Snowsports Industries America will kick off its 2008.09 SnowSports Institute next month with a look at how to connect with women, youth and the Internet.
SIA¡¦s fourth annual Fall Education Workshops program represent a great forum for sharing best practices.
 
¡§The Workshop was a great opportunity for the industry to come together,” Chuck Mason, VP of sales at Burton Snowboards, said after last year’s workshops. “Retailers, suppliers, and area operations could all benefit from more opportunities like this to discuss challenges, identify opportunities, and share ideas.  Bottom line ¡V we all need to figure out how to get more people buying gear and getting up on the slopes more often. The Workshops are a step in that direction.¡¨
Each workshop includes breakfast and lunch plus SIA will announce their ¡§SIA SnowSports Rep of the Year Awards¡¨ for each region. Also in response to feedback, the workshop presentations have been reduced to two while adding break-out discussions and networking sessions. Workshop sessions will cover industry trends and state-of-the-art information on:
„X State of the Snow Sports Industry
„X Sales and merchandising techniques
„X Website development
„X Social marketing
 
For complete details on registration, dates, times, locations, bios on presenters, etc. — retailers, reps and manufacturers should click here. 
SIA Fall Education Workshop dates and locations:
Sept. 10:  Springfield, MA ¡V Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel
Sept. 17: Denver, CO ¡V Sheraton Denver West Hotel
Sept 18: Sacramento, CA ¡V Courtyard by Marriott Sacramento Midtown
The SIA Fall Education Workshops.08 are a SIA SnowSports Institute Program, a year-round initiative to further educate the snow sports industry through workshops, online education, research and trade show presentations.
For more information, check out snowsports.org. SnowSports Industries America, 8377-B Greensboro Drive, McLean, VA 22102-3587. Phone: (703) 556-9020, Fax: (703) 821-8276, E-mail: siamail@snowsports.org