11/20/2010

2010 ISD/FPDA Joint Industry Summit Wrap Up - Definitely "Better Together"!

Thank you for joining us in exciting West Palm Beach, Florida for the First ISD/FPDA Joint Industry Advancement Summit! The attendees agree that ISD and FPDA are definitely "better together". The Summit provided outstanding opportunities for business education, industry insights, the latest technical updates, product presentations and invaluable networking.

 ISD and FPDA hosted a Joint Summit at the beautiful PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida October 5-8. In addition to being an excellent opportunity to network with old and new friends, a number of excellent educational sessions were offered to participants, along with opportunities to unwind and just have fun. More than 250 members from both associations gathered to hear from leading business speakers, compare notes with each other, and enjoy the fabulous Florida weather.

 Here are just a few quotes from attendees:

•  "One word - Enjoyable. This was the best meeting in a few years and the excitement between both organizations was electrifying."
•  "The trainers were great, it was a pleasure to go to these invaluable presentations. Also very successful opportunity for networking and seeing some of my customers and suppliers."
•  "The Thursday evening dinner and game activities were by far one of the best things we have done. Weather was beautiful and gave us an opportunity to network and get to know other members."

Certainly the location and the weather added to the event but the added networking for both ISD and FPDA members strengthened the business component of the event.  The first UID in a Day Program allowed ISD members to attend multiple workshops in varied areas of distribution including sales and branch operations. This program also provided an opportunity for members, especially the younger up and coming leaders to attend the meeting and gain credits towards a Certificate of Industrial Distribution from Purdue University. Specials sessions were also held for ISD’s ELI members and FPDA’s Young Executives (YES) members allowing them to network across both associations.

Attendees found this educational component of the meeting to be a great success! Both Associations are already hard at work finalizing details for next year’s second Joint Industry Summit. Please make sure to keep a look out on the ISD website for the details for the next Joint Industry Summit! We will make sure to place them on the site as soon as they are available!

 Thank you to all the attendees that made our First Annual Joint Industry Summit such an amazing success!