It has been a very challenging year economically for us all. The entire hearth industry has suffered. The financial experts say that we have hit the bottom and the only way to go is up. We'll all be looking forward to that! Cold weather finally arrived and has hopefully kept everyone's schedule full. It's now time to make plans to atttend the EXPO as you wind down the hearth season and get the grills and patio equipment out.

MAHPBA is celebrating it's 10th Anniversary and hopes to see you all at the BEST affiliate Member Reception at EXPO! This year's member reception will be at "Howl At The Moon" Club with the "World's Greatest Rock 'n Roll Dueling Pianos" on Wednesday, March 10th from 7 to 9 pm.

1. HPBExpo 2010 will celebrate its 30th Anniversary in Orlando. Celebration will be Thursday, March 11, 3:00pm - 5:00pm in the indoor and outdoor exhibit areas.

2. The Expo returns to Orlando after 19 years!

3. Expo registration and housing are completed easily online at www.hpbexpo.com. Member ID number is required. Pre-registered exhibitors and attendees can pick up badges on site at the Express Registration Counters (badges will not be mailed this year).

We have recently introduced two new CEU sessions to be held during this year's EXPO. The two new sessions are What Retailers Need to Know about NSPS which will be held on Friday from 8:30 to 10:00 am and will give you 1.5 Elective CEUs. The other session is called Catalytic Appliances Past, Present & Future Role in Renewable Energy offered on Friday from 10:30 to 12:00 pm. This session will give you 1.5 Technical CEUs.

Many small business owners may look at insurance as if it were a tax. It is a necessary evil but if it can be kept to a minimum all the better. The outlook is penny- wise BUT can be pound foolish!

Protecting your assets is critical to your business and your ultimate success.

Four kinds of insurance are essential:

• Property Insurance
• General Liability Insurance
• Business Automobile Insurance
• Workers Compensation Insurance

EXTRA, EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT! The New NFI books are here! The Third Edition reference manuals are now rolling off the presses. If you are up for a retest, don't wait, order early. The new books have upwards of 100 more pages of information. Some of this information covers additional Health and Safety concerns. Some of these pages cover new code changes that have recently been passed. You don't want to be left behind, So order your needed reference manuals today!

As everyone in our industry now knows, the EPA is deep into the process of reviewing their program that certifies clean burning wood stoves, which is formally known as the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for Wood Heaters. A lot of retailers and reps have questions about how these changes might affect their business, so HPBA has produced a short Q & A piece for the affiliate newsletters.

Jack Goldman's (HPBA President) father recently passed away after a long illness. That same week, John Crouch's, HPBA's Director of Public Affairs, father also passed away. Our condolences go out to both Jack and John and their families at this difficult time.