Dealer of the Year honorees Tom and Sue Schinke of Lyle’s TV & Appliance celebrate Sue’s second win, on LG Electronics’ EXPO putting green, with LG’s Mike Pechtel.
A look at some of the learning, networking and fun from Convention 2024
By Janet Weyandt, YSN
As the curtain fell on Convention 2024, members and vendors alike were packing up new ideas, new friendships and new enthusiasm along with their suitcases.
BJ Riester and Jacqie Calkins of Riester’s Appliances in Upstate New York do their buying through NEAG but attend BrandSource events for the education sessions and to stay in touch with their fellow North Atlantic Region retailers.
“We’ve been coming for years,” Riester said. “It gives you several ideas and you try to get a few accomplished.”
Calkins said she always gets a lot out of education sessions, region meetings and networking with other members. In addition, Riester won the Alaskan dream cruise giveaway from Bosch, which was just icing on the cake.
“That’s a big bonus, but that’s not why we come,” she said. “Overall, it was one of the best ones I’ve been to because of the content.”
Elizabeth Round, the marketing and content manager at Village Home Stores in Geneseo, Ill. said her Convention experience was excellent.
“It’s been a great show,” she said. “I have definitely met people I haven’t met before, and that’s always good. There’s a lot to see.”
J.R. Zirkelbach, a business development exec at New Leaf Service Contracts and frequent YSN columnist, said he had a busy booth, especially on Tuesday, and that was on top of the two product trainings he led on Sunday, which attracted roughly 60 people.
“We’ve had an excellent show,” he said. He employed a card game and cash prizes to get people to his booth, but once they were there, they were attentive to what he had to say.
“It really has nothing to do with our program,” he said. “It’s really about how committed New Leaf is to supporting members.”
Sarah Swearingen, special events manager for AVB Events, said she received good feedback from the event.
“Everything went super smooth,” she said. “We had great attendance from members and from vendors.”
The next national gathering will be AVB Summit 2024, March 23-26, 2025, at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville.
In the meantime, here’s a look at some of the festivities from Convention 2024.
