Will I See You at the Annual Meeting?

We’re already getting excited here about the 2007 Direct Selling Association Annual Meeting coming up in June in sunny San Diego! I’ve been reflecting on my first experience with the Annual Meeting—not as an attendee—and how different my perspective is today. The first issue of Direct Selling News that I produced as managing editor was July 2005. I came on board in late June of that year and my very first task was to write an article about the 2005 Annual Meeting. There I was—new to the job, new to direct selling, and writing about an event I did not attend!

But very quickly, as I spoke to people who were there, I sensed that I had missed something special. I talked to DSA Hall of Fame inductee Alan Luce, who’s now CEO of Wildtree; Randall Oxford, VP of Communications at Mary Kay; and Janet Cronstedt, Executive Director of Sales at Cookie Lee, and they each conveyed to me the passion, excitement and commitment that I have learned are hallmarks of this industry.

The story I wrote that month came nowhere near capturing that excitement! But it set me on a path I am still traveling today: to learn as much as I can about direct selling and the companies and people I write about—and to strive to put into words whenever I can the emotional component of this industry that sets it apart from all others.

Last year, I did attend the Annual Meeting (and I hope Direct Selling News’ coverage of the event reflected that!), and it was truly the highlight of my year.

From amazing speakers like John Addison, Doris Christopher and Tom Peters, to the terrific breakout sessions that helped me better understand this industry, to the opportunity to meet many industry leaders who routinely take their companies and distributors to new levels of success—I found myself inspired and moved. And I returned to Texas with a renewed commitment to make Direct Selling News even more relevant and informative.

With a theme of Now More than Ever, this year’s Annual Meeting promises to be an even greater experience and, believe me, you don’t want to miss it! I’m already thinking about my game-plan—sessions I want to attend, who I want to talk to. Will you be there?

Congratulations!

Nancy, this is great! I know our readers all over the world will enjoy some of the insights you will publish. Just don't tell them everything! We want to save some news for the magazine and the e-zine. How about telling them about your recent trip to Puerto Rico. It's amazing to me that you got invited to cover the story there and I got left behind. I could have been your photographer or something...don't you think? I hope you can tell, I am really excited about this and I applaud you for coming up with the idea. This will be a great way to informally interact with our audience. Thanks for letting me share a few thoughts and...I am anxious to hear about the trip to Puerto Rico. You never gave me a real report but maybe you will share with our readers. How about some pictures too?

Welcome to Inside Direct Selling News!

Here at Direct Selling News, we’ve been exploring ways to keep our readers even better informed. I’m sure you’ve noticed our updated Web site and the Web-exclusive content we’ve added in the last weeks. Every day, though, it seems as if we hear of something new and exciting happening in the direct selling industry. We decided that a blog would be the perfect venue to comment on some of the terrific experiences we have while putting together each issue.

For nearly two years, I’ve worked behind the scenes at Direct Selling News, collaborating with a top-notch staff and our amazing publisher, John Fleming, to produce a monthly publication that you’ll find informative, and will help you grow and manage your businesses. My background is as a journalist, not a direct seller, but I very quickly became passionate about direct selling and my favorite part of my job is talking to the wonderful people who make up this industry and helping to share their stories.

So with this blog, I hope to offer a more personal account of what goes into bringing you those stories and share with you some of the experiences we have as we cover the companies and people that make this industry great.

I hope you enjoy!

Nancy