EXHIBITORS SHOULD SIGN UP THEIR BOOTH STAFF ... NO LATER THAN MONDAY, March 6 ... in order to make sure that the necessary credentials can be processed, prepared and mailed in advance.

Otherwise, there's always the chance of running into a long line at check-in at the Convention Center. Bypass that step by registering in advance and having your staff badges sent to your office.

The Gulf Coast Billiards Association ... of Jackson County, Mississippi was on the receiving end of a generous donation from McDermott Handcrafted Cues, according to the group's president Mike Chromey, who reported:

I was hoping to help the members who lost everything but McDermott Handcrafted Cues came through with a bigger idea — much, much more than I could have ever expected. They offered my league some cues, not just a few, they donated a cue to each and every member. Ninety-three cues total, adds up to (correct me if I am wrong), over a value of $20,000.

I cannot put the words onto the paper of how much the members of the league appreciated it ... The stories of the members who lost their cues in the flood waters, not really wanting to spend money on a new cue with everything else they had to replace. Clothing, food, beds for your children definitely takes a priority. The look on their faces when handing out the cues just made me feel good about everything. The smile it brought to so many was, and will be, unforgettable. Getting out and being with friends and shooting a few games of pool is the break so many of us needed. [ read the full account ]

The BCA's annual Board of Directors elections are underway ... with ballots scheduled for release next Friday, March 3. As stipulated by the association bylaws, all Voting, Associate, Retailer and Room Operator members — current as of January 5, 2006 (90 days prior to the election) — will be issued a ballot.

There are no open seats in the Retailer and Room Operator categories for the current election round, so only a single Voting ballot will be contained in the mailing. A total of five board seats in that Voting category are available, and will be filled in the order of finish. The four who receive the most number of votes will each earn a three-year term, and the individual who receives the fifth highest number of votes will earn a two-year term.

Three incumbent bids have been entered by current board members Mike Baggett, Dan Dishaw and Eric Weber, who are each seeking re-election. [ current board ]

Completed ballots must be returned to the BCA offices (in the envelope provided) by March 31, 2006, or may be hand-carried to the BCA Annual Membership Meeting at the Expo in Houston on April 5.

MICHAEL BROWNSTEIN ... is a former BCA board member who currently volunteers on the BCA Trade Show / Services Committee. In that role, he brings nearly 30 years of retail industry experience to the group, along with a degree in business management from Boston University.

The founder and former owner of Recreation World in Natick, Massachussetts, Mr. Brownstein sold the company to Brunswick Billiards last September. Scheduled for an early 2006 opening, the remodeled storefront will become one of four cornerstone Brunswick Home & Billiard Stores across the country, joining one in Chicago and two in Denver.

Longtime supporters of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Brownstein and his wife Linda also developed a family billiards format that combined competition in 19 venues with charitable fundraising to support medical research. The pilot program ran in the Northeast early in 2005, and succeeded in raising over $7,000 for the cause. [ more ]

Over the course of his board service, Mr. Brownstein served as the chairman of both the BCA Membership and Nominating Committees, initiated a group credit card program for members, arranged a BCA freight program, and lobbied to allow retailers to make appointments at the tradeshow before it opens. [ committee list ]

:: BCA PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

BCA IMAGE POOL CD ... Member-priced at $19.95, this companion CD contains fifty (50) full-size, high-resolution pool images that you can use in your marketing and promotional pieces. [ order ] Combined with templates provided in the BCA Design Rack CD, these images can liven up all of your four-color print projects. Both CD's are supplements to the BCA Creative Agency CD, which is a free benefit of membership, and includes password access to an online suite of tools at www.BCAMember.com. With their annual invoice, members are issued their passwords (= the actual invoice number), for access to the BCA Creative Agency website.