onventional Wisdom said, "No one would attend," but an event marked by two firsts proved Conventional Wisdom wrong this time.

Amid the recent flurry of trade shows and meetings, ETA's fall gathering was held September 16-18, 2003 in Boca Raton, Fla. This was the first trade event officially organized by the association's new leadership, under the direction of Carla Balakgie. It was also the first annual Strategic Leadership and Networking Forum (SLNF), a slight variation on previous meetings.

Despite it being hurricane season, five hundred people from all over the country attended the SLNF to meet, greet and establish connections. The event was significantly different from the regional acquirers' meetings, and it fulfilled a very different need within the industry. The presentations and panel discussions were geared toward management and policy making for industry issues such as creating and setting standards. Although it was not a meeting for recruiting sales representatives, an event like this does serve a very important purpose, just as regional acquirers' associations or associations that represent the feet on the street serve an important purpose.

I had the opportunity to speak with many of the industry executives in attendance. The overall consensus was that this was the meeting of the "golden handshake." In the opulent setting of the 75-year-old Boca Raton Resort & Club, many deals were signed that had been months and years in the making. The SLNF was really the CEO's summit of the payment processing industry. In fact, the "power source" at this conference was so intense that Hurricane Isabel was kept at bay off the coast of Florida. OK, that's stretching it a bit, but the weather was gorgeous and the beaches and golf course beckoned.

The meeting began with a cocktail reception, and KC and the Sunshine Band provided the entertainment (KC proved that some old rockers should retire). At the reception, the networking was fast and furious with several hundred already in attendance.

Frank Abagnale presented an outstanding keynote address. This man's life story was the inspiration for the movie "Catch Me if You Can," and he's been a popular speaker at many trade shows since the movie came out. Abagnale is a captivating storyteller. He relates both his personal adventures and provides "trade secrets" in a rapid-fire forty-five minutes - without notes! He addressed payment security, check fraud and identity theft.

Abagnale strongly encouraged everyone to visit the Web site www.privacyguard.com., a resource to help you monitor your credit reports in order to protect yourself against identity theft. I'm not sure which was more inspiring: his story or his talent as a speaker. Every attendee received a signed souvenir copy of Abagnale's book.

First Data Corp. sponsored the event's Internet Cyber Caf‚, which featured several stations in a specific area of the room set up specifically for networking and providing wireless Internet access (each of the tables was individually sponsored as well). Breakfast, lunch and caffeine breaks were held in the Caf‚, an area conducive to conversation and an imaginative component for a trade show-it made checking in with the home office much easier.

The presentations were all focused on management issues and included some very interesting and high-powered joint presentations and panels:

• Representatives from Visa and MasterCard addressed the debit-card settlement
• Adam Godfrey, Ben Spero and Tom Wimsett discussed private equity investments in the industry
• Representatives from American Express, Visa, Discover and MasterCard participated in a panel discussion regarding data security and lack of an industry standard

When Balakgie took over the job as Executive Director in July 2003, she said that one of her goals was to continue providing serious forums for networking, and she seems to be headed in the right direction.

Mary Dees, ETA's current President, was also very positive about the event. "I am pleased that we were able to deliver a redesigned program that provided the intimacy, relevance and personal connection that members told us they wanted," Dees said.

"I think the success of this meeting could be attributed to a number of things but a few stand out. There was an intimacy in the event fostered by attendees being able to meet in the Cyber Caf‚ during concentrated time periods. Rather than walking around trying to see exhibits, they were able to spend quality time having in-depth discussions with specific companies and individuals.

"The proximity of the Cyber Caf‚ and the general sessions allowed ETA attendees ease of seeing and meeting other attendees, without running into people attending other conferences as well. The 'meatiness' and relevance of the sessions fostered thought provoking and intense discussions. This event appeared to provide an atmosphere that fostered more in-depth business contact and dialogue among key industry players," Dees said.

The ETA staff encouraged attendees to provide feedback on the event, and it's important to let them know what you thought about it. If you attended and did not complete the on-site evaluation, please visit the ETA Web site (www.electran.org), and pass your comments on that way. While we heard that having a meeting without the full-blown expo was beneficial, many of the attendees would have preferred the scaled-back vendor area similar to what they're doing at the regional acquirers' meetings.