NMEDA: Let’s get better every day

TAMPA, Fla. – The National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association celebrated some firsts at its annual conference in January – its first in-person event in nearly two years and its first co-location with the Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists (ADED). 

NMEDA and ADED, a professional network promoting excellence in driver rehabilitation based in Hickory, N.C., rescheduled the 2021 conference from September to January due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We ended up still dealing with the pandemic in January because of Omicron, so the people who were there were motivated and excited,” said Danny Langfield, CEO of NMEDA, which required proof of vaccination or a negative test to attend the event. “That gave it a nice family vibe. It was a big success.” 

As part of the co-location, NMEDA and ADED hosted their own conferences, with the exception of an opening general session, but they shared the Auto Mobility Expo. 

The shared expo worked well, Langfield says, because the vendors for the members of the two associations are similar – companies like BraunAbility, VMI and Toyota Mobility. 

“The associations we were like two planets revolving around the sun, with the sun being expo,” he said. 

NMEDA’s theme for the conference, “Getting Better Every Day,” was not only a hopeful nod to the pandemic but also the desire of its members to improve their businesses, Langfield says. 

“The members who were there got to network with the best operators and the most proactive vendors,” he said. 

NMEDA and ADED will co-locate again for their 2022 conferences, Oct. 1-3 in Charlotte, N.C., as part of a two-year contract, and Langfield expects supply chain challenges to be a big topic of discussion. 

“Everyone wants the same thing – for the (consumer) to get their equipment as fast as possible,” he said. “It’s a chaotic time, but we need to think about how we can work together to mitigate the challenges.”