Feltes does give a nod to show management — the Association of Equipment Manufacturers — for its efforts in handling its responsibilities for selling floor space to exhibitors and trying to ramp up registration. “They do a great job with this,” Feltes says. “It’s a tribute to the industry, the association, and the manufacturers that exhibitors believe in the goals we are trying to accomplish.”

Feltes says when NSSGA moved to its current format of AGG1 being held over a three-day period focusing on educational topics related to the aggregate industry with an average of 45 to 55 classes per event — it lost the same type of input from its previous committee structure. “Each committee would plan its separate forum or meeting,” Feltes says. “Now, the Education Committee determines the classes.

“Each committee used to put on their respective seminars/meetings,” he continues. “It was very inefficient for the association and was very cumbersome for members to attend all of the meetings or some of them. We streamlined it when we put AGG1 together,” Feltes says. “But when we did this, we did away with the committee structure for obvious reasons. As a result, we lost the input from member companies and their employees like we did in the old days.”

To get the best of both worlds — the efficiency and practicality of one yearly show instead of 13 smaller conferences and the valuable input these provided — Feltes says NSSGA has embraced social media. “We are trying to take advantage of social media to re-establish these valuable connections to members through SharePoint, Facebook, Twitter, [and other mediums] to create that buzz we had with the committee structure.”

Discussions via these social mediums are being used to garner input on education topics, Feltes explains. “Social media is the next step in trying to grow the participation level in NSSGA and AGG1,” he says.

For the Aggregates Manager show preview on AGG1, go to

www.aggman.com/agg-1-preview.

To register for NSSGA’s Annual Convention, go to

www.nssga.org/choice. To register for the AGG1 Aggregates Forum & Expo, go to www.AGG1.org/Attendees/index.asp.

AggBeat to Go

To get daily news updates, enter http://www.gettag.mobi into your smart phone browser and download the free app. Then scan this tag to access AggBeat Online and keep up-to-date on what’s happening in the aggregates industry

Fox News Analyst AGG1 KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Nina Easton

Nina Easton, Fox News political analyst and Fortune magazine’s Washington columnist and senior editor, will be the keynote speaker at the 2012 National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) Annual Convention scheduled at the Westin-Charlotte hotel in Charlotte, N.C., March 11-14. The convention is being held in tandem with the AGG1 trade show, which is co-located with World of Asphalt.

Easton will discuss the current political landscape and presidential election campaign, as well as her thoughts on economic recovery, according to the NSSGA.

Nina Easton covers politics and economics in the nation’s capital for a readership of more than 5 million as Fortune’s Washington columnist and senior editor. Her column appears regularly in the magazine and online at Fortune.com. She also co-chairs the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit.

Small Mines Office to Stay Open

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) officials have indicated that the agency has had a change of heart over its plan to close the Small Mines Office (SMO). According to the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), the agency will maintain the SMO in its current format.