First place Mid-America Region (Team Italy) celebrates its fourth consecutive gold medal effort in the games.
Fun and games for a cause
By Dori Easterson and Alan Wolf, YSN
A highlight of AVB’s December calendar is the annual Leadership Conference, where the group’s directors, region officers, vendor partners and Executive Leadership Team review BrandSource’s progress over the preceding 12 months and set new goals for the year ahead.
Last month was no different, as the team gathered at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas for three days of work and hard play. But the fun and games had a real-world purpose: to raise funds for AVB’s official charity partner, Foster Love. Formerly known as Together We Rise, the non-profit organization is dedicated to improving the lives of children in foster care by providing essential resources and educational opportunities.
To that end, attendees participated in a ballroom version of the Olympics, with each BrandSource Region adopting a different nationality. The competition was comprised of six decidedly un-Olympic-like challenges:
- Egg Waddle, a relay race in which flipper-footed contestants carried an egg on a spoon
- State of Affairs, in which contestants had to jot down all 50 U.S. states in two minutes
- Party Pong, in which teams vied to be the first to clear their opponents’ cups
- Fluffy Monkey, another relay competition in which contestants had to down a plate of whipped topping before racing to a banana-eating station
- Project Runway, in which one member from each team was wrapped in toilet tissue to vie for best dressed
- And our favorite, Draw Jim Ristow, in which each team sketched a portrait of AVB’s CEO while blindfolded.
Coming in third place for the bronze was the Great Plains Region (Team Switzerland), led by Member Relations Manager Rodney Matias and sponsored by Electrolux.
Taking the second place silver was the North Atlantic Region (Team Japan), led by Senior Member Relations Member Kathy Aleman and sponsored by BSH.
And going all the way for the gold for the fourth consecutive year was the Mid-America Region (Team Italy), led by Lead Region Manager Roy Radloff and sponsored by GE Appliances.
The Southeast Region was in the spotlight as well when outgoing president Tony Brocato, principal of Frederickson’s in Sheffield, Ala., raised a glass during dinner in a salute to longtime Southeast board member Allen Damron of Damron Appliance, who was absent.
As always, everyone who participated in the Leadership Conference showed commitment and care for Foster Love, who was the big winner of the evening.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
