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Dear Members of the WCPA:
I cannot believe that another year has gone by and I am once again
writing about the state of our association. I am very proud to
report that the WCPA is very sound and getting stronger. Already
this year, our membership is up and continuing to climb. We are
constantly figuring out ways to provide more benefits to you, the
members. Our goal is to continue to provide as much value as
possible, so that we are constantly viewed as a leader in the
industry.
For the
first time, we experienced the off year of our conference
schedule. Even though we did not have a conference this year our
association was full of exciting programs and activities. The year
brought us both educational activities as well as social
gatherings.
The Northern region had baseball in Seattle that was very well
attended. Almost 70 people gathered to see the Mariners take on
the Kansas City Royals. The evening provided for a night of good
fun, good food and a chance to root for the home team.
In December, the Central region hosted a gala evening to honor one
of our very own, Bob Cole from Goodwin Cole in Sacramento, CA.
Approximately 70 people from all over the country took the time to
attend this spectacular evening as the WCPA presented Bob with an
honored life membership. As most of you are aware, Bob’s
contributions to our association as well as to our industry are
too numerous to list. It would take the entire directory to do him
justice; therefore, lets just say that the industry we love and
work in today was shaped in part by the tremendous efforts of our
own Bob Cole. We congratulate both Bob and his lovely wife Billie
for the many years of tireless service to our association and our
industry.
In
February, the Southern region in cooperation with the Professional
Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA) held a sales workshop at
Eide Industries. Together both the WCPA and PAMA filled the house
as PAMA put on an exceptional workshop highlighting the many
aspects of the sales cycle to the large crowd that attended. This
was both an opportunity to learn and to network with all of the
people that traveled from all over the country to attend this
worthwhile program. The evening prior to the workshop the WCPA
hosted a fantastic cocktail reception for all of our friends on
the PAMA Board. The views were unbelievable as both groups got to
know each other while the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. This was
the WCPA’s token way of thanking the PAMA Board for all of the
hard work and good they have done for our industry. We look
forward to more programs like this in the future.
I would be remiss if I did not extend our heart-felt prayers to
both our servicemen and women stationed around the world as well
as the victims and families that were affected by the terrible
tsunami. As a global community we must do our part to make the
times we live in peaceful and safe and never forget about the
future.
In
closing, I would like to encourage and invite all of you to
participate in our upcoming conference scheduled for March 16 –18,
2006 in Seattle. This conference will be better than ever! Our
schedule includes great speakers, roundtables and other activities
to make this conference one to remember.
I hope to personally meet all of you during the year at our up
coming events and conference.
Sincerely,
Howard Goldstein
President, WCPA - 2005 |
