Page 48 - Lighting Magazine November 2018

NETWORKING & LEARNING
The annual ALA Conference brings together members of the industry in a comfortable, non-competitive environment for furthering education, as well as renewing acquaintances and making new friends.
Trade shows are always so bustling with activ- ity, there never seems to be enough time to chat with peers about common challenges,
sit in on an educational session, or investigate new sources as thoroughly as one would like. The networking functions, seminars, and manufactur- ers’ exhibit hall at the ALA Conference provided ample opportunity to do all of these things.
1. Exchanging ideas at the Welcome Reception are (from le to right) manufacturers Robert Marash of Innovations Lighting, Ed Kolb of Quorum, Brad Smith and Lee Nemeth of ELK Group International.
2. It was the rst ALA Conference for Amy Freeman and Seana Ruppert of the Dallas Market Center.
3. Sco Zimmer (le ), President of Z-Lite, welcomes Ty Fobare, the company’s new National Sales Manager, to the ALA Conference. Fobare echoed the sentiment of the family atmosphere pervasive at the Conference. “We’re a family-owned manufacturer and we like that there are a lot of family-owned showrooms here,” he remarked.
In response to the damage from Hurricane Florence, Z-Lite is giving its Carolina customers an extra 90 days for billing. Fobare added that the Canadian company is fully commi ed to the U.S. market and has established a distribution center in Nashville for faster shipping.
4. The ALA Conference provides the chance for retail- ers to spend quality time with their vendors in a relaxed se ing. From le to right: Neil Fleischer, Cindy and David Director of Connecticut Lighting Centers with SATCO’s Bill Gilden and Brian Brandes.
5. Keeping the membership up to date on technologi- cal breakthroughs is Terry McGowan, ALA’s Director of Engineering. His wife, Charlo e, joined in the fun during the gala dinner.
6. The manufacturers’ exhibit hall allowed manufacturers who are new to the ALA audience to introduce them- selves and their product line, such as Canadian company Standard Electric.
7. The Welcome Reception was a great opportunity for old friends to catch up. From le to right: Bruce Nelson, Rick Spicer and Clark Linstone of Paci c Coast Lighting, and Ace Rosenstein, publisher of enLIGHTenment and Contract Lighting magazines.
ALA Conference Report
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46 enLIGHTenment Magazine | noveMber 2018
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