The AAPN Portland (OR) Regional Conference on August 15 was simply spectacular. We hosted 98 people from 35 organizations. As usual, all of our expert speakers were from within the AAPN. We truly have a Human Library of skills and experience. Yesterday we heard from:
- Tony Anzovino, AAPN President and Chief Sourcing & Merchandising Officer at Haggar Clothing Co
- Ron Roach, President of Contempora Fabrics Inc.
- Juan Zighelboim, President of Textiles Opico S.A. de C.V. dba TexOps
- Jill Coleman, Alvanon
- Jim Chi, VP, e.dye Limited
- Ed Gribbin, Chief Engagement Officer, Impactiva
Ron Roach shared a quote in his talk from Seth Godin. Ironically Seth's blog entry today validates the value of the AAPN as he writes, "Leadership. Leaders create the conditions where people choose new actions. The choices are voluntary. They’re made by people who see a new landscape, new opportunities and new options. You can’t make people change. But you can create an environment where they choose to".
That's the heritage of the last 25 years of AAPN. We have been driven by this anonymous quote: “Everyone says we shouldn’t worry about things we can’t change or can’t control. Well, that’s baloney. Those are EXACTLY the things we ought to worry about”. We're the industry's networking platform to take action, close gaps, build trust and above all else share knowledge.
Second in size of company attendance to 15 people from Columbia Sportswear (who we have the privilege to visit with today), Tegra sent a strong contingent including Jolene Hannon, second from left below, who was on our 6 day Carolinas Mill Tour earlier this year.
Why do we do these Regional events? Because the road to success is always under construction. That's why we lead the industry as an organizations that allows its members to learn from themselves, to collectively raise their Apparel IQ.
The next event, our 4th in Dallas, is September 12. Do NOT miss this major networking opportunity. Register at https://www.aapnetwork.net/index.php?option=com_jevents&task=icalevent.detail&evid=71