ESC IBS Consortium Minutes 042721

ESC IBS Consortium Minutes from April 27, 2021 Meeting was called to order at 2:04 pm Eastern Time Attendance: Marti Sawyer National Fuel Corey Minshew Southern Co The meeting started with a welcome back, since the group had not met once the decision was made to not attend the physical 2021 show. Of course, once the decision was made to not attend, the NAHB ended up cancelling the show in its entirety. The educational portion of the show was held virtually, and the plan was to offer the exhibit portion on a virtual basis as well. However, the exhibit portion never occurred due to “technical difficulties”. While AGA opted to not exhibit virtually it is not known how many, if any, of our vendors attempted to be virtual. Kiosk Vendors: When the decision was made to not attend the 2021 show, the decision was communicated to all kiosk vendors. All had paid their booth deposit with one vendor having paid in full. A full refund was offered but not one vendor asked for a refund. In March 2021, a new 2022 contract was sent to all vendors noting that we still had their deposit which would be applied to the 2022 show. As of this writing, 8 of the 12 vendors have returned their contracts for 2022. Several email have been sent to the vendors who have not responded yet. While looking at the 2022 floor plan, I noticed that the Rinnai booth was located immediately next door to us and Lennox was 2 booths down from us. Both were vendors in our booth as well; and this placement has caused concern. I immediately notified Tracy Burleson, from AGA, and recommended that we seek to relocated to a new location. I also offered a booth that would work well for us. Tracy has reached out to the NAHB but we have not heard back at this point. One vendor, AO Smith, is still under a travel ban so they cannot commit at this time. I will continue to reach the vendors who have not responded provided we can relocate; I am guessing Rinnai and Lennox will not be in our booth if we do not move. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions/contacts for possible new kiosk vendors please send that info to me and I will be happy to reach out to them. Open Discussion: No items were raised so the call was adjourned at 2:20 PM. Monthly meetings will be held as needed for the time being, meetings will become more frequent as we get closer to the end of the year. Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.