NSGA Adds Educational, Networking Events for 2010 Conference/Summit

MOUNT PROSPECT, IL – The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit Planning Committee met at Association headquarters last week and announced changes that will add more educational and networking opportunities to the sporting goods industry’s longest continuously running event.

The 45th Annual Conference and 12th Annual Summit will be held May 2-5, 2010 at Saddlebrook Resort/Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Fla.

For the first time, an evaluation committee met at the conclusion of the 2009 Conference. That input, plus the evaluations provided by attendees, provided the guidance for the changes.

“These changes would allow retailers and team dealers to pick and choose from topics that would be relevant for businesses of all sizes,” said NSGA Chairman of the Board Bob Dickman, general manager of the Sport Supply Group Team Dealer Division. “A chain with hundreds of stores or a single-store operation would find value in these new sessions.”

Among the changes for 2010, NSGA has:

— Created specialized educational tracks focusing on strategic (big picture) and tactical (nuts and bolts) topics, in addition to the traditional retail and team tracks;
— Added sessions on Monday and Tuesday afternoon for non-golfers;
— Scheduled a luncheon – free to all attendees – on Monday, featuring a special guest speaker; and
— Added a Monday evening networking reception.

To accommodate these changes, the official NSGA golf tournament will be moved to Tuesday.

Committee members at the meeting were Dickman; NSGA Past Chairman Bruce Ullery, MC Sports; NSGA Directors Jeff Brusati, T&B Sports, and Terry Hennessey, PEI Source For Sports; former NSGA Chairman Ron Kruse, Hayden’s Athletic; and Conference Moderator Rusty Saunders, Saunders & Associates.

Detailed information on topics, speakers, and panelists will be announced as they are confirmed. For more information, please contact Sue Wenderski or Chuck Suritz at NSGA, (800) 815-5422, or e-mail: info@nsga.org.

About NSGA:
NSGA, which has served the sporting goods industry since 1929, organizes and hosts the annual NSGA Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit, the sporting goods industry’s premier educational and networking event (Next: May 2-5, 2010, at Saddlebrook Resort/Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Fla.).

For more information on NSGA member services, visit the Association home page (www.nsga.org); call Sue Wenderski at NSGA, (847) 296-6742, Ext. 102; e-mail: swenderski@nsga.org; or fax (847) 391-9827.