Proudly serving the industry for which it was named for more than 50 years, Outdoor Power Equipment provides dealers who sell and service outdoor power equipment with valuable information to succeed in a competitive market.
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INDUSTRY NEWS Housing now open for GIE+EXPO 2011 Housing is now open for the 2011 Green In- dustry and Equipment Expo (GIE+EXPO) through the Louisville Convention and Visi- tors Bureau (LCVB). GIE+EXPO 2011 will be held Thursday, Oct. 27, through Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Kentucky Exposition Center. Reservations can be made through the show’s website at www.gie-expo.com (reservations are processed through this website daily) or by calling the LCVB, week- days, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern Time, at (800) 743-3100 or (502) 561-3100. Making hotel reservations through the LCVB has several advantages. Local hotels have been specially selected for the show at negotiated rates, and the show’s shuttle service has pick-up stops outside many of these specially selected hotels. Addition- ally, reservations are made easier by going through the LCVB. Early registrants will have the chance to lock in their rooms at their favorite hotel while the selection is still excellent. Online registration for the show is also open. Attendees are encouraged to secure their hotel accommodations when regis- MVEA votes for dissolution After careful consideration, the Mississippi Valley Equipment Association (MVEA) board of directors voted to recommend to its members dissolution of the association. At a membership meeting held on Feb. 24, MVEA members voted to approve the board’s recommendation. “Continuing changes in the industry have reduced the num- ber of dealerships, which has led to overall declining member revenues,” said Joe Dykes, executive vice president, MVEA. While MVEA has worked out of the North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) office for the past three years to help reduce operating costs, it is not a vi- able long-term solution, Dykes added. Tom Nobbe, Wm. Nobbe & Co., Water- loo, Ill., past president of MVEA and its cur- rent representative on the NAEDA board, said the decision to dissolve MVEA was dif- ficult. Established in 1907, MVEA has had a rich heritage, he said. But because of con- tinued industry consolidation and conse- quently a decline in member revenues, MVEA could not provide the increasing ex- pense of representation in state legisla- tures and with manufacturers, Nobbe said. Upon dissolution of the MVEA, Illinois dealer members will automatically be- come members of the Midwest Equipment Dealers Association (MEDA), which repre- sents dealers in Illinois and Wisconsin. Missouri dealer members will become mem- bers of the SouthWestern Asso- ciation, which represents dealers in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. The former MVEA members’ dues will transfer to the respec- tive associations and be kept at the same level for the balance of 2011. The balance of MVEA’s financial resources will be con- tributed to the Equipment Dealers Foun- dation, the publicly supported 501(c)(3) charitable organization of NAEDA. The re- sources will be divided into the founda- tion’s general fund, for use by dealers in the former MVEA for education programs, and for the disaster relief fund, Dykes said. Going forward, dealers who had be- longed to MVEA will become part of a larger voice in representing the retail equipment industry in Illinois and Mis- souri, Dykes said. MEDA currently has 300 members, and the SouthWestern Associa- Country Clipper announces new distributor Country Clipper, a manufacturer of zero-turn mowers, announced that effective March 1, 2011, Gamble Distributors, Inc. of Carthage, N.Y., will provide distribution and dealer support for the states of New York, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachu- setts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. 10 Gamble Distributors, Inc. has been providing its customers with value-added products and services for more than 40 years. This family-owned business represents the same values and principles which have directed Country Clipper since its inception. OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT www.outdoorpowerequipment.com tion has approximately 700 members. Moreover, Tom Nobbe will be MEDA’s representative to the NAEDA board of di- rectors, and a former MVEA member will serve on the SouthWestern Association’s board for the next two to three years. Jeff Flora, CEO, SouthWestern Associa- tion, noted that SouthWestern’s member- ship is divided into districts, so the former MVEA will have two representatives in the organization for the first couple of years. The decision for MVEA members to au- tomatically become members of either MEDA or the SouthWestern Association — depending on their home state — makes sense, Flora said. “This will make it simpler to represent all of Missouri’s dealers in their state legislature,” he said. Flora added that his staff will be calling dealers over the next couple of months to wel- come them to the association. Gary Manke, executive vice president and CEO, MEDA, also welcomes former MVEA dealers from Illinois. “We will con- tinue to provide them the same high- quality services along with adding new services,” he said. MEDA staff also will be calling on dealers over the next couple of months to welcome them to the association. tering for GIE+EXPO 2011. An early-bird registration fee of $10 is being offered until Sept. 14. After that, pre- registration will be $25. The onsite regis- tration fee will be $50. Go to www.gie-expo.com to register, enter to win prizes, and learn more about show up- dates and events. In addition to the website, information about the show can be obtained by con- tacting Sellers Expositions at (800) 558- 8767, (812) 949-9200 or info@gie-expo.com.