Pacific Northwest ERA Hosts Successful Series of Chapter Events

October 23, 2017
Contact: Neda Simeonova / Communications Director / nsimeonova@era.org

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Pacific Northwest ERA Hosts Successful Series of Chapter Events

To help re-energize its members, the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) held a series of successful events at the beginning of October.

A happy hour meeting at the Mill Creek Country Club in Mill Creek, Wash., on Oct. 2, 2017, kicked off the chapter event series. The twenty-eight people who attended the Seattle-area event had the opportunity to network and chat with local industry professionals in distribution, fellow manufacturers’ reps and business owners.

On Oct. 3, the chapter held a second happy hour meeting at the Stockpot Restaurant in Beaverton, Ore. More than 30 people attended the Portland-area event in an effort to reorganize this section of the chapter so it can become more active.

The event series culminated in the Northwest Electronics Design & Manufacturing Expo (NEDME), held on Oct. 4 at the Tektronix Campus. NEDME is designed to bring together members of the local high-tech industry in a fun atmosphere. This year’s event was attended by Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson.

ERA CEO Walter E Tobin was a guest speaker at all three chapter events. At the Seattle and Oregon areas events, Tobin conducted short presentations on the electronics industry and what ERA is doing to increase its networking ability and position in the industry. At NEDME, Tobin reported on the current state of the electronics industry and provided a brief economic update.

“Walter Tobin has not only brought his youthful enthusiasm to the Pacific Northwest Chapter of ERA but to all the chapters nationally. To have him between Seattle and Portland for an entire week has had such an impact on our chapter. Membership is up, participation is up, and creativity for new ideas and functions is at an all-time high,” said Pacific Northwest Chapter President Dave Fitzgerald of WESCO Sales Group, Inc.

“We truly appreciate Walter Tobin visiting the Northwest to promote ERA’s mission and to share his industry perspectives with our Seattle and Portland membership. He has helped reignite enthusiasm and interest in the Pacific Northwest Chapter,” added Chapter Vice President Tim Doran, CPMR, of Doran Associates, Inc.

About ERA
The 82-year-old Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) is the international trade organization for professional field sales companies in the global electronics industries, manufacturers who go to market through representative firms and global distributors. It is the mission of ERA to support the professional field sales function through programs and activities that educate, inform and advocate for manufacturers’ representatives, the principals they represent and the distributors who are reps’ partners in local territories. ERA member representative firms (often called “reps”) provide field sales services on an exclusive basis to manufacturers of related (but non-competing) products in a defined territory. For more information about ERA, visit era.org.

About Pacific Northwest ERA
The Pacific Northwest Chapter of ERA territory consists of the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Western Montana. Two provinces of Canada, Alberta and British Columbia, are also within the responsibility of the chapter’s representatives. Fore more information about Pacific Northwest ERA, visit http://www.era-pnw.org/.