July 2012 - Vol 2, Issue 6

By Meg Pawelski, Recreational Vehicle Aftermarket Association

 

The 2012 Executive Conference is just around the corner, and we can't wait to welcome you to Chicago! We are delighted to be hosting the conference at the Omni Hotel, just steps away from Michigan Avenue, and truly in the heart of the Magnificent Mile. 

 

Whether you have been to this wonderful city before, or this will be your first experience, Chicago literally has something to offer everyone! Situated along the beautiful shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago is truly a world class city filled with fine dining, culture, sports and of course... shopping!

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By Trey Miller, Atwood Mobile Products & Craig Floyd, TRC - Technology Research Corporation

 

The Membership Committee had a very productive year. Not only are we on pace to be in range of our record setting new member sign ups of last year, but we are also continuing to implement various programs to assist in retention and education. 

 

On July 10th and August 1st the committee will be performing a webinar entitled, "Getting the Most Out of RVAA" for new members and any existing members who may find the session informative. Topics will include; a guide to fully utilizing the Best Practices, the most efficient and effective use of your meeting time at the conference, proactive scheduling of appointments, and additional tips to maximize the RVAA experience.

Product Of The Year Award - Passed April 2012

Designed to showcase products that have entered the marketplace since the last conference. These products are displayed on the RVAA website, conference show book and showcase boards displayed during the general conference events. The products are being judged by a group of distributors that have been chosen at random and our dealer panel. Winners will be announced at the conference.

 

Statistical/Trend Reporting - Voted down June 2012

The statistical program was created to track the trends of our segment of the industry and to also give companies the tools in which to measure themselves against the industry as a whole. The committee agreed that this benefit would give the association a stronger foundation and the membership a much-needed benefit. After having two Go-To meetings where all the distributors were invited to express their concerns or ask questions, it was decided that we would ask each distributor member to report their yearly sales to Statistical Survey's. Although we did not have 100% distributor buy-in, we were assured that the data collected along with some market research, the numbers would be accurate enough to get the data and trend reports.

 

Supplier Evaluation/Award - In Progress

We were challenged to evaluate the supplier rating forms that go out shortly before the conference to rate the suppliers. It was researched and reported back to this committee the findings. The distributors were all in agreement that the system was broken. Due to these findings, a task force was created to re-create the program. The task force is constructed with members from each membership category and is now in the process of creating a completely new program. It was decided that until this new program is implemented, the supplier of the year award was to tabled.