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TLPATLPA LAS VEGAS SHOW UNVEILS NEW EXCITING FORMAT"Join Taxicab Limousine & Paratransit Association members in Las Vegas on October 7-11 for TLPA's 88th Annual Convention & Trade Show," says TLPA President Brian McBride. "It will be our best show ever, as we have redesigned the format of the convention." "The theme I have selected for the show this year is Quality Standards and Service to emphasize the implementation of TLPA's strategic plan to make TLPA members the preferred providers of service to the public."
After two years of convention surveys and interviews with registrants and exhibitors and comments from TLPA Board members and the members of the steering committees, TLPA unveils its new and exciting Annual Convention & Trade Show format for this October in Las Vegas. The convention has been compacted to contain the same number of educational sessions, company tour and exhibits, in one less day. Now each day will be a full day as the free time for sightseeing has been eliminated.
According to TLPA President McBride "The new convention format is great. It gives all company owners and their key staff members a reason to attend this Las Vegas meeting. Just about every important topic facing our industry is being addressed. " "Also, we brought back the most popular feature from last year's convention, the roundtable discussions. Everyone liked the opportunity to discuss serious issues in a small group environment where every participant has an opportunity to present ideas and ask questions. And importantly, our Trade Show is selling out quickly, which means our vendors are excited about this show." The Trade Show will feature our industry's finest vendors. Already TLPA has had to redesign the floor plan for the Trade Show to add more spaces and to create larger islands for vehicle and booth displays. Equally important, our key vendors are sponsoring convention events to make this a better show for all participants.
From Sunday morning through Tuesday afternoon, there are more quality educational sessions than ever before.
Chairman Duncan was a key supporter of the private sector legislative provisions that we included in the SAFETEA-LU transportation legislation signed into law by President Bush on August 10. On Tuesday, convention registrants will have nine highly informative Seminars to choose from, each featuring an expert speaker. Also the TLPA and Foundation Annual Business Meetings will be held where new board members will be elected and sworn into office. The highlight of the Annual Business Meeting will be newly elected TLPA President Brian Wier presenting his vision for the future course of TLPA and the industry. The Trade Show will feature our industry's finest vendors. Already TLPA has had to redesign the floor plan for the Trade Show to add more spaces and to create larger islands for vehicle and booth displays. Equally important, our key vendors are sponsoring convention events to make this a better show for all participants. A complete listing of our advance exhibitors and sponsors will be found later in this article.
The Trade Show will feature our industry's best vendors who typically announce new products at this industry leading event. All of our industry's leading products will be on display from vehicles to insurance, computer dispatch to two way radios, meters to advertising, software to hardware, and much more.
"Just about everything you need to profitably run your business will be displayed at the TLPA Trade Show in Las Vegas," says President McBride. "Nowhere else in the world can you find these venders waiting to display their products and talk serious business with you." "The savings in time and travel makes this the premier industry event. You need to be in Las Vegas on October 8, 9 and 10 to take full advantage of this tremendous opportunity."
President McBride states, "In addition to the educational sessions and the exhibits, it is the informal discussions with fellow operators that brings me back to the TLPA show year after year. I learn nearly as much from just talking with the other participants and I get to relax." "Talking
to another operator who is not my direct competitor and who understands
the stress of this business is important. I find it both informative
and relaxing. Add in the social functions that TLPA puts on and this
an unparalleled event."
In
addition, plenty of time is still built into the convention schedule
for you to use to relax, enjoy and to speak informally with your fellow
industry members.
Golf Tournament: The Annual Gateway Insurance Golf Tournament to benefit TLPA's Foundation will be held on Saturday, October 7, with departure from Caesars Palace at 12:30 p.m., and a shotgun tee off at 2:00 p.m. An awards ceremony sponsored by the John Burnham Insurance Company will include dinner, drinks, and drawings for door prizes will conclude the event. The course is the Desert Pines Golf Club, one of Las Vegas' most enjoyable playing experiences. This Perry Dye designed course features more than 3,000 towering pine trees, colorful flowerbeds and white sand bunkers protecting large, undulating greens giving it a "Carolina" look and feel. Desert Pines provides players of all abilities a fun and rewarding experience.
The annual dinner will be held on Sunday evening, October 8. The dinner was originally meant as a social icebreaker for women operators new to the convention. Now, the event has grown into a social/problem solving event where female operators, spouses and vendors (and even males) attend. This event is held on the first night of the convention to help build relationships early in the convention.
Space is very limited for this one day course (Monday, October 9) designed to teach dispatchers the procedures and techniques used in dispatch centers. There will also be a short description of the ADA and how that impacts scheduling, reservations, and routing. There will be a general discussion of demand response versus pre-scheduled service. There will be a session on policies and procedures, control center operations, customer service, and what data to collect and how to collect it. The course will be taught by TLPA board member James McLary.
TLPA is working with the folks at Caesars to organize a slot tournament for our spouse program. Details are coming in very slowly from the hotel, but we hope to confirm all of the arrangements and make an official announcement in the very near future.
The closing night banquet will be held on Tuesday evening, October 10. The fun filled night features an open bar, a great meal, entertainment and the silent auction to benefit TLPA's legislative arm, the TLPA Action Fund. Entertainment is still being evaluated, but you can count on another great show for the evening.
Make your plans now to attend this fabulous event, the TLPA 88th Annual Convention & Trade Show. By registering now, you lock in the discounted early registration fee. To register for this important meeting, contact TLPA by going to the association's web site at www.tlpa.org or call the TLPA office at 301-946-5700.
For those operators who are not yet members of TLPA and who want to register to attend the convention at the discounted member rate, we are offering a membership special. If you join TLPA now, your membership will begin immediately and last through the end of 2007. In essence, you receive the rest of 2006 for free. Go to the TLPA web site www.tlpa.org for more information. "We are very confident that once you join TLPA you will be a member for life. Other associations talk about what they are working to accomplish while the TLPA tells you what we have accomplished," says President McBride. "This is the best membership offer we have ever given and I urge you to take advantage of it. Then, I hope to meet you in Las Vegas at the best industry show in history." Hal Morgan, TLPA1s Director of Education, provided this article.
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