To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. g n i t o o h S For Smith & Wesson Rewards Dealers, Distributors With Paradise Vacation W arm tropical breezes and soft Hawaiian music mixed with the gentle lapping of the Pacific ocean on Kaanapali Beach to present the perfect setting for Smith & Wesson to say “aloha” and “mahalo” to its gun dealers and distributors. Smith & Wesson hosted 50 dealers, five distributors and two of the company’s top in-house sales reps, plus their spouses and guests, at the spectacular Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa for seven days in September, a reward for sales achievements during the company’s Shooting for Hawaii promotion. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said George Romanoff of Ace their way to celebrate and say thank you to their dealers and distributors,” Ingrao said. “It’s the trip of a lifetime for me. I’ve never been here. It’s awesome,” Susan Ingrao said. “Everything has been super, super deluxe. They’ve treated us so wonderfully. I’ve loved all the activities we’ve had.” Jarrod Van Brocklin, RSR Group national sales manager, said the Shooting for Hawaii promotion was “definitely an out-of-the-box thing.” “I’ve been in the business since 1991 and I hadn’t seen anything of this magnitude for dealers and distributors. Smith and Wesson did it first-class all the way around. I think everybody is impressed,” Van Brocklin said. The praise lavished on Smith & Wesson should be put into perspective, said Leland Nichols, COO and president of Smith & Wesson Firearms. “I’ve been really amazed at the appreciation that has been expressed by the attendees here in Maui,” Nichols said. “My response has been, first of all, glad you came, but secondly, I understand the appreciation, but you earned your way here.” Nichols led a contingent from Smith & Wesson, which included other executives, their spouses and guests. “I think the most important thing that has happened throughout the week is the opportunity for a breadth of Smith & Wesson leadership team members to broaden relationships with key retailers and distributors,” Nichols said. Those enhanced relationships cover a very wide spectrum of the industry, said Tom Taylor, Smith & Wesson vice Aloha from Hawaii. Smith & Wesson executives, dealers, distributors, their spouses and guests gather president of marketing. The for a class photo during the Shooting for Hawaii trip in Maui. dealerships rewarded with the www.shootingindustry.com • SHOT SHOW SUPER ISSUE 2008 Sporting Goods, Washington, Pa., while enjoying breakfast with his wife, Susan, on a veranda overlooking the ocean. “It’s such a relaxed atmosphere and the most comfortable of settings. We’ve been in business for almost 32 years. We’ve had other promotions, but by far, this is certainly the best one.” “I was so excited when George said we qualified for the trip,” Susan said. “We’d never been here before and it’s a really exciting time. It’s just beautiful.” Carl and Susan Ingrao, of Four Seasons Firearms in Woburn, Mass., also praised Smith & Wesson. “In the 30 years I’ve been doing this, this is the biggest event I’ve ever experienced where a manufacturer goes out of 62