The Channel Partners Conference & Expo YOU track features sessions proposed by and voted on by YOU. The YOU track sessions are all tutorial-based, vendor-neutral sessions that will teach you the skills you need to know about emerging technologies. Attend one or all of the YOU track sessions and learn information voted most valuable by your peers.

The YOU track sessions include:

• What’s SIP Got to Do With It?

• Comparing VoIP Solutions: Premises, Hosted or Hybrid

• UC Myth vs. Hype

• Deconstructing the Agent Agreement

• Taking Your Pitch to the C-Level

View descriptions of the YOU track sessions, as well as a complete Channel Partners agenda, HERE. Thanks again to everyone who suggested and voted on YOU track session ideas. Be sure to check out all the sessions you and your peers suggested at the Rio Hotel & Casino in March.

Registration for the Spring 2009 Channel Partners Conference & Expo is now open. Register today to take advantage of the Early Bird discount. The Spring Channel Partners Conference is taking place March 1-3, 2009 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

After you register for the Spring show, take a minute to reserve your room at the Rio. You can reserve your room by visiting HERE or calling +1 888 746 6955. The Channel Partners room rate is $199 per night, be sure to mention the Channel Partners Conference to receive the special rate. Last year the Channel Partners room block at the Rio sold out months before the show. Be sure to reserve your room today to ensure that your room is just an elevator ride away from the show.

AireSpring has announced the winner of their $5,000 cash giveaway held at the Channel Partners Conference and Expo in Boston. The raffle, opened to all agents, underscored AireSpring’s launch of eight tightly integrated products that bring together all the advantages of IP bandwidth, SIP trunking, Local, and Long Distance services in one place - with just one bill.

The winner was Firstlight Management Corporation’s (FMC) co-founder, Iris Lentjes. FMC is a New York based telecommunication expense management and consulting firm. Their goal is simple. They aim to simplify the telecommunication business by removing the confusion, misrepresentation, excessive billing and sub-par customer service, replacing them with the best possible rates and round the clock customer care. About her company, Iris said, “I believe we are in a privileged position to assist a vast majority of businesses in making the right decision by bringing them the right telecom solution at the right price. AireSpring is the perfect fit for us in achieving our goals.”

Iris is a Sci-Fi loving New Yorker who enjoys Broadway theater, working out, and finding the best deals for her customers – of course. Iris loves being an independent agent for the flexibility it allows, not only in getting rates and products from different companies, but also in the hours and schedule that she chooses to put into it. “The unlimited income potential doesn't hurt either.” Added Ms. Lentjes “It's great to be your own boss!”

AireSpring is well known in the industry for a great agent program, big prizes, and large cash bonuses. Earlier this year they gave away a Porsche Carerra 911.

AireSpring Senior Vice President of Marketing, Todd Regan, stated, “When we set out to get some attention for our Local, Long Distance, Integrated, and Data products at the Channel Partners show and expo in Boston, we had no idea how successful our campaign would be. We splashed ‘Win $5,000’ signs everywhere. But in the end, it was our product suite which was the star of the show. More people came up to us asking about SIP Trunking than how to win $5,000. In the end, we had hundreds of entries.”

“We couldn’t be happier for Iris and Firstlight Management Corporation.” Added Todd Stires, AireSpring Sr. VP of Sales, “She is the very model of an upbeat, tuned-in telecom consultant. We look forward to working with Iris and all of our agents, vendors, and VARs to connect our mutual customers with the next generation of products and services that our customers really need, and at rates they can actually afford.”

What education sessions do you want to see happen at the Spring Channel Partners show? We know that attending education sessions is not the only thing to do in Vegas, and want to make sure your time spent in sessions is worthwhile.

With this in mind, the Spring Channel Partners show will debut the YOU-Track, a track of user-generated education sessions proposed and voted on by attendees. Submit your ideas at www.channelpartnersconference.com/utrack.  The survey will be open through Sept. 30. Voting will be open in mid-October for you to pick the YOU-Track sessions. We look forward to receiving your input!

Want to propose a more traditional education topic? The Call for Speakers for the Spring Channel Partners Expo is also open and accepting applications through Tuesday, Sept. 30. Click HERE to apply today.

Fall 2009 Channel Partners Conference is returning to Miami.

Channel Partners Fall 2009 is going back to the beach ... South Beach! The fall show will be held Sept. 23-25 at the Miami Convention Center. To honor the ultimate “work hard, play hard” crowd, PHONE+ magazine is holding the top channel conference in one of our attendees’ favorite locations.

Spend your days learning in education sessions and networking in the expo hall, and spend your nights loving the nightlife and living it up on the strip. Keep checking the Web site for more information on the Fall 2009 conference. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Spring 2009 show, taking place March 1-3 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Channel partners flocked to the Spring 2008 Channel Partners Conference & Expo, held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, March 10-12, where the expo hall show floor saw more than eight hours of networking traffic and more than 150 exhibitors. This week, at the well-attended spring show at the World Trade Center in Boston, the Las Vegas winners from seven Best in Show categories were presented with their trophies. PHONE+ sends out emphatic congratulations to all the winners! (And be sure to check out the October issue of PHONE+ for the Boston show winners!)

PAETEC’s Chris Bantoft accepts the award for Best Trade Show Booth at the Vegas show. The exhibitor’s new design featured a classy wood-paneled look and open, inviting space for attendees to interact.

TelePacific Communications’ brought home two awards. Here, Dick Jalkut and Justin Chris-Tensen accept the awards for Best After-Hours Party and Best Trade Show Giveaway. The company received the award for Best After-Hours Party for its evening of cocktails and appetizers at the Voodoo Lounge atop the Rio Hotel and Casino. TelePacific won the award for Best Trade Show Giveaway with its battery-powered fan that lit up to reveal the company's name.

Cliff Stalker and others in the One Communications crew accept the award for Best Promotion in Vegas last spring. The company’s Porsche roll had attendees taking a gamble on a new car by rolling seven die to see if they could spell out “Porsche” to win the hot rod.

Telarus’ Patrick Oborn and Lance Akins accept the award for Best First-Time Exhibitor. Telarus has put its own twist on the master agent model with automated tools for opportunity, order and account management for traditional agents, VARs and referral partners.

Additionally, Motorola took home the award for Best Trade Show Theme with its Opportunity Rocks motif; and Telesphere’s sweet deal incentive program won the award for Best Channel Incentive. The companies, not present at the Boston show, are also sent out a sincere congratulations from the PHONE+ and Channel Partners Conference & Expo crew. See you all next spring!

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Channel Partners Expo: Best in Show Awards

The Top 15 Channel Managers for 2008, as named by PHONE+ readers, will be announced during Monday’s opening remarks at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo. These winners, along with the Top 50 Channel Programs, will be profiled in the 2008 PHONE+ Channel Program Guide, due out in October.

The awards will be presented during the welcoming remarks, which will kick off at 1 p.m. in the Amphitheater at the World Trade Center. Nearly 1,000 votes were cast by PHONE+ readers for their favorite channel managers and the competition was fierce. Be sure to attend to cheer on your nominee and find out if they were selected as a winner. Winners also will be listed on www.phoneplusmag.com on Monday! And stick around after the winners are announced for the General Session, “Cable Company Executives on Channel Strategies,” at 1:30 p.m. See you at the show!