Kane 10:30 am 11:45 am In this fascinating and highly entertaining presentation, James Kane takes his audiences on a journey into the human brain and explains the secret to building and maintaining loyal relationships. Supported by more than 40 years of Harvard University research, Kane will make the case that human beings have a fundamental need to be loyal and actively seek out the specific clues from others that tell them when they can and should be. When an organization or an individual is able to understand and communicate those loyalty-building behaviors, they can develop relationships that will last a lifetime and result in unwavering and unlimited support. New Pathways To Growth Mike Marks 8:00 am 11:00 am For distributors, this session is about escaping the low margin commodity ghetto search for growth. When every distributor is selling quality products with excellent service and quality staff then everyone is good enough and the race to the bottom begins. Fully, a quarter of your gross margin is invested in selling expenses, and the vast majority of those dollars are spent on market serving rather than on market making. This is not about lowering costs of inefficient selling efforts; rather it is about generating growth by realigning existing resources to real growth opportunities. For manufacturers, this session is about how the channel has become a core component of your brand. You are faced with the same low bid mentality challenges of your distributors and you also face the issue of moving up the value chain as well. The challenge is that you can t do it with product functionality or features and benefits; at least not in the long run. Your strengths or weaknesses in channel management form a core component of your competitive advantage in the market. How you and your distributor partners work together defines your brand experience to the end-user. It is not about you, it is about them. For both manufacturers and for distributors, providing higher value means doing something different. Escaping the commodity ghetto means being authentically distinctive. You won t do it by benchmarking or copying other companies best practices. To carve out a distinctive position in the market, you must innovate. Mike Marks will cover three proven tools and methods that can break the commodity ghetto syndrome. This will be a provocative session with group activities so that you can immediately apply the concepts. Distributor Forum - DBE Compliance: The Mug-Shot of Noncompliance John H. Dannecker Wednesday, February 27, :00 am 10:30 am This session, graciously sponsored by member company HD Supply, is geared toward the distributor members of WASDA. Mr. Dannecker of Shutts & Browen LLP will cover several key concepts surrounding Disadvantaged Business Enterprise regulations, including: Entities Liable for Non-Compliance Pertinent Compliance Requirements ( Commercially Useful Function ) Definition of Commercially Useful Function Industry Practices Enforcement Agency Criminal Investigation Procedures Civil Penalties Criminal Penalties GENERAL BUSINESS SESSION/ COMMITTEE REPORTS 9:45 am 10:15 am Join us for this important association session. Directors to the Board will be voted into office during this session. Distributor attendance is needed to ensure a quorum being that only Distributor members can vote. Additionally, each Committee Chair will report on the status of their committee s work. If you have been interested in joining a WASDA Committee, this is a great time to find out what they are working on. Consider joining a WASDA Committee and apply your experience to help guide WASDA. 3

4 NETWORKING EVENTS Spouse/Companion Breakfast 9:30 am 10:30 am Register your spouse or companion so he or she can take advantage of the social activities offered as part of the meeting. Registered spouses are encouraged to attend the Spouse/Companion Breakfast on Monday and Tuesday mornings as well as the evening receptions and final night dinner. Networking Reception 5:30 pm 7:00 pm After an afternoon of site seeing, or conducting business with a round of golf, circle back to the Networking Reception to meet up with your WASDA colleagues for a drink or two prior to the final night dinner. Golf Tournament at TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course Shotgun Start at 12:30 pm Shuttles Depart at 11:30 am Cost: $225 per person Join us for an afternoon of golf at TPC Sawgrass. Please note that caddie gratuity is at your discretion. Just 12 miles from Jacksonville, FL and 20 miles north of historic St. Augustine, TPC Sawgrass offers two championship golf courses. TPC Sawgrass is a three-time recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. It was also honored as the No. 9-ranked resort golf course in the United States and the top-ranked golf course in Florida, by Golfweek Magazine. The golf fee includes greens fees for 18 holes, cart fees, bag handling gratuity, and roundtrip transportation. Reception & Dinner 6:30 pm 10:00 pm Enjoy cocktails, an array of appetizers, dinner and entertainment on our last evening in Ponte Vedra Beach. Take this time to kick back and recharge your batteries before venturing back to the office to apply all that you ve learned. TRAVEL INFORMATION Airport Ponte Vedra Beach FL is accessible via Jacksonville International Airport. Parking The Sawgrass Marriott offers complimentary self parking or valet parking at $24 per day. Taxi Gator City Taxi is the official taxi company serving Jacksonville International Airport. Service is available at the entrance to JIA, or you may call Gator City Taxi at (904) or (904) Jacksonville International Airport is 35 miles from the Sawgrass Marriott with the approximate travel time of 45 minutes. Rental Cars WASDA & Avis have secured a partnership that offers you spectacular savings while in Florida. Call Avis at (800) or online at and give them WASDA S AVIS WORLDWIDE DISCOUNT number (T148599) to make your reservations and receive the discount. 4

5 HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS The Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort 1000 PGA TOUR Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Toll Free Reservations: Website: Check-in: 4:00 pm / Check-out: 11:00 am Room Rate: $219 per night RESERVATIONS WASDA has secured a special group rate of $219 per night. The WASDA group rate will be available through January 25th, 2013 or until the group block is sold-out, whichever comes first. Please do not wait to make your hotel reservations. WASDA strongly encourages all members to make their reservation well ahead of the cut off-date. After the January 25th cut-off date or the sellout of rooms, the special group rate of $219 per night cannot be guaranteed. Room reservations must be guaranteed with a deposit for the first night s room and tax. If the reservation is guaranteed to a credit card, the first night s room and tax will be billed immediately to the cardholder s account. Cancellations must be made 72 hours prior to the scheduled arrival date to receive a full refund. If making your reservations by phone, please mention the WASDA Annual Meeting to secure the group rate. Online reservations at the group rate can be made here. In addition to the discounted room rate at Sawgrass, WASDA attendees will also enjoy complimentary internet in their guestrooms (normally $12.95/day) and a 10% discount at the The Sawgrass Spa Water and Sewer Distributors of America 100 North 20th Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA (215) FAX: (215) wasda@fernley.com Web: Images on pages 1, 2 and 5 Thinkstock istockphoto 5