All of us have many demands on our time. How to prioritize those demands is an important key to being successful. I’ve found that a good way to enhance one’s success in our industry is to make it a priority to attend relevant educational and networking conferences - like the recent Spring MAILCOM event.

This conference is chock full of all sorts of useful information for mail communications and distribution professionals. The industry is undergoing rapid change as businesses adapt their mail and communication systems to the digital age. What better way to stay abreast of these changes and add more value to your organization than to participate in one of the largest mail communications conventions in the world. Sponsored by MSMA (Mail Systems Management Association) and MAIL magazine, this event supports the industry with education, meetings, networking, certifications and a dynamic exhibition hall of the latest technology, automation, and other tools.

The Spring conference, held March 15-18, 2015 at the Hilton Hotel in Atlanta, GA, hosted more than 300 people who had access to over 125 seminars, 3 expert keynote presentations, and 75 exhibits. Thirteen different seminar tracks covered everything from mail systems management to mail center security, postal mail automation, distribution and delivery logistics, office services management, database and address management, mail printing and processing, document production technology, and outsourcing/vendor management. There are even session tracks aimed at personal and leadership development, such as leadership and teambuilding, professional certification, managing your career, and women in management. That’s a lot to cram into 3 ½ days, so attending more than once a year is a great way to draw on the potential value these sessions offer.

Since 1989, MSMA has acted as the certifying agency for the mail systems profession. National Certification Week was designated as the week of MAILCOM 2015. Final written exams were held on the first day of the convention for “Certified Mail and Distribution Systems Manager” (CMDSM), “Certified Mail and Distribution Systems Supplier” (CMDSS), and “Mailpiece Design Consultant” (MDC). In addition, all attendees at the upcoming MAILCOM in Dallas who attend six of the sessions and both keynotes earn a Management Certificate signifying their achievement. The certificate can be counted toward eventual MCOM (Master Certification in Mail Communications) designation. For more information about the MSMA certification programs, visit msmanational.org

So if you’re looking to learn how to save your company money, improve your operations, and build your management expertise, plan to attend MAILCOM regularly. MAILCOM Dallas – Security 2015 will be held June 1-2, 2015 in Dallas. The annual Fall convention is in Las Vegas, September 28-30, 2015. Hope to see you there.

Sheri Jammallo is the Corporate Enterprise Segment Marketing Manager for Canon Solutions America, with a keen focus on marketing strategies across North America in the Transactional, Direct Mail, Data-Center and In-Plant print production space. She brings with her a wealth of industry knowledge that enables her to lead field relevant go-to-market production print strategies and programs for Canon Solutions America that bring value-add to the production print customer and print industry.Previous to Canon Solutions America, Sheri spent many years in several roles at Xerox Corporation. She was a Production Print Solutions Manager in the Northeast responsible for high end production print technology and services portfolio, leading a business development team of Production Print Sales Specialists within the In-Plant and Commercial print space. Prior to that role, she was a Production Print Business Development Executive as the lead business development strategist to grow market share in In-Plants and Data-Centers within the New England region.Sheri began her career in the Commercial print space at Standard Register. She spent several years with Standard Register in business development and leadership roles, with a strong focus on go-to-market growth strategies of a vast portfolio of commercial print applications to the Financial, Insurance, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Public Sector, Educational and Retail vertical markets.