2006 AWMA REAL DEAL EXPO Called ‘Great Success’ The 2006 AWMA REAL DEAL EXPO concluded Friday with a report on the association’s growth and activities, insight from a Wall Street analyst on the outlook for the tobacco industry and a report on developments in the snack food industry. photo by Mike Gatty 2006 AWMA Chairman Ricky Jones calls REAL DEAL EXPO "a great success." Then, attendees hit the EXPO show floor for a final day of business, taking advantage of more than 50 show deals, networking, and discussing issues and concerns with suppliers. "As I’m sure you’ve seen for yourself, we have a fantastic EXPO going this year," AWMA Chairman Ricky Jones, Andalusia Distributing Co. Inc., Andalusia, AL, told the audience Friday morning. "Attendance is great. We sold out all of the available booth space. And we are well on our way to selling out next year’s show." Jones called AWMA’s first-time program for Buyers on Wednesday, Mar. 15 "a great success," with over 90 buyers at a workshop that covered issues involved with category management. And, he pointed out that this year’s silent auction will benefit AWMA’s Day on the Hill, to be held May 16-17 in Washington, when AWMA members will have a chance to meet with members of Congress and discuss their legislative concerns. "I am pleased to be able to report that the association is in good shape financially," Jones said, noting that in 2005, for the second consecutive year, AWMA grew year-over-year revenue, with significant gains over 2004. He outlined the association’s major activities in Government Affairs, Industry Affairs and Research, and said AWMA is seeking to help distributors in the area of operations and productivity enhancement. photo by Mike Gatty More than 90 attendees participated in Wednesday’s first-ever Buyer’s Program, which many said provided them with invaluable information that will help them grow their businesses. Jones announced that AWMA will be offering members a "full-blown Convenience Distribution Conference and Expo" October 15-17 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, GA, providing seminars designed to help distributors improve efficiency and a trade show featuring warehouse, IT, transportation and operations equipment, services and technology. The show will be in partnership with the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA). Jones said AWMA is developing new educational offerings for senior executives as it helps members prepare for the future. The Warehouse Delivered Snack Program offered by AWMA, Jones added, is helping distributors maximize snack profits. Nearly 20,000 convenience stores and 70 distributors are taking advantage of the program, which he said offers average margin per product of upwards of 50%. A new AWMA Insurance Program is in place, Jones reported, providing convenience distributors umbrella, property, liability, automobile, cargo, workers’ compensation, crime and employer’s liability, and other business insurance. Finally, the AWMA chairman urged members to attend the AWMA Summit & Business Exchange, which provides pre-scheduled one-on-one distributor/manufacturer meetings for business discussions. "If you haven’t attended the Summit, I urge you to take a look," he said. "It is a great meeting that is growing in importance every year." The 2006 AWMA Summit & Business Exchange will be held September 11-14, 2006 at the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas, NV. For more information on attending the REAL DEAL EXPO, contact customer service at either 800-564-4220 or 703-449-6418 or awmaregistration@jspargo.com