Over 100 of the industry’s top retail and solution provider executives will meet at the Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort September 27 – 29 in Fort Myers, Florida, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of LP Magazine as well as discuss issues around the evolution and future of retail loss prevention. In addition to meetings of the magazine’s editorial and vendor advisory boards, the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s (RILA) Asset Protection Leaders Council (APLC) and the Loss Prevention Foundation’s Board of Directors will also hold separate meetings.
“The annual meeting is the highlight of our year,” said Jim Lee, LPC, executive editor of LP Magazine and a director of the LP Foundation. “This is an opportunity to host many of the top executives in our industry for intimate discussions of key issues impacting retail loss prevention as well as enjoy wonderful networking events in a relaxed, casual environment.”
The first day of the event will feature a golf outing Tuesday morning followed by a meeting of the magazine’s vendor advisory board (VAB), which includes the magazine’s top advertisers. The VAB will discuss marketing opportunities as well as hear presentations by various marketing executives on topics related to the challenges and benefits of partnering with retail organizations in an evolving retail landscape. The VAB afternoon meeting will be followed by a welcome reception for all attendees and their spouses sponsored by RILA.
Wednesday morning will begin with a meeting of RILA’s APLC members conducted by Lisa LaBruno, vice president of LP and legal affairs for RILA. The meeting will focus on projects sponsored by the council including research by University of Leicester Professor Adrian Beck on developing a consensus definition of shrinkage and how retail loss can be better defined and measured in the future. In addition to APLC members, interested retail executives attending the Florida event who would like to sit in on the APLC meeting may contact LaBruno at lisa.labruno@rila.org.
The LP Magazine Annual Editorial Board meeting will take place Wednesday afternoon featuring our retail sponsors and contributors, industry solution providers from the VAB and invited guests. The afternoon will include several educational sessions, panel discussions with both retail and vendor professionals on key topics, and a presentation by Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross of the Boston Police Department on Boston’s success with community policing in creating safer neighborhoods and strong partnerships with retailers. Chief Gross’ appearance is sponsored by The Zellman Group. Cocktails sponsored by Protos Security and dinner sponsored by InstaKey will follow Wednesday evening. The dinner will include special guest speaker, Mike Eruzione, the captain of the US national hockey team that defeated the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics in the famous “Miracle on Ice” game in which he scored the winning goal. Eruzione’s appearance is sponsored by CEC and Tyco.
The three-day event concludes Thursday morning with the Loss Prevention Foundation’s semi-annual board meeting, with the LPF celebrating the organization’s 10-year anniversary. The business meeting for board members and invited guests will provide a status update of ongoing activities related to progress on the industry’s LPQ and LPC certifications, as well as the Foundation’s Loss Prevention Benevolent Fund that provides assistance to families of LP professionals killed in the line duty or undergoing financial hardships due to serious illness, natural disaster, or other qualifying situations. Individuals interested in attending the LP Foundation meeting as a guest should contact Gene Smith, LPC, at gene.smith@losspreventionfoundation.org.
For more information about the annual meeting, contact LP Magazine’s Managing Editor, Jack Trlica, at jackt@lpportal.com.