The 2025 GAWDA Annual Convention has Education as the theme of the Opening General Business Session
The theme for Thursday at the Annual Convention was networking. But Friday shifted gears and was all about education. The morning kicked off with the emotional “Since Last We Met” video, before 2025 GAWDA President Eric Wood took the stage to discuss the state of the association and the industry.
Following the opening remarks, we moved on to one of the highlights each year at the Annual Convention, the announcement of the GAWDA Gives Back Donation.
The morning concluded with Mainstage Presentations from Derek Daly and Alex and Eugene Chausovsky. Thank you to Derek, Alex, and Eugene, who matched the GAWDA aesthetic perfectly by blending humor with real-world takeaways.
Final Day of the 2025 GAWDA Annual Convention Concludes With Willie Robertson Keynote
The final day of the 2025 GAWDA Annual Convention began with newly announced First Vice President Nicole Kissler taking the stage to announce that this year’s Convention saw 919 attendees, including 236 distributors and 477 suppliers. Thank you so much to everybody who took the time to attend this year’s Convention and commemorate GAWDA’s 80th Anniversary.
Nicole then announced the next several locations for GAWDA’s national shows. 2026 will see the SMC travel to Oklahoma City, while the Annual Convention will head to Boston’s Omni Seaport Hotel. 2027’s SMC will take place in the Windy City of Chicago, while the Annual Convention will take place in Palm Desert, California. And finally, the 2028 Annual Convention will see us return to The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. We can’t wait to continue to raise the bar at these future shows!
Nicole concluded by highlighting the 2026 Regional Meetings and chairs. She then invited Northeast Regional Chair Michael Trueba to the stage to discuss the radical changes that the Northeast Regional will undergo in 2026, as it shifts from August to February for a ski-themed Regional Meeting in Killington, VT. Make sure to save the dates for next year’s Regionals:
February 10-12, 2026 – Southwest Regional in Sonoma, CA
February 23-25, 2026 – Northeast Regional in Killington, VT
March 23-24, 2026 – Southeast Regional in Stone Mountain, GA
June 23-24, 2026 – East/Midwest Regional in Seven Springs, PA
July 23-24, 2026 – Northwest Regional in Bellevue, WA
August 3-4, 2026 – Central Regional in South Bend, IN
Following the GAWDA updates, Past GAWDA President Gary Halter took the stage to moderate an industry panel. Joined by esteemed panelists Joe Baxter, Robert Anders, Kevin Falconer, Joe Francis, and Robert Gerry, the industry panel discussed the topics that are on everybody’s mind including sustaining a resilient culture, ensuring a smooth leadership transition, the most significant challenges facing our industry today, and the most significant challenges facing distributors. The rapt audience heard how some of the largest distributors in GAWDA are facing these common issues. The session was packed full of take-home value. Thank you to Gary, Joe, Robert, Kevin, Joe, and Robert for your invaluable input and wisdom!
Following a brief break, attendees reconvened for the keynote presentation of this year’s 2025 Convention. GAWDA President Eric Wood had the opportunity to interview Willie Robertson, the star and executive producer of Duck Dynasty. Willie is also a New York Times best-selling author, founder of Buck Commander, and CEO of Duck Commander. Willie was the perfect choice to headline this year’s Convention, as he can relate intimately with this year’s theme of “Sustaining a Resilient Culture,” and he also dovetails with this year’s GAWDA Gives Back Recipient, Black Dagger Military Hunt Club. While the Robertsons’ story is a testament to hard work and entrepreneurship, at its core, it is built on faith and family, a sentiment that many GAWDA members can certainly relate to. And it certainly didn’t hurt that Willie immediately caught onto the sense of humor that GAWDA members appreciate!
Click to view the GAWDA Awards and President Induction photos.
