Where the Industry Does Business
One of the signs of a great show is when you ’ re heading home and rather than feeling the exhaustion and the anticipation of home , you ’ re excited for the next show and your mind is racing with ideas to make it even better . Another sign is when attendees are posting photos and reminiscing about a great memory , shared joke , something they learned or a new product they purchased during the show and are sharing success stories online . I have seen all these things happen these past few weeks since returning from CPE in Charleston , and it makes my heart glad !
People who are considering attending CPE for the first time often ask me , “ What exactly do you do all day ?” Well , the answer is quite a lot ! We start on Sunday morning with a time of Praise & Worship and hit the ground running from there .
“ For where two or three gather in my name , there am I with them .” Matthew 18:20
Charles Martin
God is with us throughout the planning of CPE and all throughout the show . But there was something extra special at this year ’ s Praise & Worship service . The service began with the legendary Pat Boone singing with husbandand-wife duo Brian and Christa Yak of For the Fatherless . When HarperCollins Christian Publishing ’ s author Charles Martin got up to speak , he humbly thanked Pat Boone and shared his desire to also still be working for the Lord at 90 years old . The images Martin brought to life about Jesus surrendering His throne to take a nosedive out of Heaven to come save us and take away our sins , not just cleanse us from them , but take them away , are words I have heard since I was a child , but I can honestly say they hit home in a new way that made me pause and reflect and want to cry out a thank you to Jesus . As the band came up to close , they must have felt it too because that is just what we , as a group of hundreds , did — we sang out our thank you in one accord . You would have thought the band and Martin coordinated the songs to go right along with the message ; but having never met each other , we knew only God could have orchestrated this . At the conclusion , there was no
applause , no jumping up to leave for the next item on our agenda , just reverent silence .
Lunch was enjoyed next with new presenters Red Balloon and the Christian Retail Association ( CRA ). Andrew Crapuchettes , Red Balloon CEO & Founder , worked through the hiring process and gave advice on asking interview questions and posting job openings that draw Christian applicants .
“ We always go home encouraged and excited for the ministry we have through our store . We loved the speakers this year !”
Probasco ’ s Christian Bookstore , Loveland , CO
CRA board members used the time to walk through all the member benefits ( see page 22 ) and to touch on CRA ’ s vision to provide members with training programs and assistance . Since this show , CRA has talked with two stores about opening and about finding a buyer for store owners looking to retire in the next few years . A service provider directory is in the works and new benefits are being considered . We are also keeping an eye on association group health care benefits . If this becomes available to associations , we will implement this immediately for members .
Close to 200 retailers met together after lunch for our Store 2 Store time . This is a precious time for stores to pray for each other and spend time in small groups to discuss hot topics , like looking for new employees , training , marketing , etc . After two hours , this group could have kept going , but we didn ’ t want to miss kickoff .
Super Bowl was Sunday evening , and attendees enjoyed a buffet of their favorite football goodies while they watched the game on two huge screens , plus a fabulous half-time show with The Skit Guys ! JC ’ s Christian Book Store won the Super Bowl cash prize drawing ! After a long day , it was great to relax and laugh and get ready for the trade show to open the next day . continued on page 22 >>
www . christianretailassociation . org / CRA today 21