By Alan Wolf, YSN
The Professional Service Association (PSA), a BrandSource partner, has cancelled this year’s National Appliance Service Convention (NASC), which was scheduled for Sept. 21-24 in Orlando.
The announcement follows the recent flareup of coronavirus in Florida.
“After closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic situation across the country and in Florida in particular over the past months, it is apparent that the needle is not moving in the direction we’d all like to see it move,” observed Randy Carney, PSA’s Executive Director, in an open letter to the industry.
Carney described the decision as “very difficult,” but said the health and well-being of attendees, industry partners and PSA associates is paramount. “We waited as long as possible to allow for hoped-for improvements in the heath situation,” he wrote, but “at the end of the day, we feel this is the correct action to take.”
Instead, Carney and the PSA are setting their sights on next year’s show, slated for October 2021 at the Westgate Resort in Las Vegas.
PSA, the leading trade organization devoted to the appliance repair channel, joined forces with BrandSource in June, bringing a wide range of benefits to servicing members. The convention, produced by PSA, is a popular forum for repair technicians, managers and store owners, who attend tech and management workshops, review exhibitors’ latest wares, and exchange best practices with industry peers. The September show would have been the 31st edition of the annual event.
Like PSA and other industry groups, BrandSource parent AVB faced a similar dilemma over the status of its late August Convention, and ultimately elected to bring the event online. The 2020 Virtual Convention will be held Aug. 30-Sept. 1, with registration expected to open this week.
BrandSource’s pact with PSA was one in a series of partnerships forged in recent weeks by the group’s Service Committee. Also joining the roster of service partners is Master Samurai Tech (MST), an online training academy for appliance repair personnel, and Reliable Parts, one of the largest appliance parts distributors in North America.
BrandSource is a unit of YSN publisher AVB Inc.
