The end of 2011 and start of 2012 have been critically busy for ERA as we worked through the process of heavily revising our national bylaws. As this issue of The Representor goes to press, our board has approved the changes, and our members are now voting.

The optimist in me is confident the new bylaws will be adopted by mid-February, and with them comes ERA's ability to enroll distributors as members. The addition of distributors to our rep and manufacturer membership base will make ERA a genuinely all-inclusive educational organization for the electronics industry. (And you can see by the ads in this issue of our magazine how terrific the initial support of distributors has been.)

In conjunction with the bylaws revisions, we are urging our 22 local chapters to also include distributor and manufacturer members (especially manufacturers' regional sales managers, distributor general managers and sales personnel) in their associations and activities, even more so than many have already been doing. The adage, "all business is local," is well-worn but probably more true today than ever before, thanks to the globalization of our industry. Everyone in ERA, both current and future members, can benefit from focusing on and expanding their local business contacts to continually learn from each other and share their expertise and experience.

Think about the tremendous value that reps, manufacturers and distributors all derive from coming together every year at the Electronic Distribution Show (EDS). The show provides an outstanding opportunity for face-to-face networking and meetings in its all-inclusive environment, but why limit ourselves to this once-annual special event? ERA's chapters offer the ideal venues for locally-based, all-inclusive activities during the other 11 months of the year, and we intend to maximize that access for all.

Many of our chapters routinely invite manufacturers and distributors to their local programs and activities, ranging from educational seminars and golf tournaments to informal networking breakfasts and annual forums where territory DTAM reports are presented. The response has been excellent, and we know that there is strong interest among manufacturers and distributors in becoming more involved in our chapters.

Our association leadership is committed to making 2012 the year we begin satisfying that interest by offering reps, manufacturers and distributors an EDS-type, all-inclusive educational and networking resource on a local basis. There are many options and possibilities to be explored, and we look forward to doing that with our industry partners.

And speaking of EDS, all ERA rep members should be aware that you can register for the show at no charge (at www.edsconnects.com). Also this year, ERA reps have been given the first chance to reserve one of the limited number of two-bed rooms at the Cosmopolitan. The $135 per night rate for two people will save you significant dollars compared to the $165 per night rate for the suites with one king bed. However, you must act as soon as possible and definitely by Feb. 15 when those two-bed "City Rooms" will be made available to all show attendees. To make your hotel reservation, use the Web link and access code that have been e-mailed to all rep members.

Manufacturers: ERA's free Lines Available service will again be offered for EDS. To include your listing in our EDS Lines Available Bulletin, just go to www.era.org, and click on the Lines Available link under FIND REPS. Choose the Free Trade Show option, and complete the on-line form.

All EDS Attendees: Be sure to watch for the details about ERA's annual (and free!) EDS breakfast program. Attendance at the 2011 event was 200+, and this year we're planning a not-to-be-missed mini-seminar for all reps, manufacturers and distributors. Our staff and I look forward to seeing you there.