Known as "Charm City," perfect weather greeted a record-setting 4,838 attendees who were charmed for three days by Baltimore during STAFDA's 29th Annual Convention & Trade Show, November 6-8. The Mid-Atlantic location proved to be a good draw due to its convenient east coast location, area attractions, and STAFDA's Convention agenda. Six hotels provided official Convention housing, ranging from a Days Inn to the upscale Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. The hotels and the modern Baltimore Convention Center were all clustered around the city's crown jewel: the Inner Harbor.

Also at the Fair were 11 STAFDA-endorsed consultants and service providers to individually meet with members. STAFDA's Credit & Collections consultant, Abe WalkingBear Sanchez (right foreground) and Dr. Bart Basi (third from right), STAFDA's Tax & Financial consultant, provided one-on-one advice to STAFDA attendees. STAFDA members get up to 30 minutes free every year with each of STAFDA's dozen consultants. That's 360 minutes of free consulting advice!

With the Baltimore Convention so close to our nation's capitol, STAFDA invited John Satagaj, president, Small Business Legislative Council, to provide an update on pending legislation affecting small businesses. He addressed health care, the estate tax, and tax reform. STAFDA has been a SBLC member since 2002.

The highlight of the General Session was keynote speaker, General Colin Powell. The audience was struck by his commanding presence and genuine likability. His one-hour talk cited examples of leadership. As former U.S. Secretary of State, he shared his world experiences with the group and his message was insightful, witty, and powerful. After his talk, Gen. Powell, a tool enthusiast, quickly toured STAFDA's Trade Show before the doors opened to exhibitors and rep agents for last minute set-up.

Tuesday morning featured four workshops covering pertinent business issues. Tom Peters' former protégé, Steve Farber, gave an enthusiastic presentation, "The Radical Leap: Leadership at Work and Beyond." He explained how attendees can use his LEAP framework: Love, Energy, Audacity, and Proof to achieve business and personal success.

Construction management expert, George Hedley, led "The Business Success Blueprint" to explain once systems are in place at a company, all operations become turnkey. Accounting, sales, inventory, and management can be streamlined by establishing simple protocol that everyone can follow. As a large general contractor in southern California, Hedley related well to the STAFDA audience.

Mike Marks returned to give a presentation on "Designing a Workable Sales Compensation Plan." Marks explained there is no "silver bullet" or a one-size-fits-all compensation plan that can be used as a model. However, he explained what key factors should be included in a good compensation plan and what should be avoided. He also stated that his research showed conclusively that there is no relationship whatsoever between a company's sales incentive plan structure and its gain or loss in market share.

Distributors had another 4-1/2 hours Tuesday afternoon at the Trade Show. To lure attendees into their booths, some booths featured caricaturists, magicians, sports personalities, and even a live radio show! Traffic remained steady throughout the afternoon allowing more business to be done on the floor.

Spouses/companions had three Tour Options Tuesday including a Baltimore City tour; a day trip to Annapolis; or day in Washington D.C. Those who pre-registered for the Washington tour were able to take a private look in the White House. A highlight for those on the Annapolis tour was to watch the Naval Academy's Noon lunch roll call shown here.

Tuesday's Closing "Viva Las Vegas" Party gave everyone a chance to unwind after the Trade Show or one of the tours. A hearty buffet dinner was set beside large playing cards and dice while "Elvis" performed on stage and another “Elvis” greeted attendees at the party's entrance. The "Viva" party helped to get people in the mood for next year's Convention.

STAFDA's 30th Annual Convention & Trade Show will be held November 13-15, 2006 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Las Vegas Hilton. The Trade Show will be in the North Halls at the Convention Center while all meetings and social events will take place at the Las Vegas Hilton. STAFDA has blocked 2,000 guestrooms at the Hilton so nearly everyone will be housed under one roof. Las Vegas Convention registration materials will mail to members June 30 and on-line registration begins July 3 from the members-only section of our website. Please mark your calendar to join us next November in Las Vegas!