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ComicsPRO on ComicsPRO Annual Meeting In March (PR)
posted January 25, 2008
 

ComicsPRO, the Comics Professional Retail Organization, returns to Las Vegas March 19-21 at the Texas Station Hotel and Casino for its second annual members' meeting and trade event. All direct market comic specialty retailers are encouraged to attend.

"The ComicsPRO Annual Meeting is shaping up to be a packed and value-filled event for all retailers," said Chris Powell, ComicsPRO President Pro Tem and General Manager of Lone Star Comics in Dallas TX. "All the sponsorship spots are full and our speakers are all confirmed. ComicsPRO is providing ample opportunity for members to interact with one another and with our industry partners."

ComicsPRO also announced that the Early Bird registration deadline with the Texas Station Hotel & Casino has been extended to allow retailers to see the list of attending sponsors and guest speakers. Hotel reservations are available by calling the Texas Station Hotel and Casino Reservations Department at 1-800-654-8888 and identify yourself as a ComicsPRO Annual Meeting attendee. To receive the ComicsPRO group rate, the hotel registration deadline is February 1, 2008. Attendees can also save $50 on registration, details of which can be found at http://www.comicspro.org/meet08.html.

The schedule includes a "Meet & Greet" for early arriving attendees on the evening of Wednesday March 19, with full days of meetings, presentations and organization business on Thursday March 20 and Friday March 21.

Sponsors of the event cover a wide spectrum of companies doing business in the comics' specialty market:

* Bitter End Systems
* DC Comics
* Diamond Comic Distributors & Alliance Game Distributors
* Dynamite Entertainment
* Graphitti Designs
* Slave Labor Graphics
* Top Cow Productions


Presentations:
"Street Fighter" by Allan Caplan, CEO of Inkworks Trading Cards. Mr. Caplan has been the "Man of the Hour" at so many industry functions. He'll bring his unique take on sales and marketing to the ComicsPRO Annual Meeting, along with some goodies for attendees!
From SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) Presentations

"Managing Your Business Effectively" by Bob Cushman. Mr. Cushman started as a Management Trainee at an automobile bumper manufacturing plant in 1965 and by 1978 was Vice President of H P Hood, now a unit of Dean Foods. Bob became Chief Operating Officer of a Boston law firm and in 1993 was elected President of the Children's Law Center of Massachusetts, Inc. His experience includes responsibility for human resources, legal, finance, banking, policy, government relations and corporate governance. He has been a member of numerous business organizations including the American Bar Association and the American Management Association. He is now head of a charitable foundation and Manager of the SCORE Speakers Bureau.

"Protecting the Corporate Assets" by Jim Camburn. With approximately 40 years experience in the commercial property/casualty insurance industry industry, Mr. Camburn's experience includes sales and management responsibilities with an insurance company and international and regional brokerage operations. Throughout his career, he has been providing risk management and insurance counseling consultations. At the time of his retirement, he was a Senior Vice President and Director at Durham & Bates in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Camburn holds the professional designation of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and remains active providing insurance counsel as a volunteer and as a member of the SCORE Speakers Bureau.

Powell added "We've arranged for guest speakers to address many of the day-to-day challenges facing each of us. The number of retailers joining the organization so that they can attend the meeting is a strong showing of support. I think this is an opportunity our members won't want to miss and will be an incredibly productive couple of days."

"ComicsPRO is pleased to announce that other members of the comics industry attending will be The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Dark Horse Comics, The HERO Initiative and Marvel Comics, " said Joe Field, ComicsPRO President. "All the attending professionals and organizations are motivated to work with our membership while strengthening our relationships and working towards an even brighter future for direct market specialty retailers."

Field added "In addition to our meetings with product and service suppliers, we'll also have the results of the latest board elections, and we'll continue to move a number of our projects into hyper-drive for 2008 and beyond. Key to this is reaching out to all direct market retailers to invite them to be a part of charting the future for all comic specialty retailers by joining our group. ComicsPRO retailer ranks have grown every month for the last year and we look to kick that pace up a few notches this year."

ComicsPRO's mission is for direct market retailers to speak with a single, strong voice on important industry issues, to provide educational and mentoring opportunities to current and future retailers, and to offer benefits that will reduce some of the fixed costs that all direct market retailers incur.

Information and updates can be found at http://ComicsPRO.org.
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