Newsbeat
ERA ANNOUNCES 2019 CONFERENCE BREAKOUT SESSIONS
ERA’s Conference Committee has announced that the 2019 conference program will feature 16 different Breakout Sessions, offering attendees practical business, legal, management and marketing information for reps, manufacturers and distributors. The topics of the breakouts are specifically selected by the committee to emphasize the 2019 conference theme, “Celebrate the Past, Embrace Tomorrow.”
Breakout highlights include: “How Manufacturers’ Reps, Manufacturers and Distributors Can Implement a Simple Strategy to Produce Sales Qualified Leads Every Month,” “A Dose of (Immersive – Virtual/Augmented/Mixed) Reality: The New Paradigm – What You Need to Know Now Before It Is Too Late,” “The Profile of the Manufacturers’ Rep Company of the Future,” and “Selling More Through Data Analytics: Utilizing Today’s Tools and Recognizing Tomorrow’s.” All breakout seminars are scheduled twice to allow attendees maximum flexibility in customizing their schedules.
ERA’s 50th Anniversary Conference is scheduled Feb. 24-26, 2019, in Austin, Texas. For more information about the conference, or to view the full list of 2019 breakout session topics and conference program, visit https://era.org/era-events/era-conference/.
2018 JESS SPOONTS – ERA WHITE PIN SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED
The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) White Pin Group has announced that Ellen Coan, CPMR, of the Indianapolis-based C C Electro Sales Inc. is the 2018 recipient of the Jess Spoonts – ERA White Pin Scholarship Award. Coan will receive a $1,000 grant that can be used to fund her continuing education as a professional field sales representative. Ellen was nominated for the honor by White Pin member Matt Cohen, CPMR, of C C Electro Sales Inc.
“As a second-generation ERA rep and long-time volunteer on the board of our Indiana-Kentucky Chapter, her recognition is well-deserved. Ellen has a passion for our industry and is always ready to help our association and her fellow reps in any way that she can. Her spirit of volunteerism represents the essence of the Jess Spoonts Award,” said Mark Motsinger, CPMR, of Wallace Electronic Sales, a past president of ERA and the coordinator of the White Pin Group.
To qualify for this award, nominees must be from an ERA member rep firm; must have been involved in ERA activities and leadership roles on the local and/or national levels for a minimum of two years; and must be willing to devote significant volunteer time to ERA in the foreseeable future.
U.S. WHOLESALE PRICES FELL IN DECEMBER
U.S. wholesale prices fell in December 2018, dragged down by a steep drop in gas costs, suggesting that inflation will remain tame in the coming months. The Labor Department said that the producer price index — which tracks cost changes before they reach the consumer — fell 0.2 percent in December from the previous month. The drop follows a small 0.1 percent increase in November.
The data indicates that inflation is mostly tame, despite steady economic growth and a very low unemployment rate. A strong economy can sometimes push up inflation, which then spurs the Federal Reserve to raise the short-term interest rate it controls in order to slow growth and keep prices in check.
IN MEMORIAM OF JOHN E. BOEING
ERA is saddened to announce the death of John E. “Jack” Boeing of Marion, Mass., on Jan. 14, 2019. He was 98. Boeing was preceded in death by his wife Jeanne and is survived by three sons and a daughter and their families — Peter Boeing and his wife Patricia of Concord, MA, and their children Carl and wife Brenda, Jill, and Paul and wife Megan; Mark Boeing and his wife Lisa of Wolfeboro, N.H., and their children Gregory and wife Haley, Jenna, and Parker; Chris Boeing and his wife Lynne of Pepperell, Mass., and their children Carrie, Meaghan, and Emily; Joanna Boeing Bratton and her husband Roxie of Marion, Mass., and their children Hanna and Parker; and several great grandchildren. He was also “father” to Ivar Hegstad who joined the Boeings as an AFS exchange student from Norway as a high school senior and has remained a part of the family.
Boeing started The John E. Boeing Company, JEBCO, in Lexington, Mass., in 1953, as a manufacturers’ representative in the electronic component business and the firm continues to be an icon in the industry. Jack and Jeanne then retired to Marion, Mass., and enjoyed much golf, singing, entertaining, rum raisin ice cream and winters in Florida. He was recognized for his dedication and contribution to the electronics industry and was inducted into the ERA White Pin Group in 1969.
IN MEMORIAM OF MEARA HAMLIN
ERA mourns the loss of Meara Eileen Hamlin, regional business coordinator at Digi-Key Corporation and distributor board member for the Carolinas Chapter of ERA. Hamlin passed away on Jan. 1, 2019, at her home surrounded by her family. She was 47. Hamlin was born in Riverside, Calif., on Sept. 15, 1971, to Florence Paula Dye and the late Michael Edward Larralde. She is survived by her daughters, Shelby Hamlin of Youngsville, N.C., and Karsten Hamlin and fiancé Andrew Love of Youngsville; mother, Paula Dye of Raleigh; boyfriend, Bill Case of North Redington Beach, Fla.; siblings, Kama Tucker and spouse Kristy Norton of Wilmington, N.C., Kyle Davis and spouse Hannah of Sacramento, Calif., Matt Larralde of Los Angeles, Katie Anderson of Raleigh, N.C., and Bren Anderson of Durham, N.C.: grandparents, Bill and Kitty Brenneman of Wake Forest, N.C.