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President Steve Zawoyski, Executive Administrator (and first spouse) Shirley Zawoyski and the entire Board of Directors put together an outstanding session at the Marriott at the Capitol in Austin, Texas.
Thursday morning’s golf tournament at the River Place Country Club included over 40 golfers, who enjoyed beautiful scenery, a tough course, and a lot of camaraderie. Many thanks to our golf chair, Gary Hosking.
Thursday afternoon featured a lot of activity in the Hospitality Suite. Fred Ridell, the CRA’s hospitality chair, was a great host, and our sponsors – Canon USA – kept the drinks flowing and the peanut bowls filled.
For our Thursday night Convention Kick-Off Event, we headed down to Austin’s famous 6th Street for dinner at Carmelo’s for dinner, followed by a show at Ester’s Follies, with before-dinner cocktails sponsored by Océ. Ester’s Follies was easily one of the highlights of the 2006 convention. Combining humor and magic, the show had the audience alternately laughing riotously or amazed by magician Ray Anderson’s illusions (and his incredible humor). Following the show, many headed back to the hospitality suite for drinks sponsored by PLP.
The Education Committee – Steven Strooh, Vince Pingel and Kip Young – put together a fantastic slate of educational sessions together for the 2006 convention.
Friday morning started bright and early with a breakfast and keynote address from Mohan Chandramohan of ARC, “Mapping the Future of Your Business.”
The morning continued with two more educational programs: “The Competitive Pressures Driving Architects toward BIM, PLM and DWF Digital Services” by Brian Mathews of Autodesk, and “Taking Consultative Sales to the Next Level” by John Cronin of PLP. Our thanks to Océ Imaging Supplies and Vidar for supplying us with much-needed fuel at the mid-morning breaks.
The Friday afternoon trade show featured 48 display booths and 38 vendors in the sold out exhibit area. With products and services ranging from equipment, media, software, supplies, scanners, financial services, affinity groups and more, there was something on the floor for everyone. Richard Scott, the CRA’s vendor director, stepped up to the plate and hit a homerun, and once again the CRA provided the most robust regional trade show in the US.
Following a cocktail reception sponsored by Planwell and the PEiR Group, we headed into dinner and our annual Charity Auction. All proceeds from the 2006 auction are going to the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides aid and assistance to severely injured service people and their families. This year we hit a new record in charitable giving, raising over $12,000. Kent Long (with not a little assistance from wife Brianna) did a great job organizing the auction and ensuring we had a wide variety of unique and top-of-the-line products on which to bid.
And of course, much of the success of the auction is due to the unique husband-and-wife team of John and Carolyn Gross. Even fighting a cold, John did an excellent job as auctioneer, and Carolyn kept us all honest as auction accountant. To top it all off, the Hospitality Suite was open, and Dietzgen ensure that the refreshments were flowing.
Saturday morning started with the CRA General Business Meeting. President Steve Zawoyski brought the meeting to order, Secretary Steven Strooh read the minutes, Treasurer Kevin O’Hea presented the Treasurer’s Report, outgoing Past President Chuck Wingard read the slate of Board nominees for 2007, and the gavel was passed to Vice President Tracy Albinson.
Once the business of the day was taken care of, we were treated to three excellent educational sessions.
Mike Tackett of FXWB in Waukegan, Illinois gave an outstanding presentation on color: “Generate More Revenue with Outdoor Color Display Graphics.”
After that was an eye-opening customer panel discussion, moderated by Vince Pingel, “What Customers Expect from Reprographers.
Following the customer panel was Ed Joras, who discussed “Disaster Recovery . . . Disaster Avoidance,” which is always a timely topic.
Our Saturday lunch keynote speaker was Dan Akers of Akers Performance Group. Dan was joined by his father, Fred Akers, long-time coach of the Texas Longhorns. Dan and Fred discussed “Intentional Excellence.” This was an outstanding presentation, with one of the key take-away thoughts being, “We don’t get what we want, we get what we expect.” Set expectations high, and hold people accountable for meeting those expectations.
 After enjoying a break during the afternoon, people gathered for a cocktail reception sponsored by Remington Laminations. Then it was time to go out and enjoy Austin’s nightlife one last time.
President Steve Zawoyski, along with the Board of Directors, put on a fantastic convention and trade show. The bar has been raised once again.
A special thanks go out to the Board of Directors. Everyone who serves does it on a volunteer basis, and our Board goes all-out to ensure that the convention runs like a well-oiled machine. And of course, our biggest thanks go to Shirley Zawoyski, our Executive Administrator. Without Shirley, the CRA convention would not be what it is today.
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