From all of us at the North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA), we
hope you had a wonderful holiday. We also want to wish you a happy New Year!
2020 is finally here and we’re seeing the industry with perfect vision. In 2019,
our industry faced some ups and downs due to tariffs, changing government
regulations and more. However, we’ve witnessed continued growth for our
association’s membership.
Parallel to the growth of our membership and increased attention in our annual
trade show, the increased interest has helped develop our team internally. We’re
happy to say that we’ll be providing unrivaled membership support this year. A
new Senior Membership Manager role, held by none other than Melanie Bierweiler,
will offer members a dedicated contact for questions regarding benefits, the show
and more. Additionally, we’ve revamped our membership application to gather
statistics we can use to better our membership offerings – from what programs
we need to focus on to what kinds of educational items we should provide at our
annual show.
A new Director of Operations & Events, Andria Gibbon, CEM, brings almost
20 years of event experience. Her wealth of experience will make our newly
rebranded trade show, the NATDA Trailer Show, an even better event for the
light and medium-duty trailer industry. Additionally, we’ve expanded internal
departments to assist in all aspects, creating a team that is excited to bring
wonderful new opportunities to our members.
When it comes to the NATDA Trailer Show, a fresh look is not the only new thing
we’ll be offering. Two new segments will provide greater access to members of
the industry, truly making us an event for everyone. A new Trailer Parts Expo,
taking place on Wednesday, September 2, will give our exhibitors meaningful time
to network and conduct business prior to the start of the show. We’ve also
rebranded and expanded Dealer Education – now called Dealership Performance
Training. Aside from classes on marketing, sales, government regulations and
more, we’re bringing a full agenda of hands-on technical training. Whether you’re
a dealership owner or technician, these classes covering truck bed installation,
hitch and electrical wiring and more will bring top-level instructors to provide
certified educational content.
In years past, we aimed to cultivate industry awareness and offered tools and
insight to give dealerships an advantage to grow alongside the industry. We won’t
shy away from those aims in 2020. We’re thankful for this incredible community
of dealers, vendors and manufacturers and we look forward to seeing you
September 2 – 4, 2020 in Nashville, TN for the 2020 NATDA Trailer
Show.
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NATDA Magazine
www.natda.org