NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release For More Information Contact:
April 5, 2016 Brent Hoskins
Executive Director
Business Technology Association
(816) 303-4040
2016 BTA National Conference & BTA at 90: A Celebration to Be Held June 8-10 in Kansas City, Missouri
BTA member dealers receive 2-for-1 registration to the conference & entrance to BTA at 90: A Celebration
Kansas City, MO — It is the office technology dealer’s “must-attend” event this year — the 2016 BTA National Conference, set for June 8-10 in Kansas City, Missouri, home of the Business Technology Association (BTA) since 1985. Hosted by the dealer volunteer leadership team of BTA Mid-America, the event is specifically designed for the independent dealer, with a carefully crafted educational lineup and 50 exhibiting sponsors. Plus, there will be outstanding networking opportunities, including an evening at the National World War I Museum and Memorial. Dealers who register for the National Conference receive admittance to BTA at 90: A Celebration, a very special event taking place Friday evening, June 10, at the historic Kansas City Union Station.
The national conference will feature a keynote address by former Navy SEAL officer Leif Babin, two panel discussions focused on looking to the future of the industry and moving beyond hardware, and eight additional educational sessions presented by industry experts. In addition, there will be time to visit with exhibiting sponsors, many of which will hold drawings for great prizes during the event. Dealer attendees can also enter on-site for a chance to win one of five $100 American Express gift cards and be entered into the BTA Events Sweepstakes.
The 2016 BTA National Conference will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8, with opening comments and the keynote address, “Combat Leadership: Building High-Performance, Winning Teams,” led by Babin. A welcoming reception will be held from 5:45 to 7:30 p.m., giving attendees time to network with peers and exhibiting sponsors.
The second day of the conference will begin at 7 a.m. on Thursday, June 9, with breakfast, followed by opening comments and the first two educational sessions: “Adjacent Opportunities, Recurring Liabilities,” led by Bob Goldberg, BTA general counsel; and “Sales Metrics for Managed Services — What Good Looks Like,” led by Mitch Morgan and Chris Ryne of Growth Achievement Partners (GAP). The software vendor panel, “Beyond Hardware: Opportunities for Diversification,” moderated by Frank Cannata of Marketing Research Consultants, will follow. The panelists: Mark Hart, Access Control Devices Inc.; Glenn Johnson, PSIGEN; Jeff McWilliams, Square 9 Softworks; George Seymour, Nuance Document Imaging (NDI); and Andrew Wade, Umango. Following the panel, lunch will be held.
After lunch, three more educational sessions will wrap up the day’s educational lineup: “Tribal Leadership: Because Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast,” led by Mark Taylor of Vistage International; “Are You Prepared to Engage Buyer 2.0?” led by Chris Glover of Ricoh USA Inc.; and “Marketing to Make Managed Services Mainstream,” led by Darrell Amy of Dealer Marketing. Breaks between sessions on both days will also give attendees additional networking time.
At 5:30 p.m., attendees will depart for the National World War I Museum and Memorial, where they will tour the museum and enjoy a buffet dinner on the premises.
The final day of the conference will begin at 7 a.m. on Friday, June 10, with breakfast, followed by opening comments and two educational sessions: “Sales Manager Certification: Is This the Missing Link to Salesforce Optimization?” led by Tom Cooke and Kim Ward of Learning Outsource Group; and “Digital Production Trends & Emerging Opportunities,” led by Ron Gilboa of InfoTrends. The OEM panel, “The BTA Channel: A Look Ahead,” moderated by Robert Palmer of International Data Corp. (IDC), will follow. The panelists: Doug Albregts, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America; Darren Cassidy, Xerox Corp.; Matt Smith, Samsung Electronics America; and Rick Taylor, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc.
Following the panel, lunch will be served. After lunch, the final educational session will be held: “A Strategic Plan: Paramount to a Dealership’s Survival,” led by Harry Hecht, business coach. Closing comments and exhibitor prize drawings will wrap up the conference. From 3 until 5:15 p.m., attendees will have time to relax or visit the Country Club Plaza shopping district, which is within walking distance from the hotel.
At 5:15 p.m., attendees will depart the hotel for Kansas City Union Station, where BTA will hold its 90th anniversary event, BTA at 90: A Celebration. The event will be held from 5:30 to 11 p.m. and provide a memorable opportunity to celebrate the association’s many years of dealers helping dealers. Highlights of the evening include: the 2016 BTA Channel’s Choice and 2016 BTA Channel Champion awards; a ****tail reception, dinner and after-dinner drinks; and entertainment by political satirist Mark Russell, guitarist Gregory Hyde and the Kansas City Lights Jazz Trio. All 2016 BTA National Conference attendees receive free entrance to BTA at 90: A Celebration. For more information, visit www.bta.org/BTA90.
The BTA at 90: A Celebration sponsors: Konica Minolta (platinum/Mark Russell sponsor), Samsung (gold/transportation sponsor), GreatAmerica Financial Services (gold/****tail reception sponsor), Toshiba (gold/after-dinner drinks sponsor), OKI (silver/Kansas City Lights Jazz trio sponsor), Sharp (silver/Gregory Hyde sponsor) and bronze sponsors Clover Imaging Group, Continuum, DocuWare, Katun, KYOCERA, NA Trading and Technology, Panasonic and Wells Fargo.
The 2016 BTA National Conference exhibiting sponsors: ACDI, AgentDealer, BEI Services, BLI, Brother, Carolina Wholesale, Clover Imaging Group, Coco Training & Coaching, Compass Sales Solutions, Continuum, Crawford Thomas, Densi, Digitek, DocuWare, ECi e-automate (June 8 reception sponsor), ECi FMAudit, Epson, ESP/Ametek, Etactics, EverBank, Evolved Office, GE Capital Office Imaging, GreatAmerica Financial Services, Hytec, Imaging Solutions Direct, Impression Solutions, Innovolt, Katun, Laserfiche, Lease Corporation of America, Lexmark (June 9-10 lunch sponsor), LMI, Mars International, Muratec, NA Trading and Technology, OKI, OnePak, Panasonic (March 9-10 breakfast sponsor), PHSI, Polek & Polek, Print Audit, Sepialine, Sharp (June 8 keynote co-sponsor), Smart Power Systems, Supplies Network, SYNNEX, TonerCycle/InkCycle, TSAworld, Wells Fargo and Xerox (June 9-10 breaks sponsor).
BTA members receive 2-for-1 registration to the 2016 BTA National Conference. BTA member dealer registration is $199, which includes the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday educational sessions and panel discussions; Wednesday welcoming reception; Thursday and Friday breakfast and lunch; Thursday tour and dinner at the National World War I Museum and Memorial; and entrance to Friday’s BTA at 90: A Celebration. Non-member registration is $249; an additional non-member from the same company is $209.
BTA will also host FIX: Cost Management for Service 2.0 on June 11 as a post-event workshop to the 2016 BTA National Conference. FIX, BTA’s popular service workshop, teaches attendees how to compute the cost of the service labor hour (service burden rate) and improve their overall service department profitability. FIX attendees receive free registration to the national conference, as well as BTA at 90: A Celebration. For more information or to register, click here.
Dealers who attend this event in BTA’s hometown will learn from industry leaders, see the exhibitors’ latest products and services, network with fellow dealers and celebrate BTA’s 90th anniversary in grand style. Dealer attendees will leave Kansas City informed, invigorated and inspired! For more information, including full session descriptions and the registration form for the event, visit http://www.bta.org/BTANationalEvent.
Founded in 1926, the Business Technology Association serves office technology dealerships, resellers, manufacturers, distributors and service companies. Its core members — office technology dealerships — consult, sell and service hardware, software and supplies with the goal of helping businesses maximize their investment in devices and technology. Through the association’s various educational programs, information, research, legal services, publications and guidance, BTA member dealerships are positioned to be the premier source of the office technology used by businesses throughout the United States every day. For more information on BTA, visit its Web site at www.bta.org or call (800) 505-2821. The fax number is (816) 941-4838. You may also write to: BTA, 12411 Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO 64145.