Cajun spice Makes Everything Nice!

The Command Alkon Customer Conference 2008 Wrap-Up.

Nestled along the banks of the Mississippi River, between 21st century high-rises and history laden streets from the 18th century, Command Alkon hosted its annual conference in the great city of New Orleans. Command Alkon “Big Easy” Conference attendees received a warm Cajun welcome from the city that has risen from the storms of adversity to once again become a featured destination for business travelers and vacationers alike.

The Command Alkon Customer Conference 2008 was held from April 22-24, 2008 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside, New Orleans’ premiere luxury hotel and meeting center. Command Alkon’s Conference is one of the industry’s largest and longest-running events. The format provides customers with product training, important industry updates, an industry specific trade show, entertainment and an opportunity to share ideas by gathering together the largest knowledge base of Command Alkon products in the world – you!

This year’s conference featured enhanced Product Service Labs, nearly 100 classes covering some of the latest features and how-to’s of Command Alkon and JWS products, a riverboat cruise and lunch with some of the top chefs of the city.

Command Alkon is a company of individuals committed to personal and corporate stewardship. This year we found it very fitting to kick-off our event by presenting the local New Orleans chapter of the Salvation Army a check for $20,000. As a company we committed ourselves to donating a portion of the fees we collected for our Conference to help those in need and at risk. Major Michael Hawley, Area Commander of the New Orleans Salvation Army, graciously accepted the donation and thanked everyone for coming to New Orleans and supporting the rebuilding efforts going on throughout the city.

The Command Alkon General Session also featured an Industry Outlook Report by The Concrete Producer magazine editor, Rick Yelton, an overview of our newest quality control software COMMANDqc and updates on all of our products and services by various Command Alkon product managers and executives. In all, it was an informative wayto prepare our attendees for three days of education and fun.

Classes at this year’s Conference ran the gamut from our oldest legacy systems to some of the newest products being developed at Command Alkon. A few of our most attended classes were: COMMANDbatch Basics for New Users, EXP Tracking and Scheduling, and Apex Unattended Ticketing. Our track method of training featured over 9 tracks of training that allowed attendees to follow one particular track of training or allowed them to mix them up depending upon theirinterests and skill level. Our goal was to provide attendees with a large enough selection of classes to fill their three days with sessions and send them back to their companies armed with the skills to perform their jobs better. Complementing our technical side of training, we once again asked Educational Consultant, Dr. Ann Phillips, to lead our Workplace sessions. Workplace sessions are a great way to learn about and improve on business situations found in every business. Dr. Ann’s classes on Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service were a hit with attendees.

In addition to the large variety of classes, Command Alkon offered our customers an opportunity to correct any service issues they were having with a system. Our Customer Service Labs were expanded this year to provide our customers faceto- face conversations with our technical and accounting support personnel. Together with the customer, our technical support personnel were able to dial-in to a customer’s site, if necessary, discuss with the customer what their issue was, and in most cases solve the issue with the customer watching. Some cases were Command Alkon related, others were third-party related. All in all, attendees were very pleased with the addition of this new feature to our Customer Conference. Next year, Command Alkon plans to offer more Lab time, space and personnel. Details will be mailed to you this fall!

When you think of New Orleans you cannot help but think of the excellent food and talented chefs that hail from the Big Easy. Crawfish Étouffée, Shrimp Remoulade, Gumbo, and Jambalaya are just some of the dishes that have been perfected in the city. Command Alkon recognized this attraction for some attendees to New Orleans and put together a special trip to the New Orleans School of Cooking for those attendees who wanted to go. The New Orleans School of Cooking has introduced countless visitors from around theworld to the wonderful food and rich culture of Louisiana and New Orleans. Arriving just before lunch, Conference attendees were shown how to prepare some great Cajun classics and then served those dishes they just watched being made. Two tours were offered on separate days. Each tour received rave reviews on the food, the chefs and the fun everyone had! If you’re planning your own trip down to New Orleans we highly recommend a stop at the school!

In his book, Life on the Mississippi, the well-known American author Mark Twain once said about the Mississippi River, “It is good for steamboating, and good to drink; but it is worthless for all other purposes, except baptizing.” Command Alkon took Mr. Twain’s advice and held a private reception one evening on the Creole Queen paddlewheeler boat for a cruise down the Mississippi River for Conference attendees. The Creole Queen, with its outer decks of authentically patterned wrought iron trims, interiors of Victorian style draperies, soft period lighting, and Louisiana Cypress bars accented with brass railing, was the perfect way to wrap-up a day of training. Everyone enjoyed the food, libations, music and scenery. We can happily report that no one fell overboard either!

The Command Alkon Annual Golf Tournament gave attendees an opportunity to get outside and enjoy a day out on the greens. The 2008 Tournament was held at the English Turn Golf Course. This Jack Nicklaus designed Championship Course challenged the golfers with huge tiered greens and giant sand bunkers. Tournament players were given a golf shirt, transportation to and from the Hilton Riverside, breakfast, lunch and prizes. Congratulations to our 2008 tournament winning team of:

• Cliff Morgan (Potomac Construction Industries)
• Max Stephens (Stephens Manufacturing)
• Kyle Cotton (Command Alkon)

Command Alkon gratefully acknowledges and thanks the sponsors and exhibitors of our Conference and industry trade show. The trade show gave attendees an opportunity to visit with other companies for products and services that were complementary to their business. We would also like to thank our “official” Customer Conference artist, Diane Millsap. Diane has painted, sketched and photographed the mysterious and beautiful city of New Orleans. Her paintings hang in many private and corporate collections across the country and abroad. Thanks Diane for letting us showcase your artwork in our Conference brochure and at the Conference itself. If you would like to see some of Diane’s artwork, please visit the web site

Plans are already underway for our 2009 Conference. Next year’s Conference will be held in Las Vegas at The Mirage Las Vegas. The Mirage is in the heart of Las Vegas and is a palace of delights, where a South Seas vibe meets the excitement of the Las Vegas Strip. To get your own preview of the hotel, please visit them at www.mirage.com. Dates for 2009 are March 30th, 31st, and April 1st. Our online registration and secure payment section of our web site will be open soon. More details will be mailed to you this fall. Keep an eye out for them!

Thank you again to all of those that attended our 2008 Conference this year. We hope to see you again next year out west. If you have any questions about the Command Alkon Customer Conference, please contact our Trade Show and Events Coordinator, Ms. Megan Fly at +1 205-879-3282 Ext. 2707. Thank you and laissez les bons temps Command Alkon Customer Service Representatives rouler!