Craig Blake Invites You to Register for NEDMA ‘06

April 26th, 2006

Believe it or not, just seven weeks from the time this post has gone live we’ll be smack, dab in the middle of NEDMA ’06. Imagine. After practically a whole year’s worth of planning and preparations, it’ll all be over before we know it.

But let’s not think about that now. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Let’s savor every moment leading up to the big event. Which is precisely why we put up this blog in the first place. It’s here to keep us – and that means you – informed, enlightened and excited every single step of the way. It’s here to introduce you to the speakers, the sponsors, the exhibitors and the people behind the scenes who are working hard and feverishly to make sure NEDMA ’06 will be the one of the best conferences you’ve ever experienced.

Craig Blake is one of those people who have been spending countless hours over the course of the last year cobbling together the many different pieces that make up a conference of this size and significance. In fact, he’s more or less – okay, more – the one who’s been leading the charge. In addition to serving on the board as Vice President of NEDMA this year, he’s Co-Chair of NEDMA ’06. By day, he’s Vice President of Sales at W.A. Wilde, a single-source provider of direct marketing services and a company with which we’re all familiar. With over 10 years of direct marketing experience, he’s played an instrumental role in the successful launch of countless direct mail, fulfillment and variable digital print programs on behalf of many of Wilde’s clients. And right now he joins us for an update on NEDMA ’06, It’s a Brave New World, the New England Direct Marketing Association’s Conference and Exposition.

Ladies and gentleman, Craig Blake…

WOW….. I sit here typing at 9:15 PM on Wednesday, April 26, and NEDMA ‘06 is only 48 days, ten hours and 45 minutes away. Panic starts to set in….Deep breaths…..in….out….

It was only eight months ago that Bob Cargill, my fellow chair, and I had lunch at T.G.I. Friday’s in Framingham, MA, to kick off NEDMA ‘06. Actually, I was bribing Bob (a past NEDMA president) to join me in this great adventure as co-chair of NEDMA ‘06. And believe it or not, the event is almost here!

Over the past several months, Bob, our faithful committee and NEDMA’s managing directors (Beth Drysdale and Pat Lee) have worked tirelessly to organize NEDMA ’06. Major accomplishments include copywriting and design of all of the promotional materials and content, logo and ad design, launch of NEDMA’s first ever blog, a speaker RFP (which resulted in over 70 proposals from as far away as California to join us at NEDMA ‘06), online registration set-up, a conference web site, solicitation of exhibitors and sponsors as well as the launch of a few press releases. Phew… and that is only half of it.

With an overwhelming response from our speaker RFP, we were able to hand-pick a tremendous line up for NEDMA ’06. The event is jam-packed, including…

• Four all-day workshops
• Direct Marketer of the Year dinner with special guest and DM legend Denny Hatch
• Featured Keynoter Anne Holland, President of Marketing Sherpa, Inc.
• 12 concurrent sessions
• 10 lunch roundtables with the experts (Bob and I will be conducting one on running a conference!!)
• A closing keynote by Mac Macintosh
• Exhibitor raffles, giveaways and more.

You Are Invited to Register for NEDMA ‘06 Today

NEDMA ’06 promises to be a great event. See for yourself. In the upper left-hand corner of this blog — right above the sponsors (for whom we are very grateful) – you can download the full conference brochure and register to be there in person for all the excitement on June 14 and 15 at Bentley College in Waltham, MA. If you register by May 19, you can take advantage of our special Early Bird savings opportunity, so don’t delay – do it today.

And don’t forget to read the blog each week for the latest updates and news from a number of surprise guest bloggers. We have other NEDMA ’06 speakers on deck ready to give you their thoughts on the conference. Finally, if you’re reading the blog for the first time, scroll down and check out some of the older posts. Remember, as Bob Cargill said in this space several months ago, this is your conference. And this is your blog. So do stay tuned….

To download the full conference brochure for NEDMA ‘06, click here.

To register to attend NEDMA ‘06, click here. 

Entry Filed under: Miscellaneous