AWMA 2010: A Focus on Education
Burklund Accepts Chairman's Gavel
AWMA Chairman Jon Burklund, right, accepts the chairman's gavel from former chairman Sherwin Herring of Southco Distributing Co.
LAS VEGAS – AWMA’s new chairman for 2010, Jonathan Burklund, speaking to the association’s members Wednesday morning at the AWMA Show in Las Vegas, served notice that his goal for the year will be to help strengthen education programming to enable members to succeed, now and into the future.
Burklund, president & chief operating officer of Burklund Distributors, Inc., East Peoria, IL, outlined major achievements by the association during the past year under the leadership of 2009 Chairman Sherwin Herring, chief executive officer, Southco Distributing Co., Goldsboro, NC, including approval of a new three-year plan to remake the previous AWMA EXPO and improve its values to members.
“Remember,” he said, “we are only in the first year of this plan, but we have a very dynamic program in place that includes 15 hours of educational programming, compared to only three hours last year.” Next year’s show will be at the exciting Paris Hotel & Casino on the famous Las Vegas strip, one of the most popular destinations in the city.
Burklund urged both members and suppliers to support efforts to boost the association’s Distributor Education Foundation so it can offer a more robust program for key distribution company employees, as well as expansion of the popular STEPS Program sponsored by The Hershey Co.
“The Educational Foundation needs to be a focus,” he said. “Our employees appreciate the ability to improve their knowledge base, and they appreciate our investment in them as well. Education provides a perfect venue for networking and for manufacturer participation.”
“I plant seeds to see if they grow,” Burklund said, serving notice he has no intention of being a “caretaker chairman.That is what I am doing today.”