I can’t think of a better place to bid farewell to winter weather and to welcome a fresh, new spring, than Tucson, Arizona and I look forward to seeing you there. I’ll take heat stroke over frost bite any day.

For the Association of High Technology Distribution, 2012 promises to be another strong year, beginning with a Spring Meeting program packed with ideas about how we can ‘Stand Out and Move Up’ after three years of stagnant markets and economic uncertainty.

Given the rare convergence of so many confusing challenges and exciting possibilities and the undefined window of opportunity that lies ahead, we have elected to experiment with a minor format change at this meeting. We have opted to fill this Spring Meeting program with five important main stage messages from prominent keynote speakers. We expect to reinstate the workshop format again at our Fall Meeting in Quebec City.

You will not want to miss Scott McKain’s address on Thursday morning and his compelling presentation of the ‘Four Cornerstones of Distinction’ and how to create the ‘Ultimate Customer Experience’. Scott asks the question: "Are you delivering such a superior experience that your customer won’t ditch the purchase — and instead will decide to spend more money with you?”

If the answer is "yes” — welcome to a great 2012.

If the answer is "I don’t know” — then we’ll see you in Tucson.

Following lunch on Thursday, nationally recognized business consultant and author Adam Hartung will tell us how to align our strategies to the trends reshaping our industries and to the new information economy. Adam will share some effective and actionable ideas about how to stand out in our ability to increase profits and generate exceptional results.

Friday morning, Alan Beaulieu returns to help us separate economic fact from fiction with the insight and clarity (and, of course, the graphs) that we have come to expect. All of the currently hot topics, including the sustainability of this recovery, inflation, interest rates, the impact of Super Committee decisions, the Euro zone and the global market are on the program and you will want to be there to hear Alan’s assessments.

Friday afternoon features Tim Underhill’s presentation of a proven method to measure ‘Value to the Customer’. Learn about how ABB Power Systems, Graybar Electric, Parker Hannifin and other leading manufacturers and distributors are measuring their ‘Total Cost’ and how you can do the same. Saturday morning we will conclude our Spring Meeting in Tucson with Jim Turner and his entertaining and educational account of Tucson Culture and History. It would be a shame to be on the Arizona frontier, only a stone’s throw away from Tombstone, "The Town Too Tough to Die” and not learn about the silver boom, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday and the shootout that didn’t happen at the O.K. Corral.

We expect that an AHTD membership and the AHTD experience will mean different things to different members. For some of us, it is all about the ‘Networking’ and the opportunity to share experiences and ideas with like-minded business people who may have faced the same challenges, encountered some of the same frustrations, overcome the same obstacles and enjoyed the same rewards, as we have. For others, it is the ‘Program’ and the chance to learn valuable industry information or hear from experts about professional best practices, business critical information or new ideas on how to generate profit and growth. Maybe it’s the opportunity to identify and connect with emerging technologies and products. For me, it is all of the above. I also look forward to AHTD meetings as my chance to step away from my daily office routine twice a year and get a completely different perspective than I could if I was there, looking too closely at the trees and putting out fires. To be able to do all of this, while enjoying the company of some of the best friends I have, at a fabulous venue, at an interesting destination, is just a bonus.

This is a must meeting for leaders looking to prepare for the changes that are coming over the next few years and we hope that you can join us there.

AHTD Board President

Davis Controls Ltd.