ur industry's regional associations have been enjoying phenomenal growth, and the Northeast Acquirers' Association (NEAA) is no exception. The only regional to host two conferences each year, NEAA held its annual summer gathering June 13 - 15 at the Sheraton Hotel in Parsippany, N.J.

Events started off with a golf tournament Tuesday morning. In the evening many of the 425 attendees gathered for a cocktail reception and enjoyed a fabulous networking opportunity. Following the reception, United Bank Card Inc. hosted a charity Texas Hold 'Em tournament. The monies raised by this event were donated to New York and New Jersey homeless shelters.

On Wednesday morning, 75 vendors readied displays for the coming lunch hour, while attendees listened to presentations. The first presenter was Donna Embry, Senior Vice President of Payment Alliance International. Her presentation, "How to Pick a Processor," explained the operations of a processor and offered advice on choosing and building a lasting and beneficial relationship with one.

Embry discussed how to develop a procedure for evaluating and choosing a processor based on your needs. These steps include preparing a needs analysis, researching companies, creating an evaluation scorecard, selecting a processor and successfully implementing this choice.

Next up, Eduardo Perez, a Vice President with Visa U.S.A., discussed the important roles the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and Visa's Cardholder Information Security Program play in providing security for cardholder information. He discussed the initiatives' goals and revealed the steep costs of security compromises.

Attendees were treated to lunch in the exhibit hall, where many new companies commingled with the tried and true. Raffle prizes were given away during the afternoon.

After lunch, presentations continued to focus on security. Included in these were presentations by American Express Co., MasterCard International and Pay By Touch.

In the late afternoon, the exhibit hall was again opened for networking. Cocktails were served along with an impressive array of appetizers and entrées. More raffle prizes were given away until the closing of the show. However, the evening was still young: Merchant Services Inc. generously sponsored a party at a local restaurant, where attendees who were up to it enjoyed more cocktails, excellent food and dancing until late in the evening.

For those still in town on Thursday, NEAA hosted a breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Many attendees took the opportunity to make the short trip into New York City to go sightseeing.

The regional shows are a great opportunity for MLSs to network, explore new companies and keep up on the latest happenings in the industry.

The next NEAA event is scheduled for Jan. 30 - Feb. 1, 2007. The conference will return to the Grand Summit Hotel at Mount Snow in Vermont. The hotel fills up very early, so make your plans soon. This is a not-to-be-missed show.