From politics to pencil sharpeners
Delegates roam NEA EXPO for ideas, giveaways
WASHINGTON, July 2, 2008 — A huge range of exhibitors display their products and services at the annual NEA EXPO at the Representative Assembly. Delegates from across the country scour the exhibit hall for the best ideas – and the best freebies – to bring home.
Vendors were displaying the latest in classroom technology, the spectrum of available school supplies and the best tools for helping students succeed. Others offered educators advice on healthy eating, provided massages or sold jewelry and crafts. And NEA special interest caucuses of every imaginable type engaged delegates in conversation about their issues at their respective booths, including several of a political nature in this critical election year.
Monroe’s Nikki Klonaris and Ypsilanti’s Jovita Davis talk about the freebies they’d collected at the NEA EXPO on Wednesday.
But, really, it’s the freebies that rule the day. The coolest giveaways – such as the free cameras at the Target booth – draw long lines of delegates waiting to swipe their credentials and stuff their bags. Contests and drawings abound, with prizes ranging from iPods to Disney vacations.
As with most things at the RA, it’s the interactions between people that make the NEA EXPO special.
“There’s people here who remember you from year to year,” said Melissa Cramer of Monroe. “A vendor from a couple of years recognized me today. He even remembered exactly what he did for me back when we first met. It’s really great customer service.”
Many of the vendors feel the same. Melissa Hiller and her colleagues from Access (the company that administers the MEA Member Benefit Card (LINK) discount program) value the opportunity to meet members face to face and educate them about their product.
“We get lots of positive feedback. People have come to know about their discount card and how valuable it can be. People even pull their cards out of their wallet at the booth to show off that they carry it with them.”
Thousands of NEA RA delegates filed through the NEA EXPO 2008 on Wednesday, gathering great ideas and giveaways to take home.