The founder of Bobit Business Media, Edward J. Bobit, launched the company on the premise that professionals in every part of the automotive industry deserve to have their own publication. He started with fleet managers. If only those of you who knew Ed as a big shot in the dealer segment could have seen him at a fleet event. He was a legend.

We broke into the retail and finance side with F&I and Showroom and began planning an associated conference shortly thereafter. Events are a massive undertaking. They are complicated, time-consuming and expensive. But Ed was a big believer in the power of in-person meetings. He believed F&I professionals would support and benefit from an open forum in which ideas, best practices and trends could crystallize and take hold.

The F&I Conference persevered through humble beginnings and eventually became Industry Summit. With Ed’s blessing, we would go on to launch Agent Summit, P&A Leadership Summit (for product providers and administrators) and Compliance Summit. Each has been a success in its own right. And with each launch, we have found a new group of speakers, supporters and attendees, all eager and willing to come together to share their thoughts, discuss and debate the issues of the day and, quite often, reach a new consensus on a pressing topic.

On Tuesday, May 3, in Tampa, Fla., Dealer Summit will kick off a three-day schedule packed with educational sessions and networking opportunities tailored specifically to you, the dealer. Our agenda includes high-level discussions pertaining to retail, F&I, special finance and dealer-controlled finance, dealership operations and more. We will have six sessions dedicated to regulatory compliance alone.

I realize that time away from your store or dealer group is precious. We wouldn’t invest in Dealer Summit if we didn’t believe it would be worth your while. The rising tide of sales has lifted all our boats, but businesses must be built for the long haul or be susceptible to failure upon the next downturn.

Dealer Summit is an opportunity to secure a competitive edge in an industry that has long rewarded hard work, ingenuity and, above all else, adaptability. We have seen a series of seismic shifts over the past decade. There are more to come. The wheels of progress continue to turn.

With all that in mind, I encourage you to visit Dealer-Summit.com, learn more about the event and consider joining us. We have a goal in mind and, with your attendance and input, I know we can reach it.