LAS VEGAS -- The NACS Show 2005 kicked off last night with a welcome reception that brought convenience store retailers and suppliers together from across the country and around the world.
There was excitement in the air, as NACS convention committee chairman and Rutter's Farm Stores CEO Scott Hartman has said, as retailers looked forward to greeting old friends, making new ones and learning about the latest in c-store products, technology and programs.
Retailers also are taking time this week to reflect on the tragedy that befell [image-nocss] the city of New Orleans in late August and early September. With the Crescent City the originally scheduled locale of the NACS Show, everyone involved in the show is being sure to show the proper respect for that great city while also keeping an eye on the ball that is their stores and business.
We were saddened by the images and news of the devastation and destruction that Hurricane Katrina left behind, Hartman wrote in the National Association of Convenience Stores' NACS Show guide. Immediately after the hurricane, NACS undertook two very focused initiativesone that focused on NACS' role with respect to facilitating relief efforts for the victims of the storm and the other focused on hosting the NACS Show, an event that many of our members rely upon for building and enhancing their businesses.
Indeed, officials with Anheuser-Busch Inc., St. Louis, told CSP Daily News that, while saddened for the people of New Orleans and our thoughts are with them as they undertake the tremendous job of rebuilding the city, they were inspired to hear the NACS show would go on with only a few changes, mainly date and location. During this difficult time, the NACS organization did a tremendous job of communicating the changes in a timely and sensitive fashion, said Joe Vonder Haar, vice president of the convenience store channel, national retail sales of A-B.
He added that any extra costs the late relocation may have created are more than made up by the opportunity an event like the NACS Show provides. NACS is a great opportunity to speak directly with industry leaders and influencers, and [it] is the best venue for reading the pulse of the marketplace, Vonder Haar said.The event allows Anheuser-Busch to premier new products and feature marketing innovations in a high-energy environment.It gives us the opportunity to gain insight and share our point of view on the industry and the unique challenges that we all are facing.More importantly, we get to say thank you and share a cold, fresh Budweiser with our friends in the industry who have helped to build our mutual businesses through the years.
Today's General Opening Session at the show, which runs through Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, will feature Ann Rhoades, the former executive vice president of JetBlue Airways. She will discuss one of her principal management beliefs that, when people are given the authority and responsibility to succeed, they will accomplish extraordinary things.
Also on the agenda today is a full lineup of educational sessions and, of course, the opening of the show floor, which will feature thousands of products and services from vendors across the country.
Keep your eye on CSP Daily News for daily updates, video-news links from the CSP Today at the NACS Show television show and other interesting tidbits. And watch for complete coverage of the show in the December issue of CSP Magazine.
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