ARA Connections

Forward to a Friend

February 2006

Dear Members:

I sincerely look forward to seeing you at the 2006 ARA International Awards Market in Las Vegas (February 28–March 4) or the 2006 ARA East Coast Awards Market in Secaucus (March 30–April 1). Last month, I referenced some before-show planning tips for attendees. This month, here's advice for what to do when you're on-site in Las Vegas.

Attend the sessions on Tuesday, February 28, and on "Education Day" Wednesday, March 1. With dozens of seminars to choose from on these days and throughout the rest of the show, you'll discover there's a lot to learn.
Attend the special sessions and events offered for ARA members. The First Timers Session for attendees and future ARA volunteers, which takes place Thursday, March 2, at 11 am, is a must if you have never been to this show. The Awards Gala on Friday, March 3, 7–10 pm, will give you the chance to honor fellow members while enjoying a great meal and live entertainment. The Membership Breakfast on Saturday, March 4, 7–9:30 am, will give you the opportunity to meet your future ARA leaders. These events are perfect for visiting with old friends and a great place to meet new ones.
If you own a laser engraver (or you are looking to purchase one) attend the User Clinics (also see "News and Notes" below). Supplier representatives will be on hand to answer your questions. Your fellow members will probably have great tips too!
Before you make any purchases, walk the entire show floor and get the lay of the land. As you walk the floor, make notes in your show program and go in every booth-that treasure you are looking for my not be visible from the aisles.
As you walk the floor, ask suppliers, "What's new?" If you are considering placing an order with a supplier, ask about show specials (quantity discounts, freight allowances, show pricing). Ask your suppliers for ideas on selling and displaying new merchandise.
Notice how suppliers present their merchandise. If a display catches your eye, chances are it would also catch your customer's eye.
Arrange to have lunch or dinner with fellow retailers and swap information on new products and new technologies. Find out what other ARA members are excited about.
Check out the New Products Showcases at the entrance of the show. These displays give you a quick review of the new items being offered.
Take time to look at the Retailer and Supplier contest entries for new ideas. You'll be inspired by the levels of creativity of ARA members.
Spend a few minutes shopping the products for sale in the Association Center. CorelDRAW! manuals, educational videos, business tool kits and books on customer service can be found there.
Look at other attendees' name badges. If you have questions, look for badges with ribbons that say "Staff," "Board Member," or "Past President." You don't have to have a question to stop and introduce yourself—meeting fellow ARA members is one of the best benefits of attending the show.
The best tip for working this show—and for year-round success—is to get to know your suppliers. The ARA retailers are so lucky to have suppliers that are willing to work to help us be successful.

I'd like to thank all ARA members and volunteers for their support, encouragement, and participation in our association. As I've said many times, when it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened. The past leaders of ARA didn't wait for change. They made it happen—and look where it's brought us. As you experience the excitement of the two upcoming ARA Shows in Las Vegas and Secaucus, let's remember their example: The Future Is Now.

Charles Miles

ARA Las Vegas Hotel Deadline is February 1!
ARA has reserved a room block at the adjacent Las Vegas Hilton to accommodate the thousands of attendees that regularly visit the ARA International Awards Market in Las Vegas. The cut off date to make sure you can get our room rate is February 1. To make your hotel reservation, call the Hilton at 800/732-7117 or 702/732-5111, for online reservations click here.

Education Update—2006 ARA International Awards Market User Clinics
ARA encourages you to attend the User Clinics, scheduled for Tuesday, February 28. These special events are sponsored by suppliers who will demonstrate special production techniques and unique features of their equipment, explain how you can make better use of their products, and answer your questions. The clinics will take place in specially designated rooms in close proximity to the ARA Show floor.

Please contact these participating suppliers to confirm availability of seating and to find out what you can expect to see:

Vision Engraving Systems—Contact Carl Thompson at 888/637-1737 or carl@visionengravers.com.

Xenetech—Contact Jessica Freeman at 225/752-0225 or Jessica@xenetech.com.

QuickTip Clinics
Exhibitors at the upcoming Las Vegas show are eligible to give a free QuickTip Clinic. These clinics are designed to give trade show attendees fast and easily accessible information about new products, equipment, and processes. To find out more about conducting a QuickTip Clinic, contact Daniel Weinstock at dweinstock@connect2amc.com.

ARA Certification Enrollees
If you expect to acquire enough CEU credits to attain your CRS or CRM at the 2006 International Awards Market, check your mailbox soon for adhesive-backed paper stars from ARA. Remember to put a star on the upper-right-hand corner of each Seminar Evaluation & CEU Reporting form that you complete. The stars will help ARA find your evaluation forms and tally your credit in time for the Members Breakfast on Saturday, March 4, when new CRSs and CRMs will be recognized. Also remember to pick up the complimentary tote bags given to all enrollees in the ARA Certification Program.

ARIEF Silent Auction
The Awards and Recognition Industry Educational Foundation (ARIEF) will hold a silent auction in conjunction with the 2006 ARA International Awards Market. Be sure to stop by the auction in the registration area. There are many terrific items including a laser engraver, jewelry, airline tickets, and sports memorabilia. All proceeds will go to ARIEF.

Here is a list of the items to be auctioned, and the persons or companies that donated them:

Gift basket from Pahrump Valley Vineyards—Karen Scherer, CRM
Voucher for a Cruise—Anonymous
Autographed Books by author James Carville—Carco Awards
Autographed Sportsmanship Award—ARA
Starbucks Gift Basket—Starbucks
Autographed Football—Awards4U
"Bubble Girl"—A Action Awards/Champagne Recognition
Gift Basket from The Mississippi Gift Company—Melanie Everett/All Star Trophies and Awards
2 Round Trip American Airline Tickets—Association Management Center
Greg Norman Autographed Print—Association Management Center
"Midshipman"—Mackle Awardcraft
Crocheted Afghan—Gordon and Sherry Grabill
Custom Design Jewelry—Ed and Nancy Hunt
Custom Design Jewelry—Ed and Nancy Hunt
Custom Etched Wine Bottle Title "cats"—Grovestreet Winery
Epilog Mini—Epilog Laser
Gift certificate to Benihana's Restaurant—Charles and Jan Miles
ARA Membership—F&H Ribbon Co, Inc.
High Quality Executive Desk Sets—Freeman Products Worldwide
$250 to FRS Industries—FRS Industries / Rewards Ribbons
Trophy Necklace—JDS Industries
Johnson Plastic Sublimation Manual—Johnson Plastics
JRS Frames—Johnson Plastics
Rhinocoat Mugs for Sublimation—Johnson Plastics
Sublimation Shirts—Johnson Plastics
Johnson Plastic J63 Magnetic Badge Accessory—Johnson Plastics
Innovative Plastics—Johnson Plastics
Rowmark Laser Max—Johnson Plastics
Sawgrass Sublimation Inks—Johnson Plastics
A "Rookie Experience Package" with The Richard Petty Driving Experience—Marty and Debbie Burke
Flower Vase—N & R International Inc.
San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl Ring—Anonymous
Q1E Industrial Beveler—Quality One Engravers
Apple iPod—Rowmark
Ping Tour Wedge—Joe Rutherford
Internal Recognition Program—Visions Awards
Hand Colored Engraving—Mint Masters
Anniversary Clock—In Memory of Ed Gusfield
12-inch Tabletop Shear—The Engravers Network
Framed print of NY City Skyline—Hudson Valley Awards, Inc

ARA Awards Contest
Feeling proud of your professional accomplishments this year? Why not showcase your work in the ARA Awards Contest at the ARA International Awards Market in Las Vegas? Deadline to submit for this contest is February 17, 2006. Click here for more information and to download forms.

The January issue of Recognition Review features detailed information on award categories and how to enter.

ARA International Awards Market Sponsors
ARA sincerely thanks the following companies for their sponsorship of the 2006 International Awards Market.

Health Coverage for ARA Members and Their Staff
ARA strives to develop programs that meet the many needs of membership. As an ARA member, you'll also have access to a valuable medical service designed to find the best health insurance plan—at affordable rates—for you and your staff!

In partnership with JLT Services, ARA's insurance broker, the Medical Benefits Center provides a licensed benefit consultant over the phone to evaluate your insurance needs and your present plan. Your consultant will analyze the many companies offering health insurance and look for an optimum match based on your particular needs. If the plan and rates of any insurance company are of interest to you, the JLT Services Consultant, at your request, will begin the application process, or you can simply use the information for future consideration. Be assured, at no time will there be any expectations to apply for coverage. For more information, contact Bob Jones at 800/544-2672, ext. 6224, or bjones@jltservices.com.

February 8–10
ASI Show
Dallas Convention Center
Dallas, TX
Education Day, Feb. 8
Exhibits Open, Feb. 9–10

February 23–25
CorelDRAW Boot Camp
Cave Creek, AZ
800/736-8973

February 28–March 4
2006 ARA International Awards Market
Las Vegas Convention Center

March 13–15
CorelDRAW Boot Camp
Cave Creek, AZ
800/736-8973

March 22–24
ASI Show
Venetian/Sands Expo Center
Las Vegas
Education Day, March 22
Exhibits Open, March 23–24

March 24–26
ARA Southwest Regional Educational Weekend
Wyndham-Dallas, TX
Contact Tom Carville, CRM: 225/929-6026

March 30–April 1
ARA East Coast Awards Market
Meadowlands Exposition Center
Secaucus, NJ

April 20–22
CorelDRAW Boot Camp
Cave Creek, AZ
800/736-8973

May 11–13
CorelDRAW Boot Camp
Cave Creek, AZ
800/736-8973

May 23–25
ASI Show
Pennsylvania Convention Center
Philadelphia, PA
Education Day, May 23
Exhibits Open, May 24–25

July 11–13
ASI Show
McCormick Place Convention Center
Chicago, IL
Education Day, July 11
Exhibits Open, July 12–13

In the February 2006 Issue:

Getting the Most from the Best!
Experienced ARA International Awards Market attendees put a great deal of effort into planning for the show, and include a good mix of activities on their schedules.

So, This Is Lucky 13?
Would any software manufacturer knowingly put the number 13 on their box? Corel certainly isn't going to test the luckiness of the number. Internally it is still labeled with 13, but not in any prominent locations.

3-D Laser Carving
3-D has been a buzzword in the laser engraving industry for some time. Many of us have already seen the stunning results. But what is it really and what does it take to accomplish?

PDF Files
PDF stands for Portable Document Format. The PDF file format has grown to be the most popular file format for file exchange. Pradhan Balter explains.

Trade Show Seminars: Your Best Value
Clarence Matney of Unisub explains why trade shows are perfect for providing highly focused seminars that pack a great deal of information into a short amount of time.

Engravingly Yours
Last March, ARA recognized three companies for their outstanding efforts in the Best Engravable Material category at the 2005 ARA International Awards Market in Las Vegas. Find out who's got the engravable goods.

A New Year and the State of the Art
Bob "Dr. Type" Trogman discusses his journey from days long ago, when he prepared headlines from Photostats (Haloid) from which copies were made without the convenience and speed of photocopies.

DeAngelo Williams Receives ARA Sportsmanship Award
The Awards and Recognition Association presents University of Memphis tailback DeAngelo Williams with the inaugural ARA Sportsmanship Award created for NCAA Division I College Football.

Promotional Products Tips
Looking for ways to generate interest in advertising specialty items? Some ARA Supplier companies share their quick tips for getting customers interested in promotional products. Click here to read more!

Revisiting Laser Safety
Know what laser safety hazards are and what the law requires to create and maintain a safe operating environment for employees, visitors, and your community. Click here for more information!

It's Amazing How Type Can "Speak"
The ultimate purpose of type is to send a message with the proper connotation. As a graphic designer, you have a large palette of letters allowing you to paint an appropriate message.

Las Vegas Products Showcase
Here's an exciting preview of some of the exhibiting ARA companies and the awards items and accessories they'll be offering in Las Vegas.

East Coast Education
The 2006 ARA East Coast Awards Market will feature top-notch business-building, hands-on, and special presentation seminars.

If you're an ARA member with computer access, simply visit www.ara.org, log in to the members-only section using your member number, and select ARA "Ask an Expert." Find the topic and expert you're looking for, then ask your question(s). More often than not, the ARA expert will have the solution you need.

? I've heard that there is a solution that can be applied to noncoated metals like satin gold brass that allows them to be laser engraved. Will it also work on metal cups? Have you heard or know where we can purchase this solution? Thank you.

Diane Bosworth responds: The product is called Cermark, and it can be brushed or sprayed on, engraved through, and then washed off. It is water soluble and leaves a permanent and indelible mark that cannot be corroded or scratched off. Laserbits (www.laserbits.com) can provide you with more information. Although I have not heard of Cermark working well on any gold-colored metals, it is certainly a great solution for silver-colored metals such as stainless and chrome.