2019 PCA Magazine

46 PCA The Magazine | JULY-AUGUST 2019 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG management is the most important thing he does for the business. He’s had other retailers come in and shadow his operation over the years andmore often than not those retailers, who have one or two stores, will have nearly double the inventory Cass keeps for his five stores. “You’ve got to be lean, you’ve got to be mean,” he says. “Cash flow is king. If you’re not turning over your product andmanaging your inventory, you’re losing money. About 60 days before the trade show, we start to identify ‘endangered species’—that’s what we call it. We’re making room and keeping ourselves lean so we can go into new avenues or brands that are growing.” And Cass is quick to add it takes a team effort to pull it off. “An equally important component is people. I am so proud of our team, led by Darrell Boyette, many of whom have been with us 10 years or longer. They are the lifeblood of consumer engagement on the frontlines.” It’s clear that energy and passion are also needed to forge ahead. As we wind down our conversation, Conder of Crowned Heads joins us. Cass, Conder and Huber need to start getting ready for their event later in the day. We talk a bit about the state of the industry (see sidebar below), then the phone rings again. Seconds later, his store manager walks in with a question. Cass rises slowly frombehind his desk, offers one last joke, and then readies himself for the next pressing issue … or perhaps the next opportunity. AS CURRENT EX OFFICIO for PCA, Craig Cass has a unique perspective. Spending 15 years on the board of directors and in leadership positions will do that. So if you ask him the state of the organization, he offers a cache of institutional knowledge that should not be ignored. “I’ve seen the evolution of our leadership and our boards and there’s a lot of very dedicated retailers who give their time and intellect to try tomake our association better,” says Cass. “But if I look at a negative in our industry, I think there’s a lot of apathy out there. And I think IPCPR is partly at fault because we’ve probably done a poor job over the years communicating to ourmembers and keeping themengaged. “What we need to communicate better is that the trade association is critical for our survival. It’s critical. A gradual erosion of the industry comes frompeople not actively engaged inwhat’s going on. That’s whymembership involvement is so crucial. And it’s why the trade show is so important, because it brings the industry together once a year, where you can learn fromother retailers and speakers, and you can see what products are up and coming.” There have been ups and downs in PCA’s history, certainly, like the ill-advised decision tomove the headquarters to Columbus, Georgia, in 2006where “we were like dinosaurs out there” to the inspiredmove back toD.C. 10 years later “to the epicenter of advocacy.” The D.C. decision—recognizing the wrong and correcting it—is what has Cass encouraged by the newest version of the association. He believes the soul searching and the decisions that resulted are both forward thinking and imperative for the survival of the industry. And he’s bullish on the future leaders coming through PCA. “I amexcited and engaged because internally the future is bright with our current board of directors and executive committee. You add in Scott Pearce’s skill sets with our D.C. personnel and you have the PCA primed formany years of association success. “There’s a newworld order we’re trying to create that covers everyone in the industry,” he says. “We think it’s very important as a trade association to engage all of our manufacturers. We think it’s very important to engage asmany retailers as we can and we also think it’s very important to have the consumers engaged. So PCA, in our newest form, is here to represent every facet of the industry. With the changes, we’re looking tomodernize our association to effectively manage all of our responsibilities— communication, multi-level advocacy, education, the trade show. This is where our association needs to be to succeed.” WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR THE PCA TODAY?