3rd Annual Apple Specialist Conference in May to Be Largest Gathering of Independent Apple Dealers in U.S.; More Than 100 Principals and Owners from Billion-Dollar Channel Expected to Attend.

CHICAGO -- The Apple Specialist Marketing Co-op (ASMC) is hosting its third annual conference in Chicago May 3rd - 5th. "This conference is THE channel event of the year," according to ASMC Executive Director Kevin Langdon. "We've invited 200 of the top independent Apple Specialist Dealers and Resellers from the U.S. and Canada to participate in what is sure to be one of the hottest events in many years."

Attendees will receive three days filled with business development, sales and technical training along with presentations from industry heavyweights like Apple, Ingram Micro, Microsoft and more. More than 40 vendors participated in last year's event. According to one attendee of last year's conference, "Having become seriously jaded after 25 years of attending trade shows, this was one of the rare ones...Wow. What a jam-packed, feature filled event."

Vendor opportunities include the highly popular Speed Dating event, which pairs vendors and Apple Specialists in a three-hour dinner networking cruise aboard the Spirit of Chicago. Speed Dating allows vendors to meet and talk directly to Apple Specialists one-on-one and answer their questions directly. More than 80 percent of the 2005 vendors rated the experience as "awesome" and said they would be back this year.

"Xerox had a great time. I thought (the) show was a great venue to talk to some real solution providers; ones that still are given the chance to make a choice for their customers," according to Thad Gould with the Xerox Office Group.

Harvey Stone from Brenthaven raves about his experience building relationships with the Apple Specialists: "The positive energy was incredible...it was one of the finest vendor events I have ever attended."

"It was great in getting the word out about our product," said Dan Bruns of eCartDeluxe of his company's experience at last year's conference.

The Vendor Fair will be Thursday evening, May 4, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and will feature special offers for ASMC members from a variety of high-impact vendors. Premier Sponsorships and booth spaces can be arranged by contacting Kevin Langdon at 858-277-9653 or [e-mail].

In addition to providing vendors with numerous opportunities to showcase their products and network one-on-one with Apple resellers, this year's conference offers attendees separate tracks for Retail and B2B, including business development, technical and sales training sessions.

Conference topics include:

--Managed Services on the Mac

--Advanced SAN Architecture

--"Solution Selling" strategies

--Industry Best Practices

"This conference reflects the growing value of ASMC and our expanding relationships with our members and vendor associates," said Langdon. "Apple Specialists are great partners for vendors because they are always looking for new, innovative ways to meet their clients' needs. The ASMC is the perfect vehicle to bring the solutions to the solution providers."

The Apple Specialist Marketing Co-op is an association representing 150 Apple Specialist Dealers and Service Providers with more than 300 locations throughout the U.S. ASMC was formed in 2004 to raise awareness of the value that independent Apple Specialist Dealers bring to their communities. ASMC provides advertising, marketing and promotional opportunities for its members, as well as a wide range of training and business improvement activities each year.