b'resident\'sArticle What\'s Your Excuse? ByStephenson,President JohnMRCA As I pen this article, Ive justa youthat these voices arethat you areon the latest inha ssureupdusreturnedfromthe"51st Annualheard a that the MRCA will dotry develo to allow you to ndpments MRCAConventionandTradeeverything in its power to continueoffer your c mers thet usto bes posShow"inMadison, Wisconsin.to improve the Trade Show experi sibleWehadallof the service? Far those ofwho weren\'t there,ence.major manuf rers together youactu and and m ofyouwe \'t,youLast, butcertainlynotleast,availablefor youtomeetwith. anyrenmissed out on some gre thankstoAnnualMeeting Co Underroof. F two days. at educa oneor tional/informationalprograms,aChairmenRod Petrick(Conven I can\'t afford to go. Yes, this wonderfultradeshowandantionProg Sub-Committee),one soun good, too!t the fact ramdsBuopportunity tothe vibrantGreg Petersen (ConventionHost/is,withairfare,regisira aexploretionnd city of Madison.Promotions Sub-Committee) andmeals, anindividual c d easily oulFirst, I wouldlike to take thistheir respective committeemmake the trip toof the em anyMRCA\'s opportunity to offer aTHANKbers,well asthe MRCA staff.venuesforwelunder$1,000. bigastoI YOUto Dave Tilsen andhis wifeThese individuals spent countlessThat\'s two-tenthsof a percent of Sara. In addition to serving as ourhoursplanningprogramsandthebudget fora company with The next MRCAPresident,Daveevents, and enlisting the help of$500,000 inualles. I ann sa agree, (withSara)tookIl$1,000 is a lot of money, and if Annual Meeting andocalerepooraris on doub duty bysup you a having aye itdifTrade Showwillbehostingthe. .pliers,ficult tojustify su an expenl\'f,chse. convention in,f.~ ,contrac- Butm o onfirsthissingutand ,held at the Oprylandtheirhome- \'i~ .torsand(h -on, incases) knowlands many 0Hotel in Nashville,town.Weowemanr edge of new produ , equipment ufactuctsthem a d de etoand programsth canhavean eepbtrsensureat Tennessee Octoberof gratitude for a the success ofim impact on your bottom llmediate 11-12, 200their dedication andtheconvention.line is far more costly in the long I. Markhard work. It was aAttendeesandrun. job your calendar now!well done.exhibito alikeravedaboutIstayedhometowatch rs Second, Ilikethe extraordinary quality of edu America\'sfavoriteroofer wouldcato thank allof thea andtionalprogrammingprovidedonGeorge, on the latest episode ttendees especially the exhibitors, whoseb management and techni of Big Brother. Okay,It usinesssodidn\'supportoftheT e Showandcal issues.really hear this one, but I heard a radSilent AuctionthatbenefitedtheSo, now that I\'ve thank al mostf thatwerealmostaslame. edew MRCAwas once againever that had anything toM be you\'ve heard theadage Foundationybodydoay old exceptional.with theyear,take a"excu are like .well, Iink show thislet\'sses",thAsis the caseevery year, welook at athe top reasonsyou get the idea. By the way, just in couple of ttend watc George receivedbothcomplaintsand(excuses) I\'ve heard for not a case you weren\'thing, compliments on theShow.ing. (I canwith authority ongotbooted, therest of thecast Tradespeak Thenumberonecomplaintthsubject, as I h in the pastsoon follo and the showrisavewed,meregarded the lack of traffic on F madesomeofth excusescifully camean endis a ri eseto(There day\'ssh floor and at out myself!)God!) tradeow sideexhibits.However,m I don\'t havethetimeorISo what\'s my p nt w h all of anyoi itexhibitors complimented us onam too busy. Okay, I\'llthatthis?Well,to makeitperfectly theadmit fact that many attendees were this soundslike a goodexcu .clear,the M A annu meeting peo se RC al plene rseen at a majorHowever, you make time to con and trade show does not hap n ve beforeperoofing convention.are theduct otherbusiness,righ Doesby a ide It ta thework Theset?cc nt.keshard ups and downs of holding athateverincludemeetingw and dedication of theboard majorithMRCA roofing trade show in awheremanufacturersa supplierstoof directors andstaff,aswell as citynd one has never been before. I caniron out problems or tosu Continued onage makerep 13'