AAPL News Blast

To:         All AAPL Members
From:    Rimmer Covington, President 

On behalf of the officers and directors of AAPL I make the following important announcements.

1. Robin Forte’ has resigned as AAPL executive vice president effective when a suitable replacement has been secured.
   
   
2. NAPE Expos has a new office location in the city of Irving, about 25 minutes from the AAPL Headquarters.  AAPL expects the move to improve the functionality of the NAPE staff to generate value for NAPE attendees and revenue to the NAPE partners including AAPL, and allow the staff of AAPL to better serve the needs of its members.
   
   
3. I am pleased to advise you that Robin Forte’ will remain as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the NAPE Expo LP and an advisor to AAPL at least through 2014.
   
   
4. This action has been taken with the full confidence of the NAPE Expo parties. This change in no way affects AAPL’s 50% ownership in NAPE nor AAPL’s management and control of NAPE as its general partner.
5. The tremendous growth of both AAPL and NAPE in recent years makes it clear that the AAPL EVP job should not be burdened with the NAPE management job. 
   
   Since 1993, the year of the first NAPE, the AAPL membership is up from 7,000 to 12,000 and its budget has doubled from $1.5 million to $3.0 million. In the same time period NAPE has grown to two shows a year with 21,000 attendees, 1300 companies and a budget of $9.0 million. And only 15% of NAPE attendees are AAPL members.
   
   We are confident that these changes will preserve and protect both the member services of AAPL and the customer service and profitability of NAPE – and both are of the utmost importance.
   
   
6. I have asked Steve Wentworth, AAPL first vice president, to chair the search committee for the new AAPL executive vice president.
   
   

Rimmer Covington
AAPL President