14 WESTERN PALLET
WPA Enjoys Successful Annual Meeting, Sets Attendance Record
Friendliest association encourages new members to get involved.
Rancho Mirage, California - The WPA 2023 Annual Meeting, held this January at the Omni Rancho Las Palmas, enjoyed record attendance, business sessions with actionable takeaways, invaluable networking, and above all else, great camaraderie.
The official attendance of 385 people shattered last year’s record of 309 attendees. There are also currently 232 paid members, another high water mark. The meeting has grown, but not so large as to be lost in the masses like at some major trade shows. Nic Wilson, WPA’s current membership chair, refers to the WPA annual meeting as more of a boutique event, still intimate enough to offer great networking opportunities in spite of the continued growth of the association.
Ralph Rupert, new WPA past president, noted that for many years the role of the WPA was predominantly to offer the WPA Annual Meeting. Now, WPA has become much more than that, thanks to the association’s long range planning initiative, begun four years ago when Annie Montey was President.
“When we looked at the 50-year history of the WPA, really, up until that point, it was essentially, this meeting,” Rupert remarked. “Not a lot of other activity really went on in the association.
“But with the long range plan, we have our committees, and after four years of instituting them, we have changed the outlook of the association. No longer is it just the annual meeting, although I have to say that with 385 in attendance at this annual meeting, the expansion is unbelievable.”
Rupert praised the work being done by the four WPA committees, including state advocacy, resource streams, revenue streams, and member engagement. “We are on that threshold of changing the outlook of the association,” he said. The WPA has introduced several some notable new programs in recent years, including online Master Learning Group and webinar sessions, as well as the online store. It will soon also be la