News & Trends

Almo Corporation’s Melody Craigmyle explains the success of the company’s RU provider program and the benefits of bringing education to the entire AV community.

Commercial audiovisual distributor Almo Pro AV, a division of Almo Corporation, is a strong advocate for training and education. The company has several education initiatives, including its flagship E4 Experience, an AV roadshow that provides a forum for an exchange of ideas and a showcase for pro AV products, as well as the opportunity for attendees to earn CTS renewal units.

Melody Craigmyle, VP of Marketing & Communication, Almo Corporation

For the one-day event, which is free to attend, Almo has partnered with AVIXA™ to provide a convenient way for companies and their staff to make the most of in-person training in their own back yards. Many of the classes are taught by AVIXA instructors. AVIXA’s Chuck Espinoza will present “Designing for User Experience” and “Installation Issues for Converged AV/IT Systems” at the upcoming E4 Experience in Santa Clara, California in March 2020. Other sessions will be presented by Almo’s Gary Kayye, Legrand’s Joe Cornwall, and LG Solutions’ Tim Albright, among others, representing a total of 12 CTS RUs.

“AVIXA values our education partnership with Almo, expanding the opportunities for industry professionals to gain access to valuable training,” says Amanda Eberle-Boyer, AVIXA’s Senior Director of Member Services. “We actively look for ways to create and foster community within the industry and events like E4 provide great opportunities for the CTS-certified audience to gather together.”

“We strongly believe in education and certification — we think it makes the industry better and the people who work in the industry better,” says Melody Craigmyle, Almo’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “Our E4 tour grows every year. We keep expanding, adding more classes and more exhibitors, and we’re always trying to innovate.”

The name “E4” represents the exploration of new concepts, exchange of ideas, education, and a chance to experience technology. Partnering with AVIXA lends credibility to the curriculum as well as an assurance to attendees that the event is product agnostic. “It enables us to cover industry trends, new technology, and new ways to improve and run a business, without anyone feeling pressured that they’re being sold on anything,” says Craigmyle.

To keep the class offerings current, Almo’s curriculum committee consults with AVIXA’s training and certification specialists, as well as with other trade associations, to ensure a balance of technical and business building training. At last year’s event in Chicago, 692 CTS renewal units were issued, far surpassing their previous record of 250 RUs.

“That was a record for us,” says Craigmyle. “It was great to see attendees from small businesses in these local areas, many of whom can’t afford to attend the larger multiday conferences. Outside of the InfoComm show, there aren’t a lot of places you can go in your local market to get RUs for free. When they come to E4, they can get educated on the latest and future trends — things that are integral to their success and ability to compete and win more projects.

“We try really hard to make the event interesting to everyone, whether they’re a designer, integrator, consultant, business owner, reseller, or end user,” she says. “For us, we feel that if our reseller partners take the time to become educated on industry trends, they’ll ultimately be more successful, which helps them and, of course, helps our business too.”

Find the upcoming events on the AVIXA events calendar under Knowledge Partner.