> 2018 Conference Sub-Committees are Up and Running
August 9, 2017 – Source: Electronics Representatives Association
Contact: Tess Hill, ERA Conference Coordinator, at thill@era.org / 630-327-6498
The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) 2018 Conference Committee has announced that four sub-committees have been appointed and have launched their activities in preparation for the association’s 49th Management and Marketing Conference, scheduled Feb. 25-27, 2018, at the AT&T Center in Austin, Texas. The conference theme is “Tools of Our Trade — Constructing a Successful Future.”
All four sub-committees are chaired by and include several members of the steering or “core” committee for 2018. In addition, each sub-committee includes additional volunteers who have offered their services to assist with various aspects of the next conference. In total, the conference planning involves 34 rep, manufacturer and distributor member volunteers plus staff members.
ERA CEO Walter Tobin says, “The collective volunteer effort that goes into our conferences is astounding to me. The participation of reps, manufacturers and distributors on all our committees is vital and invaluable in producing an event that benefits all three of our attendee and membership groups. We staff members always remember that our volunteers are extremely busy every single day. So we are grateful beyond words that they give so much of their time to ERA, and we tell them that every chance we get.”
All four sub-committees held their first meetings during the week of Aug. 7 and are now well underway. Each group includes 2018 Conference Committee Chair Rick LaPiana of the Cain Forlaw Company and Conference Coordinator Tess Hill.
The Breakouts Committee is co-chaired by John Hutson, CPMR, of the MacInnis Group, the 2018 Conference Committee vice chair, and Holly Myers, CPMR, of Wallace Electronic Sales, the 2017 Conference Committee chair. Committee members are: Jani Duffy of American Bright Optoelectronics Corp.; Brian Flynn of Sager Electronics; John Lanzillo, CPMR, of the Zonk Group; Chris Straube, CPMR, and Terri Straube, both of Straube Associates; Chuck Tanzola, CPMR, of the Fusion Sourcing Group; Bryan Teen of Tech Marketing; and Cindy Williams of Vicor Corp.
The General Sessions Committee is chaired by John O’Brien, CPMR, of Coakley, Boyd and Abbett, Inc., ERA’s senior vice president/education. The committee members are: Craig Anderson, CPMR, of Sumer, Inc.; Gene Anderson of Artesyn Embedded Technologies; Bob Evans, CPMR, of EK Micro, ERA’s senior vice president/industry; Cesare Giammarco, an ERA consultant in the area or rep-manufacturer relationships; Barbara Jorgensen of Electronics Purchasing Strategies (EPS); Todd McAtee of Mouser Electronics; Paul Nielsen, CPMR, of Brainard-Nielsen Marketing, ERA’s immediate past chairman of the board; and Walter Tobin, ERA CEO.
The Keynote Committee is chaired by Ken Bellero of Schaffner EMC. The committee members are: John Beaver of GSA Optimum; Dawn Lowery, CSP, of Sumer, Inc.; Mike Budde of Budde Marketing Services; Jim Clark of Kruvand Associates; Charles Cohon, CPMR, CAE, president of the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association (MANA); Bill Herold, CPMR, of Conquest Technical Sales; and Sheila Hoagland of Ecliptek.
The Sponsorships Committee is chaired by David Foster of Sensata Technologies. The committee members are: Chris Beeson of Digi-Key Electronics; Kathie Cahill, CPMR, of Net Sales Co., a three-time conference committee chair and ERA’s senior vice president/membership; Michael Calabria of Abracon Corp.; Ellen Coan, CPMR, of CC Electro; Kingsland Coombs, CPMR, CSP, of Control Sales; Lisa Dietrich of Conley & Associates; Neda Simeonova, ERA communications director; Stephanie Tierney, ERA chapter management and social media coordinator; and Bryan White, CPMR, of Catalyst Sales, Inc.
For further information on ERA’s 2018 conference, click here.
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.
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