CEA’S 2007 PARA Conference opens thursday, March 8

The Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA®) 2007 PARA Conference kicks off this Thursday, March 8 with two days of networking and educational sessions that bring specialty audio-video dealers and vendors together in an exclusive setting conducive to business. Known as the business management event for specialty audio-video dealers, the 2007 PARA Conference runs March 8-9 at The Peabody Hotel in Orlando, Florida, with pre-show events and a networking reception and dinner on March 7.
“The 2007 PARA Conference continues its tradition of high-value programming. The enthusiasm from dealers and support from vendors for this year’s conference has been incredible,” said Kerry Moyer, executive director, PARA. “With terrific keynotes and workshops and excellent networking opportunities, this event allows CEA to do what we do best - facilitate networking and business opportunities for our members and the industry.”

Key highlights of the 2007 PARA Conference include: a Thursday morning keynote by Dr. Jeff DeGraff entitled, “Leading Innovation Enterprise,” a Thursday afternoon keynote entitled, “Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People,” by Peter Schutz, former president and CEO of Porsche AG, Dealer-Vendor One-on-One sessions, a Friday morning Retail Owners Institute workshop entitled, “Growing the Financial Expertise of Dealers” and a presentation by Ron Huntington on “Strategic and Operational Planning.”

“PARA is about education and information sharing and the 2007 conference hits right at the heart of these two core values,” said Moyer. “This is a must-attend event for specialty dealers to exchange valuable information with their peers, to build crucial business relationships and to receive key information they can put to use in growing their business.”

CEA also recognizes the Platinum, Gold and Silver PARA Supporters for their conference participation. Platinum Supporters include the B&W Group, Klipsch Group, Yamaha Electronics and Monster.

With a focus on expanding existing business for specialty dealers, Monster will sponsor and produce a pre-conference training session entitled, “The Art of Add-on Selling” on March 7, featuring Head Monster Noel Lee. Directly following the training session, the PARA Conference will officially kick off with a welcome party and dinner, sponsored by Monster.

In addition to the Platinum Supporters, Gold PARA Supporters include Denon Electronics, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics and the Consumer Technology Publishing Group.

The 2007 PARA Conference Silver Supporters include AudioQuest, D&H Distributing, InFocus, Lutron, Niles Audio, StraightWire and Sherwood Newcastle.