BTA East to Host Grand Slam Sept. 15-16 in Boston, Massachusetts

BTA member dealers receive 2-for-1 registration & can use their $150 or $250 coupon codes

Kansas City, MO — Planned and hosted by the dealer volunteer leadership team of BTA East, the Business Technology Association’s (BTA’s; www.bta.org) Grand Slam event will be held Sept. 15-16 at The Westin Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts.

The event will feature a keynote panel discussion moderated by Ed McLaughlin of Valderus, a dealer panel and five general sessions specifically selected for today’s office technology dealers. In addition, the event agenda includes great networking opportunities — a welcoming reception and a New York Yankees versus Boston Red Sox baseball game at Fenway Park. Attendees will enjoy dinner at the park prior to the game.

There will be time during the event to visit with 30-plus exhibiting sponsors, many of which will hold drawings for great prizes. Dealer attendees can also enter on-site for a chance to win one of five $100 American Express gift cards and be entered into the BTA Event Sweepstakes.

Grand Slam will begin at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15, with welcoming comments and the keynote panel discussion, “A Vision for the Future of the Industry,” led by McLaughlin. The panelists: Jerry Blaine, LDI Color ToolBox, Jericho, New York; Leo Bonetti, Flo-Tech, Middletown, Connecticut; Kelly Moran, Gordon Flesch Company Inc., Madison, Wisconsin; and Scott Schnabel, Centric Business Systems, Owings Mills, Maryland.

Following the keynote panel, a break and the first general session will be held: “Digital Marketing & Finding Your True North,” led by Jeanne Hopkins of Continuum Managed IT Services. A welcoming reception will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m., giving attendees time to network with peers and exhibiting sponsors. Breaks between sessions on both days will also give attendees additional networking time.

The second day of Grand Slam will begin at 7 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 16, with breakfast, followed by opening comments and the dealer panel, “Leading for Innovative Results,” moderated by Jennie Fisher of GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp. The panelists: Joe Berrigan, WPS, Hagerstown, Maryland; Casey Lowery, Applied Imaging, Grand Rapids, Michigan; and David Scibetta, Copier Fax Business Technologies, Buffalo, New York. A break with exhibitors will follow the panel.

After the break, two educational sessions will be held: “Enabling the Channel: Assessing Vendor MPDS Tools, Programs & Strategies,” led by Robert Palmer of International Data Corp.; and “The Cultural Shift in Sales & Management,” led by Melissa Whitaker of Melissa Whitaker International LLC.

Lunch will follow the morning sessions from noon to 1 p.m. After lunch, the final educational sessions will be held: “The Rules of Engagement Have Changed,” led by Lindsay Kelley of Prospect Builder; and “Key Strategies to Grow a Profitable MPS Business,” led by Sarah Custer of Supplies Network. The educational portion of the event will wrap up at 3:30 p.m. with closing comments and prize drawings. At 4:45 p.m., attendees will meet in the lobby to board busses for Fenway Park.

The Grand Slam exhibiting sponsors: ACDI, AgentDealer, BEI Services, Brother, Buyers Lab, Carolina Wholesale, Compass Sales Solutions, Continuum, Crawford Thomas, ECi e-automate, ECi FMAudit, EDA, EverBank, GreatAmerica Financial Services, Gwentaa (Breaks Sponsor), Imaging Solutions Direct, Impression Solutions, Katun, LMI, Mars International, Muratec, OKI, Panasonic (Reception Sponsor), PHSI, Plustek, Polek & Polek (Baseball Game Sponsor), ProcureIT (Lunch Sponsor), Sentry Insurance, Smart Power Systems, Supplies Network, SYNNEX, Tesseract, Tigerpaw, Toshiba, Wells Fargo and Xerox (Breakfast Sponsor).

BTA members receive 2-for-1 registration to Grand Slam and either the $150 or $250 discount code received with membership can be used, depending on the number of registrants from the same company. BTA member dealer 2-for-1 registration is $199, which includes the Thursday and Friday educational sessions; Thursday welcoming reception; Friday breakfast, lunch and dinner; and Friday baseball game. With the $150 coupon, registration for two employees from the same dealership is only $49. If a member would like to bring three people, 2-for-1 registration plus an additional registrant is only $298, and the $250 discount code can be applied, bringing the total to just $48 for three registrants. Non-member registration is $249 and an additional non-member from the same company is $209.

For more information on Grand Slam, including full session descriptions and the registration form for the event, visit www.bta.org/BTAEastEvent.

Founded in 1926, the Business Technology Association serves office technology dealerships, resellers, manufacturers, distributors and service companies. Its core members — office technology dealerships — consult, sell and service hardware, software and supplies with the goal of helping businesses maximize their investment in devices and technology. Through the association’s various educational programs, information, research, legal services, publications and guidance, BTA member dealerships are positioned to be the premier source of the office technology used by businesses throughout the United States every day. For more information on BTA, visit www.bta.org.