CANADA OFFICER’S MESSAGE The Key to Progress is You

By Russ Newton, Sure Grip PRESIDENT, NMEDA CANADA

Another piece worth noting is NMEDA’s renewed training/outreach initiatives. People are meeting again and with that CAMS courses and MSS events are alive once again. This fall saw a couple of the biggest ever CAMS events in the history of the Association. This past fall

OK, here is where the rubber hits the road, more the genesis of the hours of a blank unpopulated screen. Thinking specifically about Canada, there is honestly some potential big wins for us in terms of causing some funders to make a decision for our association members both nationally saw a couple of the largest CAMS events on both sides of the border. Attendees, including influencers and funding sources, all benefited from the industry relevant information. Nice work from Amy Lane, NMEDA’s Director of Education, Training & Conference, the sponsors, and the hosts, leading to a strong turnout and successful events. Also worth noting, is that the momentum appears to be continuing in both Canada and the US for more NMEDA-specific training events. and provincially. The real problem is that those same candidates were candidates last year at this time. Truth is, we have not moved the dial very much over the past year. Reasons are many but primary is the simple truth that the entire NMEDA Canada Board is comprised of volunteers. We all have full-time jobs, and in most situations there is another core business with employees who we are accountable too, to ensure those business thrive.

We have made some good progress in a couple of areas. Our partner relations initiatives were strong. We made appearances at a number of relevant events as sponsors and delivered a powerful message on behalf of our dealer group. The CAMS event in Saskatchewan has opened the door to a vigorous conversation with SGI about who we are and what we do, that conversation continues, in fact, next scheduled event with them is in a week.

So, what we really need is some member participation. We just need some folks to step up and allow us to populate a couple of committees. The request has been made before but with very little response….I get it we are all busy, heavy on the all part. But, and it is a big but, successful businesses invest time and resources into business development. As a NMEDA Canada Dealer member, there are real revenue growth opportunities. For example, by assisting in an initiative directed at funders, you may impact their decision to utilize NMEDA members as sole source partners. When funders are engaged effectively, outcomes are positive: there are a significant number of States that mandate QAP; the Veterans Mobility Safety Act (VMSA) in the US is a massive achievement. In every case that a decision was made, including the two examples above, there were member volunteers at the heart of the initiative. NMEDA staffers are experts in guiding and pointing these volunteer efforts towards successful outcomes.

We need three or four of you to put your hand up and volunteer to jump into a committee that will work to increase revenue channels to members by working towards making those types of decisions happen. Folks like Amy Shoppman, NMEDA’s Director of Government Relations & Public Policy, stand at the ready to assist; she is so good at what she does. You can help me and the rest of your NMEDA Canada Board in creating a truly wonderful message a year from now by jumping in and making some good things happen.

To get going, please contact myself (Russ.Newton@suregrip.com) or Dave Hubbard (dave.hubbard@nmeda.org).