Starnet Fall Meeting: Notes from KC

Starnet held its annual Fall Membership Meeting in Kansas City, MO on November 6-9, 2008. Despite the recent economic downturn and a national sense of concern for 2009, a spirit of optimism and high energy was evident during the entire meeting. 

“Starnet becomes an even more important association during more challenging business times,” stated Jeanne Matson, President & CEO of Starnet. “I feel the Membership attending the Fall Membership Meeting arrived in Kansas City with a mental list of topics for discussion and sharing. “

Consistent with the theme of the Starnet Annual Meeting in April, “Bright Ideas for Bigger Profits” was the mantra for Kansas City. The session began with a Kansas City-style barbecue on Friday afternoon, which included the Starnet Members in attendance and the nearly 50 vendor partners who joined the events. 

The meeting was officially opened by Jeanne Matson, President and CEO of Starnet, and Cheryl Acierno, Co-Chairman of the Meetings Committee.          

Randy Weis, Chairman of the Board of Directors, added his welcome and presented an overview of his goals for Starnet. Weis stated, “As a Board, we are Member-focused, and we want to bring programs to all Members that are practical and helpful in improving their businesses. We want to continue to strengthen our vendor relationships. The relationships with our preferred vendors are critical to our long term success. Finally, we want to remain an industry leader on all fronts including reclamation, financial stability, quality of work, and world class service.”

General Session Kick-off Presentations

The general session for Friday included two presentations on staff management.  First, Bentley Prince Street offered an excellent presentation titled, “Maximizing the Return on Your Business and Human Assets.” Anthony Minute, President of BPS, gave an overview of his highly regarded company and also detailed BPS’s successful philosophy which focuses on both employee engagement and strong customer partnerships. This presentation was followed by an employee retention presentation entitled, “Stop Chasing Them Away” given by Becky McCrary and Wesley Ford. 

Discussion Groups and Compelling Speakers

The Membership discussion groups, focusing on the topic “Bright Ideas for Smart Business Decisions in Challenging Times” wrapped up the business events of the day. 
Starnet Members openly discussed the strategies they are employing to contain costs and manage their business with increased discipline and rigor. As always, this session was very productive and it stimulated a wide range of excellent ideas which were summarized during the Wrap-up Session on Saturday.

Saturday’s events also included the Shareholder’s Meeting and a series of training workshops led by members and outside speakers with topics ranging from challenging installation problems to the Starnet Special Services network. 

In addition, two guest speakers addressed the group on two relevant topics:  the Presidential Election and the anticipated changes to tax law under President Obama. The first speaker, Steve Kraske, is a political reporter in Kansas City and he has literally shared a cab with Barack Obama and lunch with John McCain. He had some fascinating insights into the election and his humor and savvy were very interesting to the Starnet Members. The second speaker, Ben Maini, a CPA specializing in tax law, spoke about the anticipated tax changes which will directly impact independent business owners.  Several Starnet Members have already put Ben’s advice into action with good financial reward!

Meeting Wraps Up with Ideas and Enthusiasm

Finally, two special events were offered during the Fall Meeting. First, a training session for instructors of the CRI CEU courses was offered “live” by Lynne Peer of Peer Resources. In total, Starnet has trained over 35 individuals within the Membership to offer accredited courses to the end-user community in their market.

In addition, a Maintenance Manager’s seminar was offered in Kansas City with nearly 40 individuals attending. The reviews for this session were outstanding and they highlighted the importance of the maintenance area for Starnet Members.

Starnet Members left Kansas City with some great ideas and with a renewed view on the current economic situation. While the business environment is challenging, the goal of Starnet is to support its Members and provide increased input and ideas over the next several years.  Plans are underway for the 2009 Starnet Annual Meeting on April 23-26 in Palm Desert, California.  Please stay tuned to Starnotes for details as they become available.