All the latest news about CHA-Winter

Here’s a rundown of the latest news from CHA:

CHA Education Goes Green for Winter

The theme for this year’s Winter show is “Go Green” and this extends to the educational sessions as well. “Green sessions of interest to scrapbook businesses will include “Go Green Concept by Prima Marketing,” “The Trend to ‘Go Green’ – Real World Examples on How to Grow Your Business AND Save Money,” and “Green Your Store to GROW Your Business – Key Steps for Retailers.”

“At the Show, attendees will discover valuable industry insights not only on the Show floor, but also in our seminars, workshops, and demo-nars” said Steve Berger, CEO, CHA. “Implementing sustainable and responsible products and practices is especially important in this current economic downturn, as green strategies can provide our members with a competitive edge in the $209 billion green product category and can ultimately boost their bottom line.”

Other CHA Winter Education Programs:

Designer Education: CHA’s Designer Education program features events tailored specifically for designer members. Designers from all segments are encouraged to attend these networking and education events with topics including “Color Trends: What’s in Store for the Future from the Pantone Color Institute” and “Branding 101 for Designers.”

Retailing with Excellence Program: This customized education track for independent and scrapbook retailers will be offered again at CHA-Winter with a focus on key business basics including Marketing, Sales, and Inventory. The goal of this program is to encourage continued success and growth among CHA’s independent retailers with simple take-home business lessons retailers can immediately implement in their stores.

This year CHA is offering recession-friendly pricing for seminar passes at CHA-Winter. The passes give CHA members unlimited access to all of the seminars during the show and are available at tiered pricing levels to meet individual needs at significant savings. Additionally, all workshops are available at last year’s pricing.

2009 Board Nominations:

CHA members should have just received or be receiving shortly their ballots to vote on the 2009 slate of board candidates.

The 2009 Board Candidates are Georganne Bender of Kizer & Bender Speaking! and Mark Hill of Creativity Inc. Additionally, Rob Bostick of Judikins and Stamp, Stamp, Stamp was nominated for a second term. The nominees will be running for a three-year term on the CHA Board of Directors.

The papercrafts industry is heavily represented in the slate of nominees. Bender consults regularly with scrapbook stores, and Creativity Inc. is the parent company of Westrim, Autumn Leaves & Crop-in-Style. Stamp, Stamp, Stamp is an online stamping store.

The slate of candidates was put forward by the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is comprised of three members of the CHA Board of Directors and three CHA members-at-large elected by the general membership. In addition to Bob Ferguson, Larry Olliges of Dee’s Crafts, and Maureen Ruth of Creative Marketing Solutions, served as the Board representatives. The members-at-large were Beth Mauro of Scrapbook Retailer Magazine/F+W Publications, Pam Riddell of Maps-2-Memories/The Riddell Group, and Ed Rogala of Midwest Products Co., Inc. The elected Board alternates were Craig Curtis of Petersen-Arne and Joe McCabe of The DMC Corp. Alternate members-at-large were Ryann Juden of Piggy Tales and Mark Ripper of Helmar Australia Pty., Ltd.

The newly nominated Board candidates will be officially elected by a proxy ballot which will be mailed to each member company’s voting contact by November 24, 2008 as outlined in CHA bylaws. The elected candidates will be officially introduced at the Annual Business Meeting which will take place on January 27th, 2009 in Anaheim at CHA-Winter.

CHA Registration Update:

CHA show registration for attendees is now open. Booth registration closed on October 31st.

Trade show registration and booth reservations are an important gauge on an industry’s health. According to CHA, there are more than 50 new exhibitors registered for CHA-Winter. 14 of those new exhibitors are in the license & design section, including a name that will be familiar to some scrapbookers: Sara Hodsdon. One high-profile new addition to the exhibitor list: electronics company Canon USA, probably coming to compete with Epson’s displays of its printers.

About a dozen or so of those new companies look to be of direct interest to scrapbook buyers:

An additional 75 companies have expanded their booth space over 2008.This group includes Epson, Prima and Ranger. Some of the biggest scrapbook expansions came from Colorbok, adding 800 sq. feet, and Ultra-Pro, which added 700 sq. feet. (Ultra-Pro, however, is absorbing the booths of new acquisitions Chatterbox and Around the Block, which both had their own booths last year.)

CHA didn’t indicate how many exhibitors from last year haven’t returned. In the scrapbook industry at least, there are at least several missing compared to last year’s exhibitor list due to shutdowns of companies.

“CHA’s new and returning exhibitors realize how important trade shows are in a down economy – nowhere else can you showcase your products and network with so many key buyers from around the world,” said Steve Berger, CEO, CHA. “These exhibitor members are a promising sign that the 2009 Winter Show continues to be a vibrant and cost effective investment for the craft and hobby industry.”