Educational Forum set for Dec. 3 in Tarrytown, N.Y.
Timely education for convenience store operators and other neighborhood retailers will be offered Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Tarrytown, N.Y.
Titled “Building Blocks for Today’s Neighborhood Retailers” and presented by the New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS), the event is a one-day laboratory of learning, networking, and product sourcing for retailers from the Hudson Valley, Metro New York, and surrounding areas.
“In today’s regulatory and competitive environment, success is really hard for neighborhood retailers to achieve —especially in New York State,” said NYACS President Jim Calvin. “This forum will provide practical knowledge, resources and key contacts they can use to build their businesses.”
“Building Blocks” offers 10 free workshops for owners, operators and managers of convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores, bodegas, newsstands, smoke shops, college stores, and other retail formats.
Topics will include:
– “Robbery Deterrence & Safety: Protecting Your Employees and Your Business” with Michael Davis, vice president of member services for the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).
– “How EMV Chip Cards Will Impact Your Store” with Sandra Young, president of Petroleum Processing Solutions Inc.
– “Surviving a Sales Tax Audit” with Richard Bianchi, certified public accountant and a shareholder in the Hudson N.Y. firm of Shallo, Galluscio, Bianchi & Fucito PC.
– “Managing the Rapidly Changing Vaping Category” presented by a panel of tobacco industry experts to be announced.
– “The New Petroleum Bulk Storage Regulations” with Jim Victor, environmental engineer and petroleum bulk storage coordinator for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
– “Maximizing Your Lottery Program,” with Judy Drislane, assistant regional director of New York Lottery.
– “Retail Entrepreneurship 101” for those brand-new to the business, presented by Scorpio Rogers, a professor in the Business Department at Westchester Community College who serves on the boards of WCC’s Gateway to Entrepreneurship and the Westchester Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
– “Key Factors in Buying or Selling a Retail Business” presented by Lawrence Culley, a Staten Island attorney and business consultant.
Workshop sessions will be 1:30 to 2:30 pm and 4:30 to 5:30 pm. In between, from 2:30 to 4:30, retail attendees will browse tabletop exhibits by leading suppliers and service providers—and enter drawings for cash prizes totaling $1,000.
Sponsoring partners are XtraMart Convenience Stores, Altria Corp., Swisher International, Sunoco Inc., and the National Association of Convenience Stores.
For workshop descriptions, directions, and to pre-register, retailers may call 800-336-9227 or visit www.nyacs.org.
