Thousands in Show Prizes to be Awarded New Test Bench Donated as Grand Prize By Traci Matt STAFF WRITER With attendance at a steady low the past few years, Electrical Rebuilder’s Association Show sponsors have decided to go all-out for this year’s Atlantic City venue, scheduled for May 19 through 22. More than two dozen prizes, including tools, software, parts, and merchandise certificates, have been donated by suppliers. The minimum prize value is $250, and the grand prize is a new $10,000 test bench donated by JIMCO, Inc., who spawned the idea of show prizes. According to show promoter Polly Shea, exhibitors have never been this willing to do whatever it takes to get people to attend. “The feeling is simply that those rebuilders who continue to operate despite the past few years of adverse conditions must be those who are adapting and going to succeed in the end,” she said. “We want those rebuilders to know all the show and association have to offer, and getting them to Atlantic City this year is a key to shoring up what’s left of our industry. The suppliers know that and are really willing to contribute in a big financial way.” Tickets for the drawings will be handed out with name badges, and in order to be eligible for prizes they must be validated by each exhibitor before they are turned in at the Electrical Rebuilder’s Exchange booth. Each rebuilding company with a completed ticket is eligible for one prize and some- one from the company must be present at the drawing Saturday afternoon. The drawings will be done in alphabetical order by donating supplier name, with the exception of the grand prize, which will be awarded last. “This will be a lot of fun. Exhibitors will be happy because attendees will hang around longer, and there will be so many rebuilder winners on Saturday everyone should have smiles on their faces,” she said. “The end result will hopefully be more business for everybody.” When asked via e-mail why they chose to give away such an extravagant prize, JIMCO’s Juan and Carolyn Grube replied: “A la David Letterman, here are the top ten reasons we’re giving away a perfectly good, brand-new JIMCO Console Alternator-Generator-Starter Test bench with test lead set and TB990 Alternator Hookup Manual. 10. We’re celebrating 25 years of building JIMCO test benches. 9. Life has been very good to us, thank you. 8. We’re refusing to participate in an industry depression. 7. At least one of the rebuilders who’s said, “T’d sure like to own a JIMCO but I just can’t afford it,” will get his wish. 6. We want this to be a well-attended show. 5. JIMCO test equipment is here to stay! 4. No one told us we couldn’t. 3. We had a lot of fun at last year’s show—and we want to have even more fun this year. 2. It’s time to be different. Has any- one else done it? 1. Because we can!”’ In addition to the climactic Saturday afternoon giveaway, the show has much more to offer, beginning Thursday with ERA Technical Education Seminars presented by Joe Davis. This series of three classes are all new for 2005 and include “How Generators, Starters & Alternators Really Work,” “Information on the Latest Charging & Starting Systems,” and “Solving Rebuilding Problems.” There is an additional charge for these sessions and pre-registration is suggested. General admission to the show is free for ERA rebuilder members and $25 per person for rebuilder non-members. Non-exhibiting supplier admission is $325 per person for ERA members and $650 per person for non-members. Admission includes a roundtable, live demos and training stations on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Confirmed topics are repeatable quality, voltage regulators, batteries, soldering, and computers. As an added bonus, the SEMA International Auto Salon will run concurrently with the ERA Show in the Atlantic City Convention Center. The schedule of ERA Show events includes: Thursday, May 19 Joe Davis Seminar, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm Friday, May 20 Joe Davis Seminar, 8:30 am to 12:00 pm/1:00 pm to 3:30 pm ERA Open Meeting/Roundtable, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Saturday, May 21 Marketing Concepts Seminar, 8:00 am to 9:00 am Exhibition/All Day Live Demos, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Training Stations, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm/2:00 pm to 3:00 pm Prize Drawings (must be present to win), 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday, May 22 Exhibitor Discussion Group, 9:00 am to 10:00 am Computer Seminar, 9:00 am to 10:00 am Exhibition/Live Demos, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm Shea said that with one-third of the USS. population is less than a day’s drive of Atlantic City, and 20 percent of the nation’s business addresses, she’s opti- mistic that northeastern rebuilders will show their support for the industry this spring. Turn to pages 20 and 21 for more information or call the Electrical Rebuilder’s Exchange at (913) 642-4682.