Gala Dinner Fireside Chat
Kurt Warner (Super Bowl XXXIV MVP)
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Kurt Warner, though undrafted, had an incredible NFL career. He led the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl victory, was named Super Bowl MVP, won NFL MVP in back-to-back seasons, was a 2x first-team all-pro, and was selected to the Pro Bowl 4 times. Kurt joined Westwood One’s broadcast booth full-time in 2018 as the lead color analyst for both Monday Night Football and the Super Bowl. His main broadcasting job is with NFL Network.
His success carries over from the gridiron as he is extremely dedicated to giving back to the community. As a man of his faith, Kurt and his wife Brenda, established the First Things First Foundation, a non-profit public charity dedicated to impacting lives by promoting Christian values and blessing the lives of those less fortunate. Kurt and Brenda, inspired by their son Zachary, also started ‘Treasure House,’ a supportive living community for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
His philanthropy efforts earned him the 2008 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, the 2008 Good Guy Award from the Pro Football Writers Association, USA WEEKEND’s Most Caring Athlete in 2009, and the 2010 Bart Starr Award. Inspired by the galvanizing story of Kurt’s life and how he overcame several obstacles in his career, the movie,: The Kurt Warner Story, debuted in theatres on December 25th, 2021.
This fireside chat will be led by Joe Sampson, of member company and host of . Joe’s dedication to FEMA and the industry, his focus on his family and his faith, and his Iowa roots make him the perfect person to moderate the conversation with Kurt Warner.
The Gala Dinner will take place Thursday, October 29. This is one celebration you don’t want to miss. Get your tickets today!
Joint Opening Breakfast Session
Jimmy Yeary (Grammy Award Winner)
Wed. Oct. 29, 2025 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Jimmy Yeary is the rarest of speakers. Because his content is filled with instantly recognizable moments, audiences are quickly taken to a high level of energy. For well over a decade, he has influenced millions of people–how they think and what they think about–on a daily basis. Jimmy is not only a highly sought-after speaker, he is a hugely successful songwriter and his music is all around you.
Jimmy was writing songs long before becoming the lead singer of the Grammy Award winning supergroup SHENANDOAH. These were years that saw him performing #1 hits like Mama Knows, Somewhere In the Vicinity of the Heart, and Sunday in the South.
For well over a decade, Jimmy has influenced millions of people–how they think and what they think about–on a daily basis. He is not only a highly sought-after speaker, Jimmy is a hugely successful songwriter and his music is all around you.
It’s not surprising. Jimmy has written more than two-thousand songs, many of which have been featured on albums selling millions of copies–Grammy winners, gold and platinum awards among them. Nine of his songs have been certified “Number 1” hits as singles by Billboard Magazine.
Recently, both the CMA and ACM awarded Jimmy “Song of the Year” for I Drive Your Truck–the inspiring song he wrote about the father of a fallen soldier and how he continues to remember his son. His most recent Number 1 was Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, a song he wrote for Kenny Chesney and David Lee Murphy.
Facilitating growth while creating and maintaining significant relationships has become Jimmy’s trademark as a communicator. Emotional awareness, a greater understanding of other people, and the shared experiences that build an effective team herald the genius of Jimmy Yeary. Not only can he speak to who you are as an organization, he will put it to music!
The Joint Opening Breakfast Session is open to members of both the Â鶹app and the Â鶹app Marketing and Distribution Association.
General Session: Navigating 2025 and Beyond: Strategic Moves for Manufacturers
Gene Marks (Marks Group PC)
Wed., Oct 29 1:00 p.m. -2:30 p.m.
As President Trump begins his second term, familiar challenges like tariffs, rising costs and ongoing labor shortages persist, alongside fresh opportunities and renewed momentum for business growth. New regulatory policies are reshaping the landscape, while tax reforms signal potential advantages for strategic, forward-thinking organizations. Higher interest rates are impacting financing and growth. Sticky inflation is hurting margins. And our growing national debt is creating long term challenges for our economy and for business leaders.
Meanwhile, AI continues its transformative role across industries, bringing both risks and unprecedented potential for efficiency and innovation. The “Silver Tsunami” has arrived, making succession planning more critical than ever as experienced leaders prepare to transition to the next generation.
What are some of the smartest and most experienced business leaders doing to drive growth, sustainability and profitability beyond 2025 amidst all of these challenges?
What changes are they making in their operations and cash management? How are they attracting and retaining talent?
What technologies are they investing in?
How are they addressing both federal and local regulations that are impacting their businesses?
In this fast-paced, entertaining and highly valuable session, Gene will share real-world, practical strategies and tactics that smart leaders are using to navigate an uncertain economy, a shifting and often divisive political climate, and the complexities of technological and workplace decisions to position their companies for sustained growth and success in the face of change.
A past columnist for both The New York Times and The Washington Post, Gene Marks now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Hill, Forbes, Entrepreneur, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Times and The Chicago Daily Herald. Gene also hosts two very popular podcasts: Thrive and Small Biz Ahead where he interviews politicians, economists, policy makers, celebrities and entrepreneurs that impact business.
Gene has written 5 books on business management, specifically geared towards small and medium sized companies. His most recent is Want More Cash?: 100+ Ideas And Strategies For Increasing Your Company’s Cash Flow This Year. Nationally, Gene appears regularly on Fox Business, MSNBC, as well as CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor and SiriusXM’s Wharton Business Channel where he talks about the financial, economic and technology issues that affect business leaders today.
Gene owns and operates the Marks Group PC, a highly successful ten-person firm that provides technology and consulting services to small and medium sized businesses. Prior to starting the Marks Group PC, Gene, a Certified Public Accountant, spent nine years in the entrepreneurial services arm of the international consulting firm KPMG in Philadelphia where he was a Senior Manager.
Breakout Session: Drive to the Green: Using Technology
& Data to Drive Better Margins
Mike Devereux (Wipfli, LLP)
Wed., Oct. 29, 2025 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
Integrating technology and data collection into manufacturing operations introduces various challenges. In its most recent survey, NAM’s Manufacturing Leadership Council reported that 70% of manufacturers enter data manually. With real-time data being the foundation of new developments over the last decade such as industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, and smart manufacturing, there is an opportunity for manufacturing companies to embrace the use of technology and data collection to provide more insights to run your organization.
This presentation outlines practical approaches that companies have used to implement technology, data collection, and real-time information to improve their understanding of operational processes and profitability. Organizations using these tools can more precisely analyze profit margins by customer, part class, and individual parts. Real-time data supports management with the following tasks:
- Identify mostly costly reason for unplanned downtime,
- Validate or invalidate pricing decisions,
- Forecasting internal schedule performance via production monitoring,
- Evaluating machine performance and utilization, and
- Analyzing factors contributing to manufacturing variances.
This profitability, efficiency, and operational data can be used to drive improvements to your margins through pricing or sales process improvements, customer contribution margin analysis, and identification of areas for operational and process improvements.
Starting with an overview of the critical data elements, this presentation will provide ideas for companies just starting their digital journey to those that have begun to use data as an asset but may be looking for ways to better understand how its use can improve profitability.
Mike Devereux currently serves as Wipfli’s National Manufacturing Industry Leader. In that role, he oversees a team of professionals nationally who provide audit, tax, and consulting services to the manufacturing sector. Mike’s role is primarily focused on organic growth, increasing Wipfli’s national presence and identifying value for manufacturing clients and prospective clients.
He speaks regularly to various professional and industry trade associations on ways manufacturers can reduce their Federal and state tax liabilities, and Mike provides insights on recent and future legislation impacting the manufacturing sector.
He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Manufacturing Professional (CMP).
Breakout Session AI Beyond LLM(NOP)
Brent Natzke (Advantech Consulting)
Wed., Oct. 29, 2025 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
AI is in a rapidly expanding phase as it becomes more public. This presentation explores the ever-changing landscape of model supremacy in Large Language Models while demonstrating how you can leverage language structure for additional outputs. We’ll review the current state of foundational models, examine tools that go beyond LLMs—including keypoint detection, image and video creation—and weave in creating a live proof of concept mobile app based on live attendee input using an LLM.
The session covers the evolution from early neural networks to today’s multi billion-parameter models, examines current market leaders, and provides hands-on tactics for getting more out of today’s models.
Brent Natzke is President & Owner of Advantech Consulting Group. Advantech has delivered IT and Web Solutions since 1997 and has been a trusted provider for many FEMA members.
Breakout Session: When Tariffs Hit the Farm: What You Need to Know
John Turlais Foley & Lardner, LLP)
Wed., Oct. 29, 2025 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
With the recent expansion of the derivative tariff list to include farm machinery and equipment, manufacturers face increased compliance responsibilities and potential financial exposure. This presentation will discuss the latest tariff developments, explain the Agricultural Use Exception, and provide practical guidance on navigating common issues – from country of origin and product classification to duty calculation and CBP interactions. Join us to gain insights into the rapidly evolving, high-tariff trade environment.
John is partner at Foley & Lardner LLP. He has significant experience conducting international compliance risk assessments for domestic and foreign companies and, based on their specific risk profiles, designing and improving their international trade and anti-bribery/anti-corruption (ABC) compliance programs consistent with the expectations set forth by U.S. law enforcement agencies. He is a frequent writer and speaker on topics related to the international trade compliance, internal investigations, and cross-border government defense strategies.
Breakout Session: E-Commerce: A Business Perspective
Michael Bird (Spindustry)
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
There are usually two key factors that influence how quickly a business moves toward e-commerce growth. The first is understanding the full scale of the opportunity and how it can open new revenue streams. The second is ensuring that your technical systems and processes are aligned to support it.
In this session, Michael will explore both sides—painting a clear picture of the growth potential while also showing practical, creative ways to leverage the systems you already have in place. The goal is not just to remove barriers but to turn them into stepping stones for greater efficiency, customer engagement, and profitability.
Rather than focusing on what might be holding you back, he’ll show how your current infrastructure can be optimized and scaled, and how aligning strategy with technology, including AI, creates an ecosystem where e-commerce thrives.
Michael Bird is CEO of Spindustry, which focuses on e-commerce, web application development and SharePoint/Office 365 solutions. Learn more at .
Breakout Session: The 18-Month Window: Beat Full-Line Manufacturers to AI-Ready Distribution
Chris Morbitzer/Aaron Huisinga (NorthBuilt)
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Specialized manufacturers have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to gain a permanent advantage over full-line counterparts by deploying AI-powered distribution systems in the next 18 months–but only if their data and systems are ready for AI integration. This session demonstrates how to capitalize on this critical 18-month window while competitors remain stuck in enterprise planning cycles, by revealing:
- How AI strengthens dealer relationships with data-driven market intelligence;
- The practical three-phase roadmap for implementing AI-ready distribution systems;
- Scalable AI solutions your current team can manage and maintain today.
- Don’t let your innovative edge slip away. Seize the permanent advantage of being first to market with intelligent distribution tools that strengthen dealer loyalty, improve operational efficiency, and accelerate growth, before the window closes and others catch up.
NorthBuilt develops and supports custom software that keeps operations running smoothly. Our 100% US-based team has deep experience in ERPs, dealer portals, and inventory management. We specialize in helping independent manufacturers leverage their decision-speed advantage to deploy smart distribution systems that enhance dealer relationships and operational efficiency.
Chris Morbitzer developed a passion for internal technology while seeing it improve his family’s gas line repair business in Ohio. As co-founder and CEO of NorthBuilt, he brings the same craftsmanship to software that his family applied to pipefitting. Chris is optimistic about U.S. manufacturing and artificial intelligence, and believes that AI will accelerate the growth of American quality production.
Aaron Huisinga learned computer programming by developing software for his family’s poultry operation in Minnesota. After building a marketing software startup, he returned to his roots in ag tech by co-founding NorthBuilt. As President, Aaron leads the team that brings reliable technical partnership to agricultural and manufacturing businesses in the Midwest.
Don’t miss out! Save $100 when you register by September 11, 2025.