SUWANEE, Ga. - With more than 425 distributors, manufacturer's representatives, employees and spouses attending, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating held its annual Distributor Conference at the Fairmont Orchid in Kohala Coast, Hawaii, March 23-26. The Distributor Conference strengthens and celebrates the important relationship between Mitsubishi Electric and its distributors, who play an integral role in promoting split-ductless and VRF zoning systems to U.S. customers.

"The theme of this year's conference was 'ohana,' a Hawaiian word that refers to one's family, including both blood relatives and extended family," said William Rau, senior vice president and general manager, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating. "Our distributors and manufacturer's representatives play a huge role in Mitsubishi Electric's continued success. We consider them all members of our extended family."

Throughout the three-day conference, attendees participated in discussion groups, strategy sessions, and knowledge sharing on how best to support the Mitsubishi Electric brand. Sessions focused on working together as a family (ohana) to meet goals and depending on one another to achieve success. Attendees heard Jim Fannin, "The World's No. 1 Coach of Champions" speak on "Changing Your Life in 2012." The speech focused on simplifying and balancing life, business, and family. Attendees also heard from popular economics speaker Jeff Dietrich who spoke on the state of the economy and his forecast for growth. Motivational speaker Tony Jeary closed the conference with a presentation on clarity, focus, and execution in both the personal and business aspects of life.

"Our annual conference offers participants a chance to reinforce relationships with the entire Mitsubishi Electric family through influential speaker sessions and assemblies," says Rau. "We share the meaning of teamwork and working together to achieve common goals."

An important tradition of the Distributor Conference is to honor the distributors and manufacturer's representatives whose performance surpassed expectations in 2011. The Distributor of the Year Award recognizes the organization that has performed above and beyond all others in sales, market development, and service levels with Mitsubishi Electric's products. The 2011 Distributor of the Year award went to Homans Associates, Wilmington, Mass., and the 2011 International Distributor of the Year award went to Inproambient S.A de C.V., Benito Juarez, Mexico City, Mexico.

Quota Buster and Superior Sales awards were given to distributors who exceeded their established quotas for the past year. Also awarded at the conference was the 2011 Manufacturer's Representative of the Year award, which went to Roy C. Martin & Company Inc., Hoover, Ala., acknowledging the company's overall growth in its sales territory.

"We would not be where we are today without the commitment of our distributors and manufacturer's representatives," said Rau. "This important gathering gives us the opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of all of our partners as we work together to reach Mitsubishi Electric's business goals."

For more information about Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating, visit www.mehvac.com.