CE Pro September 2022 - 54

Channel
TIPS | EDUCATION & EVENTS | DISTRIBUTION
New England Rep
Event Emphasizes
Education
Strateres Dealer Development Expo
conducts 46 training sessions covering
wellness, home theater and more during
one-day event in Mystic, Conn.
By Jason Knott
" COVID-19 stymied education, "
says Peter Dyroff, president
of Strateres, a veteran
independent rep firm serving
the Northeast. " There's
just not enough education
for dealers and people are
'webinared out.' They need
to be together, face to face
so they can network and be
part of a community. "
That need-for-training
principle is the driving force
behind the Strateres Dealer
Development Expo, which
debuted last year and was
held in early June at the
Mystic Marriott Hotel Hotel
& Spa in Groton, Conn. In all,
165 integrators registered to
attend the one-day event,
which included 46 separate
trainings packed into a tight
schedule with eight concurrent
45-minute sessions
being held. Sessions focused
on lighting, home theater,
wellness, outdoor lighting
and audio and more.
" One of the worst things
about this industry is that we
never got to the place where
54 | CE Pro September 2022
dealers believe training is
worth paying for. Most training
in the custom electronics
industry is free, and when
something is free, it has
perceived lower value. Many
integrators sign up to attend
training sessions and then
never show up, " says Dyroff.
Strateres' focus on training
is so committed that Dyroff
hired Jeff Rogers several years
ago to run his training events.
Rogers has an extensive background
with URC, Tweeter,
and Savant over the years.
" I've always believed that
the strongest salesperson
at an integration company
is going to be the most
educated salesperson, " adds
Dyroff, who says he plans to
continue to hold the Strateres
Dealer Development
Expo every year.
Among the 14 participating
brands that returned
this year are Sony, Monitor
Audio, Coastal Source, Leon
Speakers, Kaleidescape, Séura,
Lutron/Ketra, Progressive
Screens, RePure, and Legrand
Strateres president Peter Dyroff says dealers are eager to
communicate face to face at events.
AV. New brands participating
include Amina, JL Audio, IC
Realtime, and Josh.ai.
One training area was a
fully setup demo area using
Ketra and Josh.ai as the control.
The session, conducted
by Terry Rogers of Strateres
and Joseph Brown of Lutron,
stepped dealers through
various dimming and color
temperature levels, including
the Vibrancy Mode designed
to highlight artwork and the
Natural Mode that changes
light levels and color temperature
based on the time of day.
The duo noted that many
lighting designers default to
a 2700 Kelvin color temperature
to mimic sunlight
because that is the maximum
output of old incandescent
light bulbs. However, today's
LED light sources with
individual diodes are capable
of much broader ranges.
So, while 2700K might be
ideal to mimic natural light
for a particular latitude and
longitude at a particular
location, it should no longer
be considered the " default "
setting for producing natural
light in a room.
Another session introduced
integrators to the
Panasonic indoor air quality
(IAQ) solutions, including the
new WhisperAir Repair air
purification and odor elimination
system. The ductless
system, which uses nanoe X
air purification technology,
simply installs in the ceiling.
It covers a 200-square-foot
space and dissipates both
smells and allergens.
Erik Bernal, CEO/president
of Elite Water Systems,
showed attendees the various
levels of water quality
systems they can install for
clients. The systems require
filter changes, thus providing
RMR potential for dealers.
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CE Pro September 2022

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