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OPEAA 21st Annual Meeting
February 17 - 20, 2007
Sarasota, Florida
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"Global Sourcing and Supply: the Outdoor Power Aftermarket and the China Connection -- A Perspective".
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Saturday, February 17th:
The Annual Meeting began with a Cocktail Reception and Silent Auction, benefiting the Bill Nelson Scholarship Fund. This year's auction was very successful-- but if you were unable to attend, it's not too late to make a donation to this worthwhile cause!
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Our keynote speaker, Mr. Ben Reid, Partner & Managing Director of Global Manufacturing Industries, really introduced us to the culture of China, and explored the realities of doing business there. G.M.I. is a service organization devoted to assisting North American companies as they seek to procure and/or develop products from overseas. Accompanying Mr. Reid were Mr. William Qimin Zhou, President & CEO of Sanbory Machinery Mfg. Co. in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China, and Mr. Yijun Zhou.
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This is possibly the first time that OPEAA Attendees have been addressed in Chinese (while being read in English by Mr. Reid)! But we were honored to have Mr. Reid's Chinese partners participate in the Annual Meeting.
After lunch, Robbie Fogle, Desert Extrusion Corp., gave us an overview of the OPEAA Market Analysis Committee's "Market Analysis Highlights".
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And Mr. Gary McGugan, Sr. Vice President, GE Strategic Growth Group, discussed "Trade Flow Financing" with details on GE's program which offers up to 100% financing of purchases from overseas (inventory); and, up to 100% financing to your customers (receivables).
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The rest of the afternoon was filled with concurrent Breakout Sessions featuring Gary McGugan, Benjamin Reid, and the Market Analysis Committee.
Then it was off to the Circus!!
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The only circus still based in Sarasota -- "Under the Big Top" at Circus Sarasota! was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. Get the details here!
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During Monday morning's session, David Duffee, Education Chairman, introduced us to Jim Paluch, of J.P. Horizons, Inc.. Jim explained that in his opinion, there are only two types of people -- Builders and Destroyers -- and told us about their characteristics & traits. A truly memorable motivational speaker, he had the whole room on their feet many times!
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After a few words by Deborah Beck, OPEAA's Executive Vice President, it was off to the golf course for the Annual OPEAA Golf Tournament.
Click here for tournament details & results!
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For the non-golfers, an optional event was offered on Monday afternoon: An Afternoon at the Ringling Estate!
Click here for details!
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And finally, on Monday night Rotary Corp. hosted the Annual Banquet -- renamed by the Board of Directors as "The Bill Bergman Memorial Banquet", in honor of the man who gave so many great years of service to OPEAA as our Executive Vice President.
Special guests in attendance included Bill's two daughters, Valerie Cooper and Jennifer Ryan (and family), cousin Luke Zorich, and Deborah's mother & her husband, Wilma & Ed Rattner, along with nephew, Tyler Beck. After a slide show remembering Bill through photos furnished by his family, Jennifer & Tyler both spoke about "Dad" & "Uncle Bill" - and on behalf of OPEAA, Bob Phillips spoke about his "friend".
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Tuesday morning's session began with a presentation by Gregg Giddens, VP of International Sales, Liquid Combustion Technology, with a brief overview ("Realities of Importing from China")of his company's operation in their China plant where they are producing LCT Engines.
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Gregg's presentation was followed by a "question & answer" period with LCT President & CEO, Keith Giddens. The "realities" quickly became apparent to OPEAA Members from the information supplied by Keith -- and his depth of knowledge on this subject was nothing short of astounding! We truly appreciate the insights shared with all members by the LCT Executives.
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Next on the agenda was the "always informative" Bill Harley, President of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, with his annual "OPEI Outlook". Thank you, Bill, for sharing with us again this year!
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And finally, closing out the 2007 OPEAA Annual Meeting, new OPEAA President, Robbie Fogle turned the meeting over to Education Committee Chairman, David Duffee of BEBCO for his closing remarks.
See you all next year in Santa Fe!
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SANTA FE 2008 promises to be a great opportunity for members, spouses & children; and prospective members to come together, network, learn valuable information for your business, relax.... and just have some fun!
Look forward to seeing all of you there!
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