January / February 2017 NICA News

Member’s Voice
The greatest part of NICA is the Membership!
The Member’s Voice influences where the
organization is headed and what it can improve,
among other aspects. The NICA Off ice has been
continuing their survey of responses. Some of our
recent responses are featured below:
Saree Miller, an Associate Member from
Allegan, MI with the Allegan County Fair, says that
many of her Concessionaires are NICA Members.
She thinks NICA is an important organization
because it encourages its Members to be more
professional in their business relationships. This
creates an asset to her when she is seeking new
Concessionaires. She feels that the NICA News
“does a good job of covering everything.” Saree
admits that she has not made use of many of
the benef its, as she thought they were mainly for
Concessionaires, but would look into the Sherwin
Williams one before they paint their grandstand.
Thankfully, NICA has expanded their benefit
partners through Source1 Purchasing, which
opens up Members to discounts via Fedex, Best
Buy, and Office Depot, among others, providing
savings that anyone could find benef icial.
Evert Lee, representing C & E Concessions, Inc.
out of Mangum, OK, feels that his relationship with
NICA has been good and he has “nothing bad to
say.” Lee feels that there could be some different
pathways NICA could always go down, but he
is satisf ied with his membership. He makes the
most use of the Coca-Cola and Pepsi discounts.
Being a small business and working events that
are not always Fairs requires that he has to shop
elsewhere sometimes as there will be no one who
services these events for the Concessionaire, and
the benef its always come in handy. In his mind, if
he can save $5 on a can of oil and he has time, it
is worth it for him. He has also recently broadened
his route and makes 900 mile jumps. He
especially likes to read articles that cover “people
on the road” and how they are doing “their thing.”
Lee says that learning a new way to do something
that is easier and faster is a great way of bettering
your own business.
Charlie Miller, owner-operator of Charlie’s
Food Concessions from Sun Prairie, WI, says
that he has always supported NICA from the very
beginning and that he has not had any problems.
He was part of the original State Reps Program
(now called National Reps, which paved the way
for our Regional Councils) for many years and
help to establish Communication Committees
where ever possible, many of which are still
in existence today. Charlie has made use of
several different benefits: Coca-Cola and Pepsi
for beverage discounts and rebates, Arrow for
trailer parts and air conditioners, and the Ford
Fleet vehicle discount for the purchasing of
three different trucks. He has, over the years,
established his business which covers a much
smaller area with the meat packing and food
service businesses directly. He has his own
refrigerated vehicles which makes it possible to
take large orders at one time. Charlie and his wife,
Mary, are lifetime members and she may use the
computer to read the NICA News online, but he
prefers to read and enjoy the paper copy. They
both receive one, but from his old habit of being a
State Rep, he remembers to pass one copy on to
someone else.
Jeremy Parsons, Manager of the Clay County
Fair in Spenser, IA, feels that NICA is important to
the Fair Industry because it has helped to provide
high quality Food Concessionaires. He pointed
out that there are many benefits that are useful to
the Associate Members such as the NICA / Sysco
Marketplace for their in-house operation, the
CheckInn Direct Card through CLC Lodging when
travelling, and the Sherwin Williams discount
when they have to paint. As a Fair Manager, he
likes to read about Concessionaires to hear and
learn their point of view. Jeremy said that he reads
the NICA News both online (when ever he gets a
email from the NICA Now! he will flip through the
pages) and the paper copy as well.
The NICA Off ice plans to continue these calls
to our Renewing Members. If you hear from us, let
us know what’s on your mind! ▲
January / February 2017 NICA News 15