San Antonio, Texas - - N.A.S.E.D. (The National Association of Special Equipment Dealers) held their annual meeting the evening prior to the beginning of the 2003 American Academy of Audiology (AAA) convention. At this meeting, the President of the association, Sherman Lord of Midlantic Technologies Group, reviewed old business. He then asked each board member to report on their specific areas and progress that has been made.
A new item initiated by Sherman and Joe Quartuccio of Northeastern Technologies, chair of Governance and By-Laws, will ensure members remain in compliance with N.A.S.E.D. standards. Instead of having each company send in their paperwork to the association, N.A.S.E.D. will now do unannounced spot checks on members.
Next, two new board members were voted into position: Chick Clemens of Gordon Stowe & Associates, was elected as Chair of Technical Standards. This position reviews and is responsible for technical requirements for those in the field responsible for audiometric calibrations, and for continued education of service technicians. Lisa Rome, of DAC Medical Inc. was elected to the position of secretary which entails keeping minutes of all meetings held by the association and additional duties required by the Executive Committee.
This year the NASED lifetime Achievement award was presented by the President Sherman Lord to Ernest Butler, M.D. of Acoustic Systems. Dr. Butler then briefly addressed the group and graciously accepted the award on behalf of all of the Acoustic Systems Employees.
Finally, Jim Schilling, of Medical Technologies Group, introduced a new element into the usual N.A.S.E.D. meeting format - a motivational guest speaker! Danita Bye, of Sales Growth Specialists of Medina, MN gave a weary group of members a shot of adrenaline when speaking on new approaches to selling. She handled a pretty difficult crowd but made excellent headway in emphasizing her points such as: putting yourself in the customer's shoes; the psychology Behind the Sale; and one that stood out most - change your approach by closing the customer first. She is an excellent speaker with a knack for getting groups to interact and participate in the presentation. She is a motivator, and has materials on very useful information such as sales, training, and recruiting.
The National Association of Special Equipment Dealers, known as N.A.S.E.D., is the only national group dedicated to establishing, maintaining and monitoring the professional and ethical standards for our members working with hearing testing equipment. With members all over the United States, N.A.S.E.D. regulates and informs its members and sustaining members of the legal and medical standards they must uphold and the skills and documentation they are for which they are responsible. For more information, check out or the website at: www.nased.com. - Lisa Rome
