FLORIDA SCENE

JOHN D. GARTEN executl-ve dlrector

ABOUT TH|S time of rhe year, we llstart looking for new ideas ro promote our annual convention and trade show to be held Sept. 14-16, 1983, at the Hyatt Hotel in Orlando. To avoid repeating what has been said in previous years, we started going through our old files of promotional literature. Halfway through this exercise, the excessive amount of superlatives we've used in the past to describe our show became apparent.

Such enthusiastic statements as "the biggest show ever," "more than 130 exhibitors, " "the best speakers in the country," sounded like something out of a Cecil B. DeMille production, with a cast of thousands, and years in the making. We're somewhat prone to exuberance here in Florida.

The fact is-ours is not a national trade show, it is a state trade show. But, we think it's a pretty good one. Make that a darn good one!

This year's exhibitors total 136. How much merchandise is bought and sold at the show? The truth is we haven't the slightest idea because we don't have any records to check against. We can tell you that nearly 8590 of our exhibitors are "repeats," so it must be good business for them to be there.

Speakers? This year, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale will kick things off Thursday morning, followed by humorist Charlie Jarvis. ABC news analyst and syndicated columnist George Will makes his appearance on Friday.

ing, guests at the Gone With the Wind plantation party will relive the days of Tara of the Deep South, complete with dinner and show. The Executives (the same group that appeared at the NLBMDA convention at Walt Disney World) will provide the music at the Friday dinner dance.

Education? Very little, because of the other seminars held at the Association gages, and allows savers to use the IRA principle to save for the down payment on a new home.

MRA's have the potential to supply a source of funds that could correct most of the problems in the housing and thrift industries, and could help spur recovery from the recession. They allow faster payment of mortgages, and thus will free up a tremendous amount of capital for reinvestment in new home construction. At the same time, young people can use the IRA to raise cash for down payments, and roll this money into a mortgage on their first home.

The options are endless, but consider the following. By spurring savings for

(Please turn to page 24) headquarters and around the state throughout the year, and the lack of time in the program. But, the convention seminar scheduled features one of the most sought-after speakers in the country, Gene Stanaland, who will speak on "Economics Made Simple, or How Understanding Reaganomics Can Save Your Sanity and Marriage." He was the hit of the program at the NLBMDA convention.

So, if you can make it to Orlando in September, we'd be delighted to hav6 you come to our convention-if only to visit the exhibit hall, where there is no charge to view the exhibits. In the meantime, if you want further information, contact our Association headquarters at (305) 644-0302 or (in Florida) (800) 432-0869.