Should You Join a Trade Association? By Traci Matt ASSOCIATE EDITOR Have you noticed that associations are all around you? A veritable alphabet soup of acronyms identify groups dedicated to the promotion of similar professions, political views, religions, and even handicaps. There’s the familiar AARP, ACLU, NAACP and NRA, as well as thousands of others—small and large— which testify to our need to belong. These acronyms can be confusing. For example, you may have thought NATO referred to an historic military alliance, but turns out it’s also a national group of theater owners. And if you forget to include the final “A” on the National Collegiate Athletic Association, you get NCA—the National Cleaners Association. Professional associations exist at local, state, regional, national and even global levels. Most are non-profit groups that strive to improve the indus- try they represent through government representation, training, networking, and pooling of resources to purchase services such as insurance and credit card programs. Income from membership dues, trade show fees, educational programs and advertisements are used by associations to cover overhead expenses and provide resources to fund member services. The electrical rebuilding industry is fortunate enough to have two trade asso- ciations working to improve business for all of us. The Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA) is the largest of these entities and has been around since 1941. Their 1,000 members include a variety of automo- tive remanufacturers. APRA President Bill Gager said their chief aim is to provide “represen- tation, promotion and protection” for the rebuilder where the government is concerned. “The primary responsibility of any trade association is to interface with the federal government or state and local governments,” he said. “While individ- uals always have a voice, they may not always have a business voice. That’s the primary thrust of the organization.” The APRA tracks about 20 different issues ranging from design patent regula- tion to Federal Trade Commission rulings. They also keep an eye on any legislation in the area of recycling operations. “We want to make sure they include remanufacturers as recyclers,” said Gager, who noted the APRA’s coinage of the phrase “Remanufacturing: The ultimate form of recycling.” “Sometimes people who work in the government don’t have a clue what this industry is all about. We are primarily there to make sure the rebuilder can con- tinue to conduct his business without interference from government,” he said. According to Gager, the APRA also offers approximately 50 different serv- ices which “more than pay” members’ dues, including the annual Big R Show held in Las Vegas, technical education seminars, management support ser- vices, discounted freight and shipping opportunities, and insurance programs. More than 100 new members have joined the APRA in 2006, making this the largest one-year recruitment of new members since 2001. Gager credits this increase to the association’s focus on adding new services such as online tech- nical bulletins and wiring diagrams, and electronic and print publications to help members stay on top of trends and issues. He said that positive feedback about the Internet resource www.autoelec- tricpro.com has been particularly strong. “Tt primarily saves them time, but it gives them an answer. Just finding the answer to some kind of technical prob- lem is worth the membership dues,” said Gager. Online and print communication is also a big thrust of the Electrical Rebuilder’s Association (ERA), founded in 2001 by Exchange publisher Polly Shea to focus on the specific needs of the automotive electrical rebuilder. Each ERA member receives a subscription to the Exchange, which has been published since 1983 and is the only newspaper produced monthly solely for the electri- cal rebuilder. ERA Secretary Bob Thomas said the association’s Web site is its “greatest asset.” “Tt is full of valuable information and provides an additional platform for mem- bers to seek technical help and get it quickly from other members. I believe that’s what associations are all about— members helping one another,’ said Thomas. ““Technical education is another area we have tried very hard to enhance and grow, both live seminars and other media like books and DVDs. Our mem- bers receive significant discounts on all of them, and we have even more planned for the near future.” The ERA has announced that their Web site guru Wes Grueninger will be heading up a new effort to produce a library of technical DVDs (see “ERA News,” page 3). ERA members also receive two free admissions to the association’s annual trade show, which features supplier exhibits, networking, and “wall-to-wall” training opportunities. The 2007 show will be in Portland, Ore., April 26 to 29. The ERA Technical Education semi- nars featuring industry icon Joe Davis are another service provided by the association. Davis’