Dear New England Rep Firm Owners/Presidents and Managers:

In an effort to bring greater value to our New England ERA members, your board of directors is working hard to set a schedule of events that are both timely and relevant to us all.

There are many issues we all face daily in running our businesses, and the board is trying to create local events at which these issues can be addressed and discussed. One of the basic benefits of ERA's chapters is that they provide territory-based opportunities to learn from one another while we enhance the professional field sales (manufacturers' representative) function. So we are striving to provide our members with forums in which we can network and share our experiences and expertise.

I encourage all reps to get involved. We will be publishing a list of programs for 2005, and your participation is critical to their success. As attendance grows, so does the flow of information and ideas.

We intend to offer a number of events designed specifically for you AND your employees. We hope to offer many events in this series at NO CHARGE so that you can register as many employees as you wish. However, there may be an occasion (e.g., when booking a particular guest speaker or location or activity) when an admission fee will be required.

I hope your firm is projecting a profitable, successful 2005, and I look forward to seeing you at these upcoming events. If you are interested in helping with any ERA activity, want to suggest specific events or have any concerns you'd like addressed, please feel free to contact me.

Regards,

John O'Brien, CPMR
Coakley, Boyd & Abbett, Inc.
President, New England ERA
jobrien@cbane.com