EVENT DETAILS
Sunday, Sept. 10
Golf Tournament
9 a.m. Shotgun Start | The Links at Squaw Creek
*Extra fee and pre-registration required. A portion of this event’s registration fees are donated to the ALA Education Foundation.
Come swing a round of golf at the Links at Squaw Creek. It is a championship Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course surrounded by six Sierra Mountain Range peaks. Participants will receive a to-go breakfast provided and drink tickets each. As always, there will be prized awards following the conclusion of the tournament. Tickets will be sold for mulligans and a 50-50 skills contest with proceeds benefiting the ALA Education Foundation. Rental clubs are available for $45 and must be reserved by emailing James Murtagh at jmurtagh@everlineresort.com calling (530) 581-4936. Please reserve early as there are a limited number of sets available for rental. Any pairing requests may be sent to Jack Grandel. To sponsor part of the golf tournament in support of the ALA Education Foundation, please contact Wendy Jones.
Kayaking Excursion
9 a.m. | Lake Tahoe
*Extra fee and pre-registration required.
Join your fellow Conference attendees as you take in the area's natural beauty on an all-levels kayaking excursion on Lake Tahoe. Buses will depart from the hotel and the kayaking company will provide all the required equipment, bottled water, snacks, and knowledgeable guides. Make new connections in a fun and active way, while learning more about surrounding area. The trip will take roughly 4 hours with a 25-minute trip to the kayaking location and back. Waivers will be required to participate.
New-Member / First-time Attendee Reception
5 - 6 p.m.
All new members, first-time conference attendees, sponsored showrooms and sponsoring manufacturers are invited to a brief orientation followed by a private reception. This is a great way to learn more about ALA and make connections as you kick off Conference.
Opening Reception
Sponsored by SKYX Platforms
Transportation provided by CSA Group
6 - 9 p.m. | High Camp
Come enjoy the breathtaking views 8,200 feet up. Members will begin the experience on an aerial tram ride up to the reception site. Reconnect with your industry peers and make new acquaintances while enjoying the panoramic views of the Sierra Nevada, Squaw Valley and Lake Tahoe. Savor excellent cuisine and drinks while meeting new members and catching up with industry friends.
Monday, Sept. 11
Sunrise Yoga
6 - 7 a.m. - Spa Deck
*Extra $10 per morning pre-registration fee required. Please register on the ALA Conference website.
We are delighted to invite you to join ALA staff Wendy Jones for a sunrise yoga flow. This strong, dynamic, and fluid vinyasa class will be a great way to start your day with mindful breathing and a creative, intuitive sequence of postures. With Wendy's Master Teacher Level certification in the ancient Japanese healing art, as taught by Master Mikao Usui, and her passion for mental health awareness, both at home and in corporate settings, you are sure to have an amazing experience. We look forward to seeing you on the mat for two beautiful mornings.
Opening Breakfast General Session and Keynote Presentation
Sponsored by SKYX Platforms
8 - 9:45 a.m. | Grand Sierra Ballroom
Keynote Presentation - Motivate THIS
Steve Rizzo | Motivational Strategist and Author
The word THIS in the title refers to you. How motivated are you on any given day? One of the biggest challenges we face today both professionally and personally is staying motivated and enthusiastic for more than just a few days. This one-of-a-kind presentation introduces Common Sense Success Strategies that will take you to a better place in business and in life. We go through the course of our lives and allow circumstances, events, situations and people to suck the energy right out of us. With the right strategies, we can bounce back, take control and forge ahead. MOTIVATE THIS is filled with Steve Rizzo’s distinctive brand of humor, insightful stories and mind-altering strategies that will elevate your overall degree of motivation, regardless of your circumstances. It’s an indispensable tool for maximizing your success and happiness.
Breakout Education Sessions
10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Success and the Journey Towards the Goal
Steve Rizzo | Motivational Strategist and Author
Do you believe that achieving the goal is the most important attribute to success? If you do, think again! In this presentation, Steve Rizzo, The Attitude Adjuster, explains why the adventure towards any goal is what truly brings value to it. Success and the Journey Towards the Goal will ignite your organization’s attitude, improving productivity, workplace culture, and team unity. Employees will discover how to better appreciate their work, their investment of time and energy, themselves, and each other.
Leading a Multi-Generational Workforce
Jeff Butler | Workplace Strategist, JButler International
CLMR Credit
This program focuses on managing four different generations in the workplace where author and practitioner Jeff Butler, backed by a decade of psychological research, shares insights about motivations, differences, and communication styles of these four generations. You will learn how organizations across various industries are thriving with a multigenerational workforce and how yours can too. Through this program you’ll find specific actionable strategies to manage your cross-generational challenges and turn your multigenerational workforce into a competitive advantage.
Five Ways Lighting Retailers Can Stay Ahead of the Competition
Jeffrey R Dross | Lighting by Jeffrey
CLC Credit
Consumers have many more purchasing options today than they did just ten years ago. They are likely to have even more in the next decade. What does a retailer need to know so they can maintain their current customer base and earn new clients? This session will explore five different areas that should be understood and in-turn become a backbone as their business moves forward. Stay in-touch and ahead of new lighting ideas. Cater to the Interior Designer trade and their clients. Demographically, North America is changing. Understanding who that new customer is and what they expect from a retailer will be important. Having a kinetic knowledge of what is selling and what isn’t goes beyond the walls of the lighting retailer. To gain a more global understanding of the market, statistical sources of data should be used. Together, these five areas will help the retail to more effectively service their customer base.
Social to Sale: The 6 Pillars to a Profitability Social Media Strategy
Crystal Vilkaitis | Owner, Crystal Media
Not enough hours in the day to focus on your store’s social media? No problem! Learn how to easily get social media done with this crash-course in social media planning from the woman that created the only certified social media program in the industry. This proven step-by-step process from Crystal Vilkaitis covers six specific areas that are critical to see success from social media like foundational best practices, S.M.A.R.T. goals, what to post, how to build your audience and how to track your efforts. Join Crystal today and walk away with actionable to-do’s to support your business goals.
Networking Lunch
12 - 2 p.m. | Grand Sierra Ballroom
Join your peers for small group discussions on the long-term challenges facing the industry. Hear unique perspectives from across the industry on how we can rise to the occasion and prepare for what's to come in the lighting industry. Key topics will include:
- The biggest obstacles facing our industry over the next three years
- Strategies to differentiate your business
- The biggest opportunities and how we can take advanage of them
Breakout Education Sessions
2:15 - 3:45 p.m.
Winning The Talent War
Jeff Butler | Workplace Strategist, JButler International
CLMR Credit
Jeff has mapped out the complete employee life-cycle from hiring, managing to retaining. Each segment covers key areas where companies often lose their talent ranging from: mistakes in their recruitment process, to failing to adjust management styles to accommodate the changing workplace expectations. Both high-level theories as well as tactical strategies on workplace leaders are included so leaders can guide their teams to talent victories. Sometimes its a simple change like adding a video to a job ad, other times, it requires viewing your company in a completely different paradigm.
Reels Mean Deals: The Power of TikTok and Instagram Reels and How Retailers Are Cashing In
Crystal Vilkaitis | Owner, Crystal Media
Are you leaving money on the table by not using Instagram Reels or TikTok to sell to your customers? Short form content has taken social media by storm, so gear up and get in the game! This session will simplify understanding of these platforms, share the posts that will engage (and sell!) the most, show the tricks to save you time, and spell out why retailers need to leverage this content format NOW! Get ready to stand out and cash in.
Walk away with:
- The strongest, action-worthy posts that’ll translate to dollars
- The magic number…How often to actually post to get more Reach than you thought possible
- The most compelling ways to promote and get the right eyeballs on your TikToks and IG Reels
- Powerful everyday examples of how retailers are seeing success, both locally and online
Learn how to integrate short form content with your overall strategy and why you don’t want to wait another day to leverage it! Get ready to stand out and cash in.
No Hype, Just Practical Solutions: How Anyone Can Use AI for Better Marketing
Shawna Suckow
Artificial Intelligence certainly has taken the world by storm ever since it hit the mainstream in 2023. There’s a lot of uncertainty and confusion around it, to be sure. Whether you’ve never used it before, or you’ve dabbled in it but still aren’t sure how to leverage it, or you want to know what new tools are out there, this session is for you. In this session, we’ll explore all the practical ways that you can use the most popular tools like ChatGPT, Bard, and Canva, plus you’ll discover some of the newest tools that are sure to make your job easier (some of which are being launched as we speak!). You’ll get a hands-on look at how you can immediately amp up your marketing efforts and put your productivity on hyperdrive. You’ll learn how to easily create a social media content strategy, and how to use AI to craft better sales and marketing communications like ad copy, email campaigns, and web site verbiage. When leveraged correctly, AI is all about making you more productive so you can focus on what’s most impactful.
Women in Lighting Event
The Most Unique Keynote Ever
Sponsored by Dallas Market Center
4:30 - 6 p.m.
Shawna Suckow
A bold statement? Yes. Experience this session and decide for yourself! This session is the antidote for business-as-usual when the conference is over. Rather than sitting and listening passively, Shawna will make all of you part of this session! Together, we’ll share some good news, some great conversations, and some action steps toward our future success and resilience. Sound good? Join Shawna Suckow as she lead us in small-group discussions where you’re guaranteed to get new inspiration, share some of your own brilliance, brainstorm current challenges, have a few laughs, and walk away with new connections. You’ll also create action steps and accountability to put your best conference takeaways to work in the upcoming year. She’ll then close the session with a selfassessment so you can ensure that every day throughout the next year is the best it can be under your own unique circumstances – whatever they may be. You’ll face the next 12 months feeling more empowered than ever. Put your conference investment to work – don’t miss this!
Young Executives Event
Sponsored by Hinkley
6 - 7 p.m.
Nothing says fun like a little competition! Come join your peers for some street hockey shoot out competition. Beer and wine will be available to give you that liquid courage you need to beat the other teams. Winners will receive their own Stanley cup!
Manufacturer-hosted Event
Sponsored by Intertek
7 - 9 p.m.
Enjoy the fresh mountain air and watch the sun go down while enjoying some food, drinks, and networking. The beautiful outdoor reception space is surrounded by the mountains and the perfect way to end your day. All showrooms, sales reps, associates, and participating manufacturers are welcome to attend.
Tuesday, Sept. 12
Sunrise Yoga
6 - 7 a.m. - Spa Deck
*Extra $10 per morning pre-registration fee required. Please register on the ALA Conference website.
We are delighted to invite you to join ALA staff Wendy Jones for a sunrise yoga flow. This strong, dynamic, and fluid vinyasa class will be a great way to start your day with mindful breathing and a creative, intuitive sequence of postures. With Wendy's Master Teacher Level certification in the ancient Japanese healing art, as taught by Master Mikao Usui, and her passion for mental health awareness, both at home and in corporate settings, you are sure to have an amazing experience. We look forward to seeing you on the mat for two beautiful mornings.
Breakfast General Session and Keynote Presentation
Sponsored by Savoy House
8 - 9:45 a.m. | Grand Sierra Ballroom
Keynote Presentation: Prepare for 2024
Jeremy Bess | Economist - ITR Economics
2023 is winding down as we prepare for the challenges and ongoing uncertainties of 2024. The decelerating rate of rise and, in some cases, onset of decline that characterized many industries and businesses in 2023 will extend through 2024 for many. We will present business strategies and tactics that address the projected changes in the economic landscape. During this session we will also discuss:
- Assess business demand for 2024 and into 2025
- Analyze the labor market and present our expectations for availability and labor costs
- Present a clear picture of inflation and interest rates
- Look at ITR Economics’ key leading indicators and what they foretell for your markets
- Present relevant market outlooks and discuss issues that impact your profitability via resource allocation, budgets, expectations, and strategic planning
- Determine the near- and longer-term trends in labor, pricing pressures, and interest rates
- Assess the health of financial market trends and their impact, if any, on the forecasts
Breakout Education Sessions
10 - 11:30 a.m.
Applied Rates-of-Change and Leading Indicators
Jeremy Bess | Economist - ITR Economics
The vast majority of businesses are sensitive to changes in the economic landscape. However, most smaller and midsized firms are ill-equipped to measure economic data and apply it to make business decisions. This breakout session will discuss in detail the application of the rates-of-change methodology and leading indicators. Attendees will gain an understanding of how to pick leading indicators and track economic data against their internal business data in order to make better business decisions on labor, capital expansions, inventory, etc.
2023 Lighting Trends
Jeffrey R Dross | Lighting by Jeffrey
CLC Credit
Lighting design is said to be reactive to surrounding shifts and changes. To understand where lighting is headed, we must understand the forces that impact it. This session reviews four areas that make an impression on our living environments and therefore result in new lighting demands. Architecture, Related Home Goods, Socioeconomic Trends and Fashion will be discussed as a way to understand lighting changes and shifting trends. Because of its oversized influence, technological trends will also be reviewed to place a finial on how the industry will control the new lighting products.
Line & Portfolio Analysis
Scott Lindberg | President, Quell Corporation
CLMR Credit
Your product lines are key to your success and understanding what they mean to you and your company is crucial. In this session you will learn a variety of ways to look and evaluate your principals/manufacturers so you can make important decisions about where you invest your companies time and energy. For over 20 years Scott Lindberg has been sharing unique methods to assess the product lines you represent to determine a measure of profitability. In the end you will come away with actionable tools you can use for years to come to make profitable decisions. Driving your revenue and profitability while managing your costs is paramount to your success.
Networking Lunch
12 - 2 p.m. | Grand Sierra Ballroom
Join your peers for small group discussions on some of the key topics affecting our industry today. Explore ideas from new technologies, to online sales strategies, to managing inventory. This is consistently one of our attendees favorite events! You'll make new conenctions and benefit from the collective knowledge of ALA members.
Breakout Education Session
2:15 - 3:45 p.m.
Ahead of the Curve: What’s Next in Lighting?
Mark Lien | Consultant - Augmented Illumination LLC
CLC Credit
Technological change has accelerated, and consumers are increasingly confused about the changes. Your customers should know that you understand where the future of lighting is headed, or they will be reluctant to let you lead them there. Your credibility enhances their trust.
This session will focus on technologies currently converging with the lighting industry and how these are likely to impact ALA members. Artificial intelligence, smarter products, 3D printing, quantum computing and more will be common to our lighting community soon. Decarbonization is changing our energy metrics. Material transparency labels are identifying carbon generated in production (embodied) and during operation as well as end-of-life strategies for our products. The health effects of light are still being researched but appear poised to shift our primary lighting criteria from maximizing productivity to improving health. Autonomous vehicles will change how we light outside. Lighting is evolving, merging with peripheral industries, changing key players, and offering increased opportunities and risks worth knowing in advance. Please join us for this journey into the future of residential lighting.
Closing Reception & Dinner
Sponsored by UL Solutions
7 - 11:30 p.m.
Join your peers for a dancing and fun as we say goodbye after another incredible ALA Conference. Enjoy dinner, an open bar sponsored by Savoy House, and a DJ. Plus, get the details as we announce plans for the 2024 ALA Conference!
