Wednesday Recap
We had so much fun yesterday as we kicked off this year’s special TMEPA Annual Meeting & 50^th Anniversary. It was great to see many familiar faces as well as new ones. From the Golf Tournament in the morning to the Welcoming Reception and Country Music Hall of Fame Tour at night, the first day was a chance to both network with your fellow industry leaders as well as have a little fun. Both TEPAC and TEMPA held important Board Meetings where they were able to have discussions that will allow their continued advocacy for our great industry.

Don't Forget
If you are here in Nashville, we hope you enjoy the extra effort that went into planning this year's Meeting. If you are following along from home, thank you for staying up-to-date with your Association! This Daily Newsletter will help you with key takeaways each day, even if you couldn't make it to Nashville. We are proud to bring you this new resource and welcome any feedback. Also, be sure to check Twitter for live updates -- just type in the hashtag #TMEPA50 to see what people are sharing. 

We are often asked how we put on such a great meeting. It takes a lot of hard work by the committee and staff, of course, but it wouldn't happen without our sponsors and partners. You'll find most of them in the Exhibit Area, where you can meet and talk. The Reception, Breakfasts, Breaks, and Social Hour will held be in the Exhibit Area, so don't miss this chance to say thanks and make a new friend, or business partner! See the full list of sponsors by clicking here.

Be sure to check this section of the newsletter each day for interviews, recaps and in-depth looks at current topics in our industry. This meeting will bring together some of the brightest minds in our industry -- and this is where we will share some of their stories! 

USI, which stands for stands for Understand, Service and Innovate, has partnered with TMEPA for more than eight years. They did so to offer insights and consulting on retirement and other services for the wide range of utilities that make up the TMEPA. For the Association’s 50^th Anniversary milestone, USI decided to sponsor the Welcoming Reception and Country Music Hall of Fame Tour. "We wanted to do something special to mark this special occasion," said Matt Cross, Associate Vice President of USI. Cross said that USI attends the TMEPA Meeting every year because it allows the company to have a booth in the Exhibit Area and maintain ongoing relationships with existing clients and also network to make new connections. "TMEPA puts a lot of effort into making sure the exhibitors are able to get in front of attendees and Mike (Vinson) does a great job of making new introductions and pointing out networking opportunities." Having the Exhibit Area in the main through-way makes meeting all the attendees very easy. "No conference does this as well as TMEPA does," he said. "That’s why we come back every year." 

USI has served over 100,000 clients meeting their property & casualty, employee benefit, personal risk and retirement needs nationwide. They have more than 100 years of consulting and brokerage experience through their acquired agencies, with local offices dating back in their communities as far as the late 1800s.

Larry Lusky, CAS of HALO Branded Solutions, laughs when asked how long the family-owned, nationwide-known company has been partnering with TMEPA. "How old is Mike (Vinson)?" Lusky jokes. Lusky and his son, David Lusky, were hard at work setting up their both in the Exhibit Area, placing a variety of imprinted items on display – calendars, cups, pens, T-Shirts, lights and so much more. But these items only scratch the surface of what HALO Branded Solutions actually does.

In addition to a longtime partnership with TMEPA, nearly all of the imprinted items that TMEPA has at the Meeting and other events are done by the Luskys’ company. That company has been in business since 1919 and is a true family affair with Larry Lusky’s dad, David’s grandfather, still coming into the office. Larry has a Masters in Business, while David is the creative force in the company, something that started in high school and continued on in college. He says he takes after his great-grandmother, who was artistic. 

HALO is more than just "trinkets and do-dads," Larry says. The company is the largest producer of printed calendars in the U.S., with a large facility in the very small town in Minnesota called Sleepy Eye. HALO employees 900 of the town’s 3,000 residents. The company also works with household-name companies like Regal Cinemas (they recently designed Star Wars marquee posters for theaters); State Farm (for whom they print calendars every year); and the Country Music Awards (for which they make all the crystal awards – the most expensive awards in the industry, with the crystal imported from Florence, Italy). 

But working with TEMPA and coming to the Annual Meeting each year to exhibit, is a high point, as HALO has been involved in the municipal utility industry since the 1940s, when they first started working with TVA. "We know this industry," Larry says. 

As the continue setting up, TMEPA staff come up to the HALO booth and strike up conversations with Larry, who is one year out from a liver transplant after being diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer five years ago and given only one month to live. After going through such a life-changing event, Larry says that his belief in family, fairness and mutual respect has only grown. "Everyday is a blessing," he says. As Larry and David set up their booth, they both say they are blessed to work where they do and to be able to partner with TMEPA each year. Larry says the best part of the Meeting is the chance to get to talk with people, many of whom are now old friends, in a relaxed and fun environment. He says the cost to attend the conference is invaluable compared to the personal connections made each year. "There is nothing like talking with people away from their offices and normal routine," he says. "Seeing people here, in this setting, that connection is worth a million dollars."

New this year will be our Twitter hashtag -- #TMEPA50 -- that you can use to share your experience at the meeting and make connections with new partners. Those at home can also follow the meeting by typing the hashtag into Twitter, which will bring up every tweet that includes this hashtag! We will also be tweeting throughout the meeting, using this hashtag, and we are looking forward to seeing your experiences and takeaways from the meeting. Find TMEPA on Twitter at @TNMuniElectric  

Check this section each day for daily highlights of not-to-miss parts of the meeting, special events and other important information about that day. You can click here to view the full schedule. We have so much going on this year -- you are sure to find more than enough to stay busy and make new connections!

Thursday, July 14: Full Schedule Details

Special thank you to Honeywell elster for Attendance Prize of $100!

 

Our Exhibit Area will be open today! The Exhibit Area will feature a variety of exciting exhibitor booths (click here to see full list) presenting products and services critical to your system needs. The exhibitors will be set up and ready to connect on today and Friday. We will also hold a variety of our special events in this area! Don't miss this opportunity to learn about emerging trends, see new products and services, and network with leaders in the industry. Don't forget to check the Daily Newsletter and Twitter each day for updates from the Exhibit Area! 

Visit Booth 18 to learn more about Naylor Association Solutions, a publishing company focused on trade associations. Naylor publishes TMEPA's Annual Directory, their monthly newsletter and this Annual Meeting Show Daily you are reading now. Stop by for a free gift (while supplies last) and to learn more about how Naylor could help you reach your target audience.