08/27/2021
Tri-State 2021
Great to be Back
Following a year of pauses for in-person events, the 2021 Tri-State Tobacco and Candy Distributors Convention at Caesar's Southern Indiana was a more than welcome opportunity for wholesalers, manufacturers, brokers and others engaged in the industry to get together for networking, fun and learning. Thank you to all of our sponsors, presenters and attendees who made the 2021 Tri-State possible!
The Tri-State kicked off with News & Brews, featuring the following presenters and industry category topics:
| Nik Modi, Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets overseeing coverage of the tobacco, beverage and household personal care sectors, offered "look around the corner" insights to help wholesalers assess category shifts and trends in a market that continues to be impacted by covid-19 impacts on the supply channel, workforce and consumer behavior. | |||
| Jay Weidman, Senior Section Sales Director with Altria Group Distribution Company, and OWMA Executive Director Beth Wymer lead a conversation about the tobacco category moving beyond smoking. | |||
| Kyle May, Senior Manager of External Affairs for Reynolds Marketing Services Company, gave an overview of current tobacco issues at the federal level and in individual states, and included important insights to emerging issues for the industry. | |||
| Working together at all levels -- manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and associations -- was the focus of the session presented by James Jameson, Regional Sales Manager with ITG Brands. | |||
| Brandon Mayer, Director for Hershey US Convenience Central, offered business and category insights from The Hershey Company with emphasis on the pillars for category growth. |
- Global Widget, a leader in the CBD category, provided a Tri-State podcast to discuss CBD: Where Do We Stand and What's Next? Our thanks to Vincent Gillen, Global Widget Vice President of Sales, and Joe Agostinelli, Global Widget's weekly CBD University podcast host, for providing the podcast session.
- Are you ready to deal with cybercrime if it hits your business or even your personal life? Sponsored by Knight Insurance Group and presented by Bill Dotson of Rocker, the Cybercrime...Are You Ready session showed everyone that what we don't know really is exposing us to potentially expensive and damaging cyber threats.
Congratulations to Brent Shay, recipient of the 2021 Garry Adams Tri-State Memorial Award. Established in 2010, the award recognizes an individual for their commitment to the industry and community.
With 46 years in the industry, Brent's career in the c-store distributor business began in the warehouse of Hamilton Harris where he advanced from stocking shelves to doing deliveries and sales and eventually being promoted to branch manager. Today, Brent is the regional vice president of sales for Eby-Brown, based out of Indianapolis.
Brent's industry advocacy and support includes leadership on the boards of the Indiana Wholesale Distributors Association and the Kentucky Wholesale Distributors Association.
In his personal time, Brent drives for Meals on Wheels of Hendricks County, is involved with fundraising events for The Gathering Together Hospice in Plainfield, and is involved with the food pantry at Active Grace in Camby, Indiana. He is also a Precinct committeeman and was recently selected for the Citizens Academy of Plainfield, Indiana.