ARMO Education Seminars

For several years, the Automotive Restoration Market Organization (ARMO) has participated in the Hotrod & Restoration Trade Show in Indianapolis by presenting two education seminars on Saturday morning of the event. Owing to the success and growing attendance at these seminars, Travis Weeks, producer/publisher of Hotrod & Restoration, asked ARMO to “double up” and present four seminars.

“We are excited to once again team up with ARMO to host the Hotrod & Restoration Trade Show’s Saturday business seminars,” said Weeks. “We have expanded the number of business seminars that will be presented at the show on Saturday, March 24, at Lucas Oil Stadium, with ARMO hosting four sessions this year that will hone in on the topics that industry shops want to learn more about. The topics for the sessions are: ‘The Business of Small Business,’ ‘Sales Ethics’ and a two-part course that will cover ‘Marketing Your Small Business.’ These four sessions will be moderated by true experts in our industry and will have a great deal of take-home value for all who attend.”

ARMO Chair Laura Bergan of American Collectors Insurance concurred. “ARMO is excited about providing added value to the Hotrod & Restoration Trade Show and providing tangible, take-away benefits to help small-business owners in the restoration and hot-rod industries,” she said.

The four sessions will be presented as follows, with two sessions running concurrently each hour:

8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

Session 1: “The Business of Small Business”.

Session 2: “Marketing Your Small Business 101,” with Tyler Tanaka of CIE Studios and Eric Saltrick of Steele Rubber Products; moderated by Bergan.

9:15 a.m.–10:15 a.m.

Session 3: “Sales Ethics,” presented by Dick Dixon of California State University, San Bernardino.

Session 4: “Marketing Your Small Business 201,” a continuation of the 101 discussion.

The 2011 ARMO education sessions are available for viewing at www.sema.org/armoseminars.

ARMO Long-Range Planning

ARMO will once again hold its annual Long-Range Planning (LRP) meeting in conjunction with the Hotrod & Restoration Trade Show in Indianapolis, on Wednesday, March 21, 2012. The LRP session is the best opportunity for ARMO members and others in the restoration industry to voice their concerns and offer input to the council.

“We had good attendance last year,” said ARMO Chair-Elect Alex Tainsh. “We adjusted this year’s schedule based on feedback and added a social mixer to the agenda. With some extra marketing effort to get the word out, we’re looking for even more participation this year. This is also the first time in quite a while that the LRP is in the same location, on the same date, two years in a row.”

The LRP session runs from 3:15 p.m.–5:00 p.m., with a mixer from 5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. ARMO members are encouraged to attend and be a part of shaping future projects and events. For more information, visit the ARMO webpages.

ARMO New Product Showcase

	The ARMO New Product Showcase provides ARMO-member companies with added product exposure in front of one of the world’s largest gatherings of restoration enthusiasts at Spring Carlisle.

The ARMO New Products Showcase tent is located in a prime spot on the grounds across from the event stage, ensuring that virtually all of the nearly 100,000 attendees pass through at some point during the event. In addition to having products on display, ARMO provides a photographer who takes professional photographs of each product. The photographs are then used in a looping video shown in the ARMO booth and during the ARMO reception at the SEMA Show and are also housed in a gallery on the ARMO webpages at www.SEMA.org/armo-new-product-showcase.

Time is running out to register your product. Registration is available online at www.sema.org/armo-showcase-registration. If you have not registered for this special opportunity, available only to ARMO-member companies, go to your computer now and register. It takes just a few minutes to fill out the form and click “submit.” If you have any questions, please contact Jim Skelly, SEMA/ARMO staff liaison.