Issue #20  •  Fall 2004

The Newsletter of the

Web Sling & Tie Down Association

WSTDA Goes to Washington:

Mid-Year Meeting Set for November 7-9

The Web Sling and Tie Down Association is headed to Washington, DC for its 2004 Mid-Year Meeting. This is your chance to participate in the discussions that will shape the future of your industry. WSTDA's Mid-Year Meeting is two-days of technical meetings during which the standards for our industry will be reviewed and discussed.

The meeting will be hosted at the Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. WSTDA has secured special room rates, but reservations need to be made by October 7. DETAILS

Sponsorship Information

Do you want to increase your exposure at WSTDA’s Mid Year Meeting? Are you unable to attend the meeting, but want to make sure you’re still represented? In either case, WSTDA sponsorship opportunities will help you to demonstrate your support and commitment to the industry.

Each sponsor will be highlighted in the program and acknowledged at the meeting. Signage will be displayed throughout the meeting, identifying your company and your sponsorship level.

Three level of sponsorships are available:

Platinum  - $500

Gold - $400

Silver - $300

If you are interested in sponsoring a particular event, such as the Welcome Reception or Member Outing, please contact Fred Stringfellow at 443-640-1070 x102 a.s.a.p. as these event sponsorships will be granted on a first-come-first-served basis. Click here to download the registration/sponsorship form.

Mark Your Calendars

WSTDA has a great line up of destinations in store for its members. After the Mid-Year Meeting in Washington, DC, we will be in the charming resort community of Niagara-on-the-Lake, in Ontario, Canada, for the Annual Meeting, May 15-18, 2005.

WSTDA Use of Insignia Policy

The WSTDA logo on such things as warning labels, standards, and corporate materials carries a great deal of legitimacy within the industry. The logo instills a sense of confidence among end-users. In order to ensure that this logo is being used legally and appropriately, the WSTDA Board requested that our Policy/Forms Review

Committee look very closely at our “Use of Insignia” policy to assure members that we are doing everything within our means to monitor the use of our logo. The Committee, chaired by Henry Reyna, closely scrutinized the policy and presented a modified draft for the Board’s consideration.

The Board of Directors has adopted the attached policy concerning the use of the WSTDA insignia. The purpose of this policy is to both promote the appropriate use of and protect against misuse of the WSTDA insignia.

Legal Resource Committee Seeking Interested Volunteers

In July, the WSTDA Board of Directors approved the formation of a new committee of the WSTDA. Mike Gelskey, of Lift-It Mfg, has been appointed the Chairman of WSTDA’s Legal Resource Committee (LRC).

Our first step is to solicit for membership on this Committee. The LRC will work electronically throughout the year, outside of the spring and fall conferences.

Chairman Gelskey has outlined his plan in part as follows:

1. Survey WSTDA membership and tabulate results to determine interest, vulnerability, prior litigation, insurance, use of warnings, etc.

2. Seek out warning experts to review and develop defensible warnings for synthetic products.

3. Create a "dream team" of expert witnesses, relative to product warnings and defense of claims.

The key to a great defense is a better offense. For more information become part of the team. Contact Chairman Gelskey at mgelskey@aol.com or Fred Stringfellow at fred@ksgroup.org to express your interest in serving on the LRC. Please respond by September 30, 2004.

WSTDA Wins Apex Award for Electronic Newsletter

WSTDA was recently honored with an APEX 2004 Award for Publication Excellence for its newly-created Uplifting News electronic newsletter by Communications Concepts.

APEX 2004 awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content and the success of the entry – in the opinion of the judges – in achieving overall communications effectiveness and excellence. 5,462 entries were evaluated, including 793 in the “Newsletter” category.

Joining WSTDA as winners in the “Newsletters: Web & Electronic” category were Kraft Foods, Sony Electronics and Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Communications Concepts is an organization that helps publishing, PR and marketing professionals improve publications and communications programs through its services.

Visitor Traffic Up Substantially at www.wstda.com

Since the redesign of WSTDA’s website last December, traffic has been up substantially, both in hits and number of unique visitors. On average for the year, the number of visitors is up 17% while the number of hits is up 308%.

This means that not only are more users visiting our site, but they’re spending more time moving from page to page once they arrive.

If you have comments or suggestions for things you would like to see on our site, please send your feedback to fred@ksgroup.org.

Welcome New Members

WSTDA welcomes six new members to the association. DETAILS

Spring Golf Results

Belated congratulations to the winners of the Spring Golf Tournament, held at the Steele Canyon Golf Club, in San Diego:

Longest Putt honors to Dan Perkins; Women’s Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive honors to Susi Dolezych; Men’s Longest Drive honors to Mike Lindler.

The first place team (-8) consisted of: Jim Calico, Bill Silverson, Udo and Susi Dolezych.

The second place team (-4) consisted of Mike Davies, Frank Kulik and Bob Downs.

Many thanks to Golf Chair, Bob Downs, for coordinating the Spring outing.

Golf enthusiasts can look forward to golfing the Ussher’s Creek course in Niagara Falls, Canada, May 17^th during WSTDA’s Spring Meeting. Ussher’s Creek is a Thomas McBroom designed course, carved out of historic terrain along the Niagara River.

WSTDA Staff

Fred Stringfellow, CAE

Executive Director

443-640-1070 ext. 102

Carol Hannan

Director of Meetings & Membership

443-640-1070 ext. 108

WSTDA Events

WSTDA 2004 Mid-Year Meeting

November 7-9

Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel

Washington, D.C.

WSTDA 2005 Annual Meeting

May 15-18

Queens Landing Inn

Niagara-on-the-Lake

Ontario, Canada

WSTDA 2005 Mid-Year Meeting

November 13-15

Loews Annapolis Hotel

Annapolis, Maryland