Although NATO has been a marketing partner for the Tobacco Plus Expo since the association first formed, it has decided to strike out on its own. "Our organization is a nonprofit, and we spend all of our energy and resources on [image-nocss] fighting for the tobacco industry, so everyone is happy to support our organization," Steve Sandman, chairman of NATO's tradeshow committee told CSP Daily News. "Having our own trade show allows us to generate more resources to fight for the survival of tobacco."
Steve Sandman is also vice president sales & marketing for Republic Tobacco LP, Glenview, Ill.
The new as-yet unnamed trade show also coincides with the association's 10th anniversary.
"It's designed to be a retailer-friendly show, with free seminars, free admission for all NATO members and great deals," Sandman said. "We expect this to eventually be the biggest tobacco-only show in the country."
Toward that effort, NATO has brought on Suwanee, Ga.-based Renaissance Association Management, run by Greg Martin, who also serves as CEO of the Southern Association of Wholesale Distributors. "Greg brings a lot of experience, he's well-known in the industry and he's had experience with tradeshows and association organizations," Sandman said.
"The response to NATO's launch of the association's own trade show has been overwhelming. The commitment by these key manufacturers clearly means that the tobacco community has great confidence in NATO and they are happy to lend their support behind an organization that fights for the tobacco rights of the consumer, the retailer, the wholesaler and the manufacturer," said NATO president Andrew Kerstein.
Minneapolis-based NATO is a national retail trade association that focuses exclusively on state and federal tobacco legislative issues and leads the fight for all tobacco interests in the United States.
Visit NATO at www.natocentral.org.
(Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage of NATO.)
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