A strategic planis in the works Washington DC

In 2006 the NAPSA board of directors began an annual strategic planning meeting. The first meeting was held in St. Petersburg, FL. In 2007, the board decided that the meeting should be held two days prior to the start of the National Pavement Expo. This was a logical change since NAPSA also holds our annual members meeting at NPE and offered the perfect opportunity to share our strategic plan with our members immediately. This year's strategic planning meeting included:

• Offering some additional educational opportunities for members in 2008. The Education Committee has been working hard in 2007 to develop the logistics for offering the first NAPSA webinar. We have been developing opportunities to continue to educate members through various types of media.
• Increasing benefits too, such as, offering an employment attorney's services to answer member questions, and help develop HR resources for our members. In addition, GPS systems were discussed and a committee has been developed to assist with locating a company who may be able to address the special needs of the sweeping industry.
• Membership growth. Every year NAPSA strives to grow and become a greater force within the sweeping industry. The strength of our membership has helped us develop and retain the many benefits that are available to our members. For a list of benefits you can visit our website at www.NAPSAonline.com
• Membership participation in our committees and potential board member positions was another important aspect to the strategic planning meeting. We always welcome additional members to lend their expertise in our committees. Currently the NAPSA committees include: education, environmental, marketing, membership, benefits and certification.
• Certification with NAPSA has also been a program that keeps growing every year. Approximately 10% of NAPSA members have qualified for certification. Our Certified Sweeping Companies can be located in 27 states.
• Succession planning for NAPSA needed to be further defined. As founding members are completing their terms on the board and new members continue to join, a plan is being developed to make sure we continue to have smooth transitions between each presidency.

As you may already be aware NAPSA has been growing steadily over the last eight years and continues to grow and develop every year. Our benefits include: free education at the National Pavement Expo, networking opportunities, our Certified Sweeping Company program, a mentoring program, and many more discounts. In addition, there are fuel saving discounts, a credit card acceptance program and even discounts on payroll processing, just to name a few.

For more information about joining NAPSA visit www.NAPSAonline.com or contact our office at 269-383-6993.