It’s to the point why attend every year. Go every other
year or every third year becuase you won’t miss anything.

We must all continue training of management and employee.
To do this cost must be considered based on the value
received. “Vegas” came up short this year.

We will be attending Louisville, and attend several training sessions offered by manfacturers.

“Vegas” next year? Maybe!

I believe there are several reasons attributing to the apathy displayed with the Las Vegas show.

First: we are living in a virtual world and there is very little being offered at trade shows these days (not just RVDA) that one can not find online and without the expense associated with a Las Vegas trip.

Second: like most associations, attendance is down each year and very few trade shows are showing upward trends.

Third: reality is pereception and most people (justifiably) recongize that if you expose your people to all that Las Vegas has to offer, they will most likely choose those offerings over what you may be prsenting at your conference - regardless of how good those offerings might be.

Fourth: the people that do go to Las Vegas for this show are the ones that fully support RVDA and can well afford the expense related to the show.

It is unfortunate that more dealers do not attend this event, but this is a situation that has existed for years and many of us have written about it in the past.

Associations must change, the old ways simply don’t work anymore. I don’t know who said it, but if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you will continue to get what you’ve always got. Never has that been more true than with the RVDA conference.

It might be a little scary to look at the roster of attendees for this years show and then remove from that list all the attendees from the dealerships that are represented in the many committees and executive boards of RVDA. These people and dealerships will always come because they are totally committed to the association, believe in the value of the association, and will do everything they can to support the programs of the association - they are the true champions.

But this isn’t the only measure of success of an association - it’s how well you draw from the rest of your membership and if you are not getting this group of people to attend, then there is a real challenge to ever make the association grow. These are the people that you must convince there is value to the association, their products and services, and the single most important event produced by RVDA each year.

You will get out of an association more than you put into it, and the many dealers that work on the committees and executive boards have figured that out many years ago and that is why you see them supporting and attending this event.

Once again you will hear that common refrain though - there are just too many shows and dealer events each year and you can not continue to run a successful and profitable business if you try to attend every one of them.

If the dealers don’t support their own association, then the day may come when they don’t have one or will have to merge with another industry related association - it’s happening everyday in the assocition world today.

I’m surprised we are not hearing from more dealers on this important topic.

One show that I am very familiar with used a rotating show site method to allow participants from all areas of the US to be relatively close to the Show. The Show sites ranged from Boston to Minneapolis to Dallas/Houston, Phoenix, Seattle, LA, and San Diego. One fact about this type of arrangement was that the Show was always well attended.

Obviously, the Show did not consider Las Vegas as a potential site due the PARTY atmosphere. It does not take a Harvard MBA to understand the costs associated with Las Vegas. It takes very deep pockets spend much time in Las Vegas as Greg pointed out in his article.

While I have not attended an RVDA show, I have visited the Louisville National Show twice. The most major boondoggle of the Louisville show is the severely cramped parking space. Other than that, the National Show is first class.

But, there is one more point to Show expense and that is the tremendous burden that is placed on Show space by the Union crews that must do everything from plugging in a phone cord to turning on a light. If you have been there, you know what I mean.

Personally, a combination of the RVIA and RVDA shows might bring out the best of both industry segments. Any executive worth his/her salt is always looking for a way to get more bang for their buck. With travel expenses being what they are today, the Combination concept is worth considering.

Also, it is my bet that RVIA does not owe Louisville anthing special. Someone should put a bug in the ear of RVIA and suggest that they look at the other nice cities in the area. Indianapolis is only an two hours North. Columbus, OH is also close as is Nashville. Memphis is also within driving distance as is Cincinatti.

Nothing can curb the expenses of Shows like some competition among site cities.

I think most industries are experiencing a reduction in attendance. In many cases the focus of the shows has shifted to the information dissemination mode rather than a buying mode where most shows began.

With business being soft for most industries, everyone is watching expenses. As a result, “what in it for me?”

It is also rare that a small business is the “star ” of the show. This in spite of the percentage of commerce that is done nationwide by small businesses.

Jim Diehl