Case Study: AAAS Annual Conference
Who: Randal Ward, President, Automotive Aftermarket Association of the Southeast
What: Annual Conference
When: June 10-13, 2010
Where: Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, Sandestin, Fla.
The details: Last month, members of the Automotive Aftermarket Association of the Southeast (AAAS) spent three days in the Florida Panhandle for the organization’s annual conference. Nearly 60 automotive aftermarket professionals from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida came together at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. Many even brought their families along. The event, which has been held at the resort for several years, included seminars, receptions, a golf tournament and even some beach time. Though news agencies reported tar balls on Florida beaches and sluggish numbers in early June, Ward says he didn’t notice anything different in Sandestin from previous years. “Every year we’ve had a great experience down there and this year, it was as good as ever.”
The location: Ward doesn’t recall the original reason he started going to Sandestin for the AAAS annual conference, but he knows why he returns every year. “Our folks just love it. So many of them plan their vacations around this conference,” says Ward. “Sandestin has it all to offer. It starts with the beaches, but then there [are] the restaurants, the golf course and many other activities. It’s just a beautiful place, and you get a little bit of all of it all.”
The timing: The conference began just a few weeks after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and oil started leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. That didn’t affect numbers for the AAAS conference at all, says Ward. “It went off without a hitch. The food was wonderful and the weather was great. We had a great golf tournament, and the crowd was good but it wasn’t overcrowded,” he says. And the beach? “The beach is not our top priority, but it was beautiful this year.” That could change at any time, but that’s not going to keep Ward from heading to Northwest Florida for meetings. In fact, he’s headed back to the area in mid-August with more than 700 attendees for the Alabama Self-Insurers Association summer conference at the Hilton Sandestin Beach and Golf Resort. He says he’s getting a few calls from attendees asking if the event is still taking place in Sandestin. “I said, ‘Why wouldn’t we be down there?’ There’s bicycling, canoeing, golf and tennis. The beach is just one of the aspects,” says Ward.
Advice: “It’s not a time to stick your head in the sand,” says Ward, who wants his fellow planners to go ahead with any events or meetings scheduled in the Gulf area. “We all want to help and this is a way to support the businesses down there. There’s a problem in the Gulf, but this area has so much more to offer. If anything, it means people will be in your meetings and seminars. Let’s be honest — the best attendance is when it’s raining. This is something else to keep them off the beach,” he jokes. “I just feel it’s really a time for us to stand up and support our friends and our meeting partners.”
