Fairfax, VA: The American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA) is proud to announce that the Thursday general session keynote speaker for the AWMA Marketplace & Solutions Expo in Las Vegas, February 24-26, 2015, will be adventurer Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person in history to summit Mount Everest.
Weihenmayer, who has reached the summit of the tallest mountain peaks on each continent, will speak at the General Session, 8:30-9:30 am, Thursday, February 26, at the Paris Las Vegas, site of the association’s annual convention.
Re-defining what it means to be blind, Erik has opened the minds of people around the world. “Erik continues to inspire others with motivational talks, charity work, and wild adventures. We are delighted that he will be with us to open the final day of our exciting new 2015 Expo,” said AWMA President & CEO Scott Ramminger.
Erik has many years of sustained high visibility in the U.S. and abroad, due to his many accomplishments. He:
- became one of only 100 mountaineers to climb all Seven Summits;
- completed the Primal Quest, billed as the toughest adventure race in the world;
- spoke to the U.S. President at 26,000’ on Everest, then visited him with his team in the Oval Office;
- was the cover story for Time, Outside, Parade, and Climbing magazines, plus many others;
- has appeared on the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, Oprah, 20/20, Nightline, Charlie Rose, Good Morning America, and others;
- led six blind Tibetan teenagers to 21,500’ on the north side of Everest, higher than any group of blind people have ever stood;
- has been World News Tonight’s Person of the Week.
The AWMA Marketplace & Solutions Expo is the only forum dedicated to convenience store distribution, where buyers who are purchasing for more than 150,000 stores come to see new products, make buying decisions and learn about the latest trends. At the Expo, convenience wholesale distributors, brokers, retailers, manufacturers and others in the industry network and share ideas and experiences as they seek to build their businesses. It is the only industry event focused specifically on supply chain issues and solutions, new product introductions, building stronger distributor/supplier relationships and educational sessions on common issues.
Registration, housing and complete details of the show can be found at: www.awmamarketplace.com.
The American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA) is the only international trade organization working on behalf of convenience distributors in the United States. Its distributor members represent more than $85 billion in U.S. convenience product sales. Associate members include manufacturers, service providers, technology companies, brokers, retailers and others allied to the convenience retailing industry.
In addition to convenience stores, their largest customer segment, convenience distributors also service grocery stores, drug stores, tobacco shops, mass merchants, newsstands, concession stands, gift shops, fundraising groups, restaurants, institutions and much more.
