Fall 2009 Channel Partners Conference is returning to Miami.

Channel Partners Fall 2009 is going back to the beach ... South Beach! The fall show will be held Sept. 23-25 at the Miami Convention Center. To honor the ultimate “work hard, play hard” crowd, PHONE+ magazine is holding the top channel conference in one of our attendees’ favorite locations.

Spend your days learning in education sessions and networking in the expo hall, and spend your nights loving the nightlife and living it up on the strip. Keep checking the Web site for more information on the Fall 2009 conference. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Spring 2009 show, taking place March 1-3 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Channel partners flocked to the Spring 2008 Channel Partners Conference & Expo, held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, March 10-12, where the expo hall show floor saw more than eight hours of networking traffic and more than 150 exhibitors. This week, at the well-attended spring show at the World Trade Center in Boston, the Las Vegas winners from seven Best in Show categories were presented with their trophies. PHONE+ sends out emphatic congratulations to all the winners! (And be sure to check out the October issue of PHONE+ for the Boston show winners!)

PAETEC’s Chris Bantoft accepts the award for Best Trade Show Booth at the Vegas show. The exhibitor’s new design featured a classy wood-paneled look and open, inviting space for attendees to interact.

TelePacific Communications’ brought home two awards. Here, Dick Jalkut and Justin Chris-Tensen accept the awards for Best After-Hours Party and Best Trade Show Giveaway. The company received the award for Best After-Hours Party for its evening of cocktails and appetizers at the Voodoo Lounge atop the Rio Hotel and Casino. TelePacific won the award for Best Trade Show Giveaway with its battery-powered fan that lit up to reveal the company's name.

Cliff Stalker and others in the One Communications crew accept the award for Best Promotion in Vegas last spring. The company’s Porsche roll had attendees taking a gamble on a new car by rolling seven die to see if they could spell out “Porsche” to win the hot rod.

Telarus’ Patrick Oborn and Lance Akins accept the award for Best First-Time Exhibitor. Telarus has put its own twist on the master agent model with automated tools for opportunity, order and account management for traditional agents, VARs and referral partners.

Additionally, Motorola took home the award for Best Trade Show Theme with its Opportunity Rocks motif; and Telesphere’s sweet deal incentive program won the award for Best Channel Incentive. The companies, not present at the Boston show, are also sent out a sincere congratulations from the PHONE+ and Channel Partners Conference & Expo crew. See you all next spring!

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Channel Partners Expo: Best in Show Awards

The Top 15 Channel Managers for 2008, as named by PHONE+ readers, will be announced during Monday’s opening remarks at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo. These winners, along with the Top 50 Channel Programs, will be profiled in the 2008 PHONE+ Channel Program Guide, due out in October.

The awards will be presented during the welcoming remarks, which will kick off at 1 p.m. in the Amphitheater at the World Trade Center. Nearly 1,000 votes were cast by PHONE+ readers for their favorite channel managers and the competition was fierce. Be sure to attend to cheer on your nominee and find out if they were selected as a winner. Winners also will be listed on www.phoneplusmag.com on Monday! And stick around after the winners are announced for the General Session, “Cable Company Executives on Channel Strategies,” at 1:30 p.m. See you at the show!

While networking and business deals are the main goal on the Expo Hall floor, the prizes and giveaways held by exhibitors bring some extra excitement to the floor. Check out all the happenings from these Channel Partners exhibitors – and be sure to bring plenty of business cards to enter the many prize drawings on the show floor!

And once again, PHONE+ is bringing back its passport promotion. This time, all of the passport participants are first time Channel Partner’s exhibitors. The passport program is a great way to get to know them and find out about their products. Qualified attendees who get their passports “stamped” by every passport vendor (15 in all) will be entered to win a $2,500 American Express Gift Card.

Giveaways

BullsEye Telecom will hold a drawing for a GARMIN nuvio city navigator at their booth. Stop by booth 2041 for a change to win the 260W Preloaded City Navigator® NT. The navigator retails at $374.99 and includes suction cup mount, vehicle power cable, dashboard disc and a quick start manual

Time Warner Cable Business Class is hosting a Nintendo® Wii Challenge at Booth #3033. The winner will receive a Wii and bragging rights for the golf challenge. Stop by the TWCBC booth for more information and to register to compete. Participants must drop their business card at the booth to be eligible.

Visit the McGraw Communications booth (2013) during the Channel Partner show and win CA$H. Stop by, spin our prize wheel, and win hard cash. Let us show you how you can increase your earnings through McGraw Communications and get paid for services you never got paid on before.

Toucan Global (booth 1049) will be giving away FOUR Snap Communicator units (a $396 value each) to one lucky winner! Drop off your business card in the fishbowl at booth 1049 to enter. Need not be present to win. The winner will be randomly drawn from all business cards entered at the end of the show. Winner will be contacted via email and phone. We will ship the units directly to the winner.

Parties

InterCall and Intelisys will host an exclusive Boston Cruise Party on Tuesday, August 19 at 6:30 p.m. The cruise is for agents who are interested in Intelisys’ agent program and the opportunity to sell InterCall services as well as current Intelisys agents.

The InterCall and Intelisys Boston Cruise Party is the prime opportunity for you to meet and mingle with sales experts from InterCall and Intelisys while enjoying an evening of cocktails, appetizers and an outstanding cruise of the Historic Boston Harbor. For tickets, please stop by the InterCall booth #1000 or Intelisys booth #2051. Don't miss out!

Once again, the PHONE+ staff will be on the lookout for the most innovative exhibits, promotions, giveaways, parties and more. Think your company is up to the challenge? Go ahead and brag so we can be sure to keep an eye out for you at the show.

Best of Show awards will be given in the following categories:

• Best Trade Show Theme

• Best First-Time Exhibitor

• Best Trade Show Booth

• Best Channel Promotion (contests, appearances, etc. that drive traffic to your booth)

• Best Channel Incentive (sales incentives for channel partners)

• Best After-Hours Party

• Best Trade Show Giveaway (cool swag and free stuff)

Think you're a contender? Send Corrina Church (cchurch@vpico.com) your company name, booth number and category for which you'd like to be considered by Monday, August 11.

Ethernet WAN Applications & Designs: The "What and How" to Meeting Customer Needs

Join XO as they explore various approaches to implementing Ethernet, including Ethernet over copper, fiber and wireless. We will explore case histories with a focus on customer requirements, solution overview, network design and technical considerations.

Speakers: Andy Janoschka, Regional Sales Director, Hatteras Networks

Chris Peck, Sales Support Senior Manager, XO Communications

Mark Saffel, Sales Engineering Director, XO Communications

The XO Vendor Presentation is taking place Monday, August 18 from 5-5:50pm in Harborview 2.

Channel Partners Boston is about a month away and the Early Bird discount ends this Friday, July 18. Be sure to register today, the conference offers valuable education sessions explaining new technologies and showing you the best ways to sell them. To show you what you can learn at the show, we’ve compiled a handy top-10 list.

10. Vendor updates from TNCI, PAETEC, XO, Time Warner Cable, ACC Business and Smoothstone

9. How to understand and sell colo

Capitalizing on Colo is taking place Aug. 18 at 3pm

8. How to sell satellite

Successfully Selling Satellite is taking place Aug. 18 at 4pm

7. Industry trends from Gartner Research Vice President, Indirect Channel Programs & Sales Strategies, Tiffani Bova

Industry Address: Reading the Tea Leaves is taking place Aug. 19 at 11:30am

6. VoIP and SIP sales tips

5. VoIP and SIP basic technical information

VoIP/SIP boot camp is taking place Aug. 18 at 9am. Additional registration is required.

4. Next generation of conferencing solutions

Conferencing 2.0 is taking place Aug. 19 at 9:30am

3. Cable executives’ thoughts on the channel and plans for future channel strategies

Roundtable: Cable Company Executives on Channel Strategies is taking place Aug. 18 at 1:30pm

2. If industry analysts think the slowing economy will impact telecom sales

The Lowdown on the Downturn is taking place Aug. 18 at 3pm

1. How to run an effective business when you’re a sales guy at heart

The Accidental Entrepreneur is taking place Aug. 19 at 9:30am