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28th Annual NATE Convention Board & Committee Members Announcement

The National Association of Trade Exchanges (NATE) held their 28th annual convention at the Atlanta Marriott Gwinnett Place in Georgia, where trade exchanges from across the nation attended.

The convention, hosted by The Barter Company, consisted of seminars for trade exchange owners, brokers and sales representatives. Along with the seminars and discussion panels, convention attendees enjoyed the many social events planned as a means for networking including the NATE Trade Out and the awards banquet held at Whirly Ball Atlanta.

In addition, Certified Trade Broker (CTB) training was offered to attending brokers. Four brokers passed the written and oral exams and are now Registered Trade Brokers. After completing the rest of the training requirements, they will then move on to become CTBs.

NATE would like to congratulate both re-elected and new additions to the board and committees as follows:

• Ric Zampatti of The Barter Company, was elected as NATE President.
• Sharon Connelly of Exchange Enterprises, was elected as NATE Vice President.
• Gary Oshry of New England Trade, was elected as NATE Treasurer.
• Kim Ames of TradeAmericanCard, was re-elected as NATE Secretary.
• Kenn Flemmons of Southern Barter Exchange, was elected as NATE Director.
• Joe Prince of Barter Depot, was re-elected on the Ethics Committee.

For more info contact Lauren Pound (678) 302-6772 or click here.  

Is Your Trade Exchange Missing Out On Valuable New Business?

If your barter company�s listing on BarterNews.com isn�t current, you are definitely missing out on new business. The web site BarterNews.com receives heavy traffic � with over 150,000 page-views every month. Entrepreneurs and corporate executives check the thousands of articles, the weekly �Tuesday Report,� and the �Contacts Section� of our site. They use the latter to find barter companies with which to do business.

Is your barter company�s listing up-to-date?

To keep your listing current is very easy. See the links below to (A) update any changes to your company�s listing, such as new location, phone number, web site or other information, and (B) if your company has not been listed.

Here�s how to get on board:

To make changes to your listing click here.

For new listings click here.

Explaining America�s Weak & Sluggish Economy

A sluggish economic recovery sees some pundits suggesting the problem revolves around the notion that the richest Americans and companies don�t have enough money to invest or that �regulations� or �uncertainty� is discouraging investment.

No. According to recent data, the problem is that the primary customers in this economy, average American households, are losing ground fast. When a company�s customers are suffering, the company will suffer � no matter how much cash it has available to invest.

American consumers spend most of their money in at home. And that money becomes revenue for U.S. companies. So when the average consumer�s spending is weak, the whole economy is weak. Which is exactly the situation we�re in now.

A new study by Sentier Research provides the evidence. In the year 2000, after adjusting for inflation, the median household in the U.S. earned about $55,000 per year. Now, twelve years later, the median has fallen to $51,000.

The two age-groups that have been hit the worst during this period are households led by those in the 55-64 age group and those in the 25-34 age group. The incomes of the near-retirees have fallen by nearly 10% in just the past three years. Thus, the bottom-line is that the economic recovery is weak and sluggish because consumers are losing their spending power.