Colorado Springs 2012

68^th Annual Convention

September 9 - 12, 2012 — Colorado Springs, CO

1 Lake Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO 80906

Experience the best in luxury Colorado resorts at The Broadmoor. This Colorado Springs resort is a AAA Five Diamond and Five Star Resort, in Colorado - the premier location for Colorado meetings, conferences and events.

Schedule of Events
To be posted by June 1st. Please check back for more information.

Featured Speakers

William Taylor, Founding Editor, Fast Company
Speech Title: Practically Radical: Transforming your Company and Changing Yourself
Bill Taylor is a writer, a speaker, and entrepreneur who has shaped the global conversation about the best ways to compete, innovate, and succeed. As a cofounder and founding editor of Fast Company, Bill launched a magazine that won countless awards, and earned a passionate following among executives and entrepreneurs around the world. His previous book, Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win, was a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, and was named a "Business Book of the Year" by The Economist and the Financial Times.
Bill wrote a regular business column ("Under New Management") for the New York Times as well as a monthly column for London's Guardian newspaper. He now writes a popular management blog for Harvard Business Review. He is an adjunct lecturer at Babson College and the co-author of three other books on strategy, leadership, and innovation.
A graduate of Princeton University and the MIT Sloan School of Management, Bill lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters.

Brent Grover, founder of Evergreen Consulting, LLC
Speech Title: In Search of the Perfect Customer: Cost-to-Serve for Distributors
Brent Grover founded Evergreen Consulting in 2001 as a boutique firm to advise companies in the wholesale distribution channel. He had been CEO and co-owner of National Paper & Packaging Co. Brent is also an Adjunct Professor at Case Weatherhead School of Management. Prior to his distribution industry career he was with Arthur Andersen & Co. Brent won the Elijah Watt Sells Medal and Ohio honors for his performance on the Uniform CPA Examination. Brent is a member of several non-profit boards and is Past Chairman of the National Paper Trade Association. He currently serves as a board member of B.W. Rogers Co., Petroliance LLC, Millcraft Group, Famous Enterprises, Snavely Forest Products and Elkay Plastics. Brent is a member of the Cleveland Racquet Club, Mayfield Sand Ridge Country Club and the Union Club.

Richard W. Couch Jr., Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Hypertherm, Inc., a manufacturer of plasma arc and laser cutting systems.
After graduating from Dartmouth, Mr. Couch was employed by Creare, Inc. as a project engineer. In 1968, he and Robert Dean co-founded Hypertherm to apply ultra-high temperature technology to industrial problems. In 1971, Mr. Couch purchased the majority interest in Hypertherm and became Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Couch has numerous patents in the fields of plasma cutting and pollution control. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and one of the founders of Ledyard National Bank in Hanover. Since its inception, Hypertherm has grown to over 850 associates worldwide and has been recognized as a "Best Place to Work in America" for its commitment to employees and the community at large.

GAWDA Gives Back
 Now in its thirteenth year GAWDA Gives Back continues to support local charities in the Annual Convention host city. The program has raised over one million dollars since it began and has impacted thousands of lives. This year's President Bryan Keen has selected two charities from the Colorado Springs area as the recipients of the 2012 GAWDA Gives Back Campaign, The Peak Parent Center and Partners in (hope and) Housing. We hit the ground running this year with a Silent Auction at the SMC. The Silent Auction, which usually takes place at the Gettysburg region meeting, was held at the SMC because Gettysburg is scheduled after the Annual Convention this year. Over $18,000 was raised, so we're off to a great start.

Peak Parent Center
The mission of PEAK Parent Center is to provide training, information and technical assistance to equip families of children birth through twenty-six including all disability conditions with strategies to advocate successfully for their children.
As a result of PEAK's services to families and professionals, children and adults with disabilities will live rich, active lives participating as full members of their schools and communities.

Partners in Housing
The mission of Partners In Housing is to provide homeless families with children the hope and opportunity to achieve self-sufficiency through supportive services and transitional housing.
To achieve this mission, we provide homeless families and individuals with up to two years of transitional housing, during which time they also participate in intensive supportive services, including case management, life skills training, and budget counseling.

Donation form - Coming soon.

Registration - Coming soon.

• Deadlines for registration
• June 18 opening early bird registration for general attendees
• August 8 close early Bird registration, go to on-site prices.
• Hotel reservation Deadlines
• June 18 opening early bird reservations for general attendees
• August 8 Hotel cut-off

General Information
Colorado Springs is located 65 miles south of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. The city stands over one mile above sea level and is near the base of one of the most famous American mountains, Pikes Peak, in the eastern edge of the Southern Rocky Mountains. With a population of 416,000, it is the second most populous city in the state of Colorado, behind Denver, and the 41st most populous city in the United States.

• Airport
• Ground Transportation
• Weather and Attire

Attractions and Activities - More Information will be available soon

• Walking tours in Old Colorado City every Tuesday morning
•  The Pioneers museum
• Garden of the gods
• Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
• Cheyenne Mountain Resort
• Seven Falls
• Flying W Ranch
• Cave of the Winds
• US Air Force Academy Colorado Springs
• Pikes Peak
• Ghost Town Museum
• Take a ride on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad
• Telluride and Ouray are classic Colorado