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Stampede Wings Into N.Y. For Drone-Featured Show

New York — A/V and IT distributor Stampede is heading to The Big Apple next week for the next leg of its Big Book of AV Tour & Conference series.

The traveling dealer show and conference will touch down at the Roosevelt Hotel on April 23, where its core CE focus will be broadened to embrace the burgeoning business in drones.

Underscoring the point, the conference will kick off with a business-building panel discussion on drones moderated by Kirsten Nelson, editor at large at TWICE sister publication Systems Contractor News.

According to Stampede president/COO Kevin Kelly, the New York stop is designed to set the tone for the rest of the year’s tour, combining information on how to profit from new product categories while continuing to build maximum sales from mainstay sectors.

“The success of the first leg of the 2015 tour was fueled both by a renewed interest in our manufacturing partners’ core A/V-IT solution offerings as well as by a growing dealer and end user interest to learn more about how to incorporate drones into their businesses,” Kelly noted.

“In fact, the decision to incorporate drones into their businesses is helping to drive sales of all of the other related A/V-IT solutions that are necessary to realize the full benefits of drones,” he continued. “It’s like we have always said: The advent of the new helps to revitalize the mainstays of our industry.”

Accordingly, the first panel hosted by Nelson will be “Drones: The Next Wave of Innovation is in the Sky!” at 10 a.m. The sessions will include panelists from Stampede, Unmanned Vehicle University and manufacturer XFLY Systems, each of whom will address making drones a practical and profitable part of a near-term business plan.

On the product front, Stampede will introduce at the event XFLY’s new line of XFold ultra-professional multi-rotor platform drones that are designed for aerial cinematography, with applications in mapping and film and television production.

According to XFLY Systems president TJ Diaz, “The New York stop will be our first local market appearance in our new partnership with Stampede. This new distribution agreement with Stampede joins together the world’s best multi-rotor SUAV [small unmanned aerial vehicle] platforms with the world’s best channel sales team in North America.

“I believe that this partnership will help to bring the benefits of our technology to more commercial markets, faster, and New York is the first stop of many,” Diaz said.

Indeed, following the New York stop, the AV Tour & Conference will continue on to Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 14 and Nashville, Tenn., on May 21. The conference kicked off in January with stops in Tampa, Las Vegas, Chicago and Houston and, like the New York leg, also featured exhibits, CTS-certified training sessions, feature presentations and InfoComm roundtable events.

Specifically, the New York stop will feature a morning keynote by InfoComm senior VP Duffy Wilbert, CTS, CAE, and seven industry training sessions including:

* “10 Steps to a Successful Video Wall” by Mark Weniger, Channel Sales Account Manager for NEC;

* “Sorting Out Media Players for Digital Signage,” sponsored by Samsung;

* “Overcoming Projector Installation Challenges” by Robert Guentner of Optoma Technologies; and

* “Digital Signage with Brightsign” by Tom Mendoza.

There will also be three separate training sessions focused on drones and UAV technology. They include:

* an “Overview of the Drone/ UAS Industry and Business Potential” by Paul Dragos, Unmanned Vehicle University’s Dean of School of Flight Training;

* “Drone Aerial Cinematography” by ZM Interactive (ZMI); and

* “xFold Drone Technical Configuration Training” by XFLY’s Diaz.

“Our seven training sessions will equip attendees with the knowledge to understand and take advantage of future product and market trends,” said Kelly. “Couple that knowledge with connections made and insight shared through the open roundtable discussions and we’re ensuring that attendees leave with what’s needed to enhance their product portfolio and grow their business.”

As an added incentive, Stampede will also offer a $500 Stampede credit to qualified attendees and a $50 Amex gift card to all in attendance. Every attendee will also be entered into a drawing to win a 42-inch HDTV, the distributor said.

Manufacturers participating in the 2015 Stampede Big Book of AV Tour & Conference Series include Optoma, Sharp, Chief, Mustang, Ken-a-vision, Lumens, Sony, Christie, Hitatchi, Hitachi Starboard, Samsung, Ladibug, Atlona, Balt, Iogear, Epson, LG, Vision, NEC, Benq, Da-Lite, Casio, AVteq, Canon, Peerless AV, Hall Research, DynoScan, Vidyo, Circle Technology, Whoosh Screen Shine, Gefen, MediaPointe, AmpliVox, Audio Solutions, Vaddio, Luidia and BrightSign.

For more information about the event and to register to attend, dealers and A/V professionals can visit BigBookofAVTour.com.

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