The Charlotte NC ADJA Chapter normally meets in Charlotte once a month on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. However we will NOT be having a LOCAL meeting in June since quite a few of our members will be attending www.armdjs.com (an annual regional dj conference hosted by Robbie Britton). IF you haven’t got your pass yet, get one today!

ArmDJs History

It’s amazing what happens when you have a vision and the determination to see it through to completion. Such was the case in 2008, when Robbie Britton had an idea to bring DJ industry leader Mark Ferrell to his area. He knew if he could get Ferrell to come speak to DJs, that it would improve the entire area market. He also knew there would be strength in numbers and if more educational speakers were invited, then more people would respond to the message.

Industry leaders told him that something like this would never work in a small market. So instead of retreating and abandoning his idea, he pushed forth even more aggressively. He had such belief in his idea that his new plan was to put together a one day event unlike anything the DJ community had ever seen before.

He called it the Appalachian Regional Mobile Disc Jockey Symposium (ARMDJS). It was to feature five of the most well-regarded, high profile DJ industry leaders. The premise was to “arm” DJs with intense seminar sessions that would change their DJ business forever.

When the initial announcement was made, DJs were unsure what to make of it. Many thought it was a joke. Not only had a line-up like this ever been attempted for a one-day event, but it was to be held in Greeneville Tennessee. Many were left scratching their heads wondering if this Mayberry-style event was legitimate or not.

Once the realization set in, DJs responded in droves. This one-day event, held in the middle of nowhere Tennessee, was bringing in DJs from the entire eastern seaboard and beyond. Dozens attended and packed the conference room of the General Morgan Inn as hillbilly banjo-picking music welcomed them. Speakers included; Larry Williams, Dr. Drax, Scott Faver, Jim Cerone and Mark Ferrell. The event was a huge success. A great write-up in Mobile Beat Magazine offered a detailed overview of the event.

By 2009, word had spread of its success and everyone was urging Robbie to “do it again”. In February of 2009 at the Mobile Beat DJ Conference in Las Vegas, Robbie was presented with the prestigeous Peter Merry Leadership Award. The award cited an unselfish willingness to improve the educational efforts of area DJs.

The second year of the ARMDJS event was to be bigger and better than ever. He enlisted the talents of another group of industry leaders. The 2009 event featured; Andy “Cubbie” Powell, Jose Castillo, Scott Faver, Peter Merry, Larry Williams & Randy Bartlett. Here again, the idea of taking the event to another level was paramount for Robbie. Like the first year, the one-day event was complimented by a great welcome party and workshops for those who wished to stretch out the learning experience even more.

By 2010, the anticipation of topping the previous successes of the past two years was on everyone’s mind. How in the world was Robbie going to do it? By the time the speakers list was announced, pre-sale ticket orders hit an all-time high. The presenters included; Bill Hermann, Larry Williams, Ben Stowe, Rick Brewer, Mitch Taylor, Jim Cerone & Peter Merry. As expected the event was the biggest success ever!

For 2011, the writing was on the wall. The growth of the event was exceeding all expectations. So Robbie decided to move the event down the road to the neighboring town of Johnson City. A new host hotel was announced to accommodate the growing number of attendees. In addition, the event will last two days instead of one.

For years, DJs on the East Coast have longed for a permanent location for a summer mobile DJ educational conference. Well, they have finally found a home! The Appalachian Regional Mobile Disc Jockey Symposium is the fastest growing DJ conference in the nation. It has exceeded every expectation, every year. The only question now is, what does Robbie have in store for us this year

In a depressed Florida market, Arnoldo Offermann has taken 4SchoolsOnly from being the company leader with $500-1500 school dances (6 years ago) to $2500 – 12,000+ dances today.
 
With almost a 100% closing ratio, 4SchoolsOnly holds 20% of Central Florida high schools and a homecoming/prom gross of over $150,000. Arnoldo has found a strategic formula for a winning marketing, sales, and follow up combo.
 
A few facts:
 
Creator of the Master School Dances video series.
 Past author for Disc Jockey News articles on various DJ subjects
 Guest author on ADJA’s publication: Current Audition
 Guest author on CDJA bi-annual publication
 Current author on Mobile Beat
 Current author on Mobile Beat’s DJ University
 Featured speaker in local wedding association meetings
 Featured speaker at various ADJA meetings
 Featured speaker on WeDJ Cruise 2008 and 2011
 Featured instructor on American DJ’s DJ University 2
 Featured speaker on MBLV Tour 2011
 Speaker at MBLV16
 Featured on American DJ’s VideoWave e-mag
 Profile on Mobile Beat Magazine’s ProDJ Files.
 Published photographer for school event photography
 

And random fact: He wants a pet penguin.

Arnoldo’s descrption of what he will teach you at this meeting:

 
My biggest passion in this business is school dances. Don’t get me wrong, weddings are amazing and I love their unique challenges; but my performances at schools are unlike any other. Each aspect of a school dance is both stressful, enjoyable, mind-numbing, and adrenaline-puming at the same time, and I’m not just talking about the performance. This is a year-round business that includes marketing, sales, dance marketing, performance, and follow up.
 
In our market, we see schools pay from $500 to $11,000 for a school production (DJ/lighting/video screens). I am proud to say that as division president of A Premier Entertainment – 4SchoolsOnly, we book an average range of the $2500 to $11,000 per school after year after year. Not to mention that I’ve developed direct targeting techniques that allow us to reach new ventures that come in straight from these school dances.
 
This seminar will cover marketing and selling school dances. You’ll learn what to do, say, wear and even a “bipolar” sales technique to reach students and teachers simultaneously. On top of that, you will learn how to reach schools in an effective manner, and use all that hard work to expand your youth birthday dance market, which eventually leads to weddings.

Last dance for the queen of disco, Donna Summer, she died today at 63 from lung cancer. A five time Grammy winner, in the 70’s and 80’s she topped the charts with hits like Hot Stuff, Bad Girls, and Last Dance, from the 1978 movie, Thank God It’s Friday, which won an Oscar for best original song.

Other hits included Enough is Enough, No More Tears, her duet with Barbra Streisand, and MacArthur Park Suite, an 18 minute disco classic from her Live and More album that made her the first female artist to have a #1 single and #1 album on the Billboard charts at the same time.

For years DJ’s across the United States closed their clubs and shows with Last Dance. Maybe it’s time to start that tradition again.

BIO:

John Casson helps mobile entertainment professionals maximize revenue through goals, strategies, and perhaps most importantly, execution of your business. John’s credentials include his 14 years as an operational business consultant, and 18 years at the oldest and largest group of media communications schools in the nation, the Connecticut School of Broadcasting – where he currently serves as the Executive Director.

TOPIC:

John will be sharing with us how to overcome what he considers the three biggest obstacles to success we face in our industry today – Time, Talent, and Technology.  

Brian Hines (Charlotte NC ADJA President) has personally worked with John over the last few years and he is a firm believer in John’s practices. By bringing in John as a consultant Brian learned some very important lessons that he incorporated into his own business which saved him a lot of money and made it very worthwhile bringing John into the mix.

Please welcome John Casson.

Meeting will be held on Tuesday May 15, 2012
6:30p – 9:00p

You can attend up to 2 times as a guest before being required to join.

At formal youth events like Bar \ Bat Mitzvahs adults typically
prefer to enjoy their meal. Usually 1 hour plus. Whether it’s a
sit down meal or a buffet. Young people on the other hand
only need 10 minutes. If that. LOL

One solution is to stagger the meal times. Let the adults savor
their meal, while your entertainer plays an interactive game
with the kids.

A well designed interactive game that is not too loud will serve
as entertainment for the adults and keep kids occupied.

Approximately 15 minutes later the Bar\Bat Mitzvah boy\girl
can lead his\her friends in a Conga Line to their very own
buffet line.

Of course there is also that eat and dance at the same time
thing about Jewish events. But that’s a tip for another day

Wednesday night Davy Jones of the Monkees died in Florida of a heart attack. It was sudden and unexpected. While most famous in the 60’s and early 70’s he continued to perform regularly with and without original members of the Monkees. Their TV Show Meet the Monkees was quite avant-garde for the time. And considered quirky by some.

The Monkees had several hits with Davy Jones in the lead including I’m A Believer (Covered more recently by Smashmouth), Daydream Believer (Later covered my Anne Murray), I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone (covered my no one), Last train to Clarksville, and many others well remembered by those who grew up during that time.

TWO GREAT PARTS to this meeting which will be relevant to
ALL WEDDING INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS!

This is going to be an action packed meeting which you DON’T want to MISS! The first hour we will hear from Robbie Britton (a show producer from TN) who will be speaking with our group on how to take your business to the next level! “LEVEL UP“!

The second hour we will have a presentation for you on how to access your earning potential by learning the power of video conferencing. Jay Thompson with BrideLive from New Jersey will show you how to Level Up and push your business forward by connecting with the bride in her own element. This will make her feel more comfortable, resulting in an easier booking process for you…

This meeting is open to ALL Wedding Professionals – NOT JUST DJS. So invite any of your Wedding Industry friends that you would like to see get an edge over their competition in 2012! Help Others and the favor will be returned to you many times over!

Come join our members as we celebrate another year of events