12-Volt Summit Gets Support, Speakers

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 6/2/2008

LOS ANGELES — The upcoming 12-Volt Summit to be held in Dallas, July 16-17, has attracted 60 pre-registrants, and two retailers have joined the event's steering committee, said event organizer Sabatino Day Williamson Group.

Sixth Avenue Electronics and Custom Sounds have joined the steering committee, which also consists of suppliers Pioneer, Kenwood, Alpine, Clarion and Directed, said Greg Sabatino, chairman of Sabatino Day.

Sony has also expressed interest in attending the event and the organizers are approaching the big box retailers to win support for the summit which will convene to discuss ways to promote awareness of aftermarket autosound, said Sabatino.

Original research on car stereo consumer awareness will be presented at the convention, and keynote speakers will include Ken Schmidt, the former director of communications for Harley-Davidson, who is credited with helping to turn that company around, said Sabatino. Another keynote speaker will be former Chicago Bulls basketball star Bob Love, now a motivational speaker on overcoming adversity.

The 12-Volt Summit will be held at the Dallas Wyndham DFW Airport North, featuring a day of seminars, followed by a day of meetings where a plan on raising awareness for car stereo will be presented and ratified. Suppliers wishing to support the summit are asked to contribute $15,000, and retailers wishing to bring many employees can sign up for $1,500 to $2,400 packages. Individual registration fees are $295 to $395. For more information visit www.12voltsummit.com.