An Informative Conference Dedicated to Associate Store Owners.
The very well-attended NAPA Associate Store Owners Conference at the JW Marriott Rosseau in Minett, Ontario March 25th and 26th, saw owners from the length and breadth of Ontario in attendance.
The owners were there to interact with their peers and hear some dynamic presentations relating to business plus find out what dynamic new programs and data was about to appear from NAPA to help them further their operations.
Trade Show up next!
Following the morning General Meeting, the Trade Show began with 34 suppliers on hand to present their products and explain their advantages to the very interested store owners. They had a busy evening speaking with all the associates who had many questions to ask about products and how they worked, what their advantages were and, of course, when they would be available for their stores.
Jeff Van de Sande, Vice President NAPA Ontario and Altrom Auto Group Canada, opened the Saturday morning General Meeting which entailed had some very valuable information about NAPA programs—current and new ones that were upcoming; emerging technologies; retail tips; sales initiatives and much more. A lot of data was given that proved to be very interesting for the owners and told them a lot about how NAPA was pushing strongly forward to further their businesses.
Jeff was followed by Alain Masse, UAP Inc. President. Then Lisa McClelland was up with a panel of three store owners—Taylor Shonwise, Bruce Whyte and Chris Moon—who talked about their personal experiences with various NAPA programs and their successes with them. They were very upbeat about the programs they spoke about. Next up was Alex Rossetti, Vice President, Product Development who spoke about products and what was coming. Martyn Johns, NAPA AUTOPRO & Emerging Technologies spoke about new technologies that were coming and everyone was very interested in what he had to say. John O’Dowd, Vice President of Marketing presented in the afternoon General Session
Some words from Alain Masse
Mr. Masse spoke directly to the store owners telling them that they have been doing really, really well. “We want you to grow, we want to do the right thing for our planet and our communities—we do a lot of things collectively in this room. Every NAPA store owner does something in their communities and we don’t talk about it enough. In addition, you’re only as good as your team going above and beyond and making a difference. We want to be positioned for the future—we’re going to be really aggressive and do what’s right to serve all our customers!”
Following that gathering, the group split up to attend the interesting break-out sessions where they learned much more about what was coming from NAPA to better their businesses.
Gala Dinner & Awards
Everyone looked forward to the Gala dinner, the award presentations, and the after-dinner entertainment. The meal was superb and enjoyed by all. Next, awards were given out for years of service as a NAPA Associate store: 10 years—Ideal Supply, Haliburton; 20 years of service—Dack Auto Parts & Paint Supply; 50 years—Britton Automotive & Industrial Supply and 70 years—Walker Automotive. Well done, everyone and congratulations!
This was followed by the entertainment for the evening— a great comedic couple—Colin Mochrie and his wife, Deb McGrath and they did indeed have the whole room in stiches. They are one of the best comic acts around! In addition, they stayed around to have photos taken with those in attendance.
All in all, a very interesting, fun, fact-filled and informative conference. Everyone seemed happy to be able to get together once again and interact with those in the industry and their friends. The attendees all came away from the Conference with dynamic new information, challenges and exciting news about the latest technology about to appear shortly from NAPA in order to benefit them all in their business.
