Metz Leaves NNFA

Metz Leaves NNFA

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--The National Nutritional Foods Association(NNFA) announced July 17 that its director of conventions, Sheldon Metz, is no longer with the association. The announcement was made a little over a month after NNFA's (www.nnfa.org) early-June MarketPlace 2001 trade show.

According to David Seckman, NNFA executive director, Metz resigned on July 11. "Over the more than five years Sheldon oversaw the conventions and meetings department at NNFA, he made many contributions that furthered the association's mission," Seckman said. "We wish him well in his new endeavors."

The slower economy appears to have attributed to slower traffic at trade shows within most industries; however, coupled with declining sales of dietary supplements, NNFA's annual convention was particularly hard hit. This year's MarketPlace saw a more than 30-percent drop in attendance, with many large companies such as Twin Laboratories and Nature's Way not exhibiting. During the show, incoming president Mark Stowe noted that he would chair a committee to determine how to turn around the trade show's fortunes.