We came across this 30-year-old article and found it to be just as relevant today as it was in 1991.
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By Vivian Roviaro, Swanel Beverages Inc
The NBDEA can work for you. As the Association approaches its 20th birthday – let me reflect on the tools that it provides for all of its members to use.
FIRST, and foremost, it provides an opportunity to network from East Coast to West Coast. In these hectic days of economic stress, we are busy keeping up with everyday problems. If we remember to reach out for help from our members that may have experienced the same problem, we have the advantage of looking at the problem in a different light. We have common problems in our industry. How others have dealt with the problem may offer ideas for solutions. Reach out and touch someone – we need each other.
SECONDLY, the feeling that we are not alone in the struggle to survive is a comfort that propels us to keep going. As the “big guys” keep pushing for their large share of the market (and I guess that is what big business is all about) we must come up with new ideas to counteract that push. Just by talking to other members of the Association may open up a whole new line for us. I keep reminding myself of a theme of one convention, “Diversification.” To survive we must be one step ahead in diversifying.
THIRDLY, we have the Convention to attend that, in my case, has always resulted in getting information that has led to greater profits (the bottom line). We can use our Associate Members and their ideas at the Product Fair and their willingness to help us.
LAST, but not least we are a family. The feeling of togetherness and pride in each other lifts us when we are down and propels us to share when we succeed.
Onto the next 20 years of NBDEA – the road may be rocky – but we are not alone.
Note: In 1995, the International Beverage Dispensing Equipment Association (IBDEA) was incorporated.