8:00 am – 10:45 am: IBWA General Session, Annual Business Meeting, Awards Ceremony, Keynote Presentation, and Continental Breakfast (1.5 Business CEUs)
Meet the Speakers: Hih Song Kim, BlueTriton Brands, Joe Doss, IBWA, and Keynote Speaker: Bob Marsh.
Keynote Presentation Description: In a complex world with information overload, confusing processes, and difficulty growing, Marsh’s presentation—“Winning with Simplicity”—removes complexity and turns simplicity into a competitive advantage. His keynote address will launch attendees on a journey of creating an elite customer experience that will become their company’s greatest weapon to capture market share, resulting in more growth opportunities. Attendees will walk away with new skills and resources including how to lead with confidence, drive faster decision-making, how to steer customers through decisions to win more and win faster, and maximize impact.
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11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Bottled Water Sales Trends (1 Business CEU)
Meet the Speaker: Gary Hemphill, Beverage Marketing Corporation
Session Description: The bottled water category reached a new high in 2023, and widened its lead as the most popular packaged beverage in the United States, with growth continuing into 2024. In this fast-paced session, learn how the category and its key segments are performing, how inflation and other developments are impacting the business, as well as the outlook for the future. Also, get perspective on competitive refreshment beverage categories like carbonated soft drinks, sports drinks, and more.
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1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Emerging Contaminants and Regulations: An Update on What’s New (1 Technical CEU)
Meet the Speaker: Rick Zimmer, Eurofins
Session Description: In an ever-changing world, water producers must simultaneously track and keep pace with new regulations, new contaminants, and changing standards for substances like Per- and Poly-alkyl Substances (PFAS), 1,4-Dioxane, 1,2,3-Trichloropropane, BPA, Microplastics, and more. Come to this session to get a detailed summary of all new and pending Federal & State Regulations, new emerging contaminants and their degrees of relevance & risk to the bottled water community, and future methods & tools to stay current with this dynamic topic.
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1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Boost Your Brand: How to Partner With Social Media Influencers (1 Business CEU)
Speakers: Courtney Chen, Influencer, Courtney Miller, IBWA, and Tania Ferlin, Husky Technologies™
Moderator: Jill Culora, IBWA
Partnering with social media influencers is a powerful way to elevate your brand’s visibility and credibility. Our panel of experts—which includes a brand owner, influencer, and partnership manager—will guide you through the essentials of an influencer marketing campaign, covering everything from identifying the right influencers to crafting compelling collaboration strategies. Whether you are a small business owner or a marketing professional, this session will equip you with practical insights and tools to leverage influencer marketing and boost your brand’s presence online. Join us to explore the dynamic world of social media influencers and take your brand promotion to the next level (even if you have a small budget)! Come prepared with questions, as this insightful session will include a moderated discussion with time for audience Q&A.
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2:45 pm – 3:45 pm: Reverse Osmosis: An Overview of Monitoring and Maintenance (1 Technical CEU)
Meet the Speakers: George Iliopoulos, Steelhead
Session Description: Are you looking to refresh your Reverse Osmosis (RO) knowledge? This session will take attendees on a step-by-step journey through the RO system. From the basics and principles of RO to system design, operation, and maintenance, to RO membranes and more, attendees will gain valuable information on their plant’s water treatment system. Don’t miss the chance to level up your RO expertise!
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2:45 pm – 3:45 pm: Watching the Dust Settle: What is the Outcome of the 2024 General Election and Its Impact on the Bottled Water Industry (1 Business CEU)
Meet the Speakers: Cory Martin and James “JP” Toner of IBWA
Session Description: Come and join with industry peers as we discuss the outcome of the 2024 general election, which is occurring the day before this educational session! This session will review the U.S. presidential, senate, and congressional elections and who to expect to control the levers of legislating come January 2025. We will also dive into key state outcomes as changes of legislative control will impact how the bottled water industry engages in issues in the coming year.
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4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Health and Safety Tools for Frontline Employees (1 Technical CEU)
Meet the Speaker: Matt Kelly, BlueTriton Brands
Session Description: This interactive session will showcase BlueTriton Brands’ ReadyRefresh ergonomic safe lifting program and situational awareness training. You’ll learn how to protect yourself and employees from injury through discussing their safe lifting philosophy, key components of an effective training program with an interactive “feeling is believing” approach to gain team buy-in. Additionally, the session will teach you to recognize driving hazards by improving close quarter driving skills, and critical thinking strategies. Whether you’re loading trucks or driving to customers, this session will enhance your team’s health and safety practices to prevent injuries and accidents.
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4:00 pm – 5:15 pm: CPO Program: PTRM Update and Study Session (1.25 Technical CEUs)
Meet the Speakers: Al Lear, IBWA, and Bob Hirst, Sonoran Drinking Water Advisors LLC
Session Description: This session is your one stop for all things related to the updated IBWA Plant Technical Reference Manual (PTRM) and CPO Exam. First, attendees will learn what’s new about the new PTRM! Next, let’s have some fun while challenging one another and a “plant manager” or “quality manager” in a game show format. If you have ever attended an IBWA annual meeting, you know the drill…but attend anyway as this version of the game is updated with new material from the 2023 IBWA Plant Technical Reference Manual (PTRM). Come join the fun, and maybe even learn something new!
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