Government Affairs

Tom McMahon Senior Vice President, Chief Counsel

NAMA's Government Affairs policy is to obtain fair and equitable treatment from government for the merchandise vending, coffee service, and food service management industry. Our focus is on those issues which directly, and in some cases uniquely, affect the industry. At the state level these issues include obesity in children and vended food in schools, sales tax, per machine taxes, and excise taxes on particular industry products. Federal level issues include coinage, currency, school lunch and product labeling. Besides these areas we are involved in many other legislative and regulatory aspects relating to the industry.

NAMA staff members and attorneys work with members, affiliated state organizations, outside counsel and others to seek fair treatment for theindustry. We work to educate our members and government officials about how government action affects the industry.

NAMA regional and state council education programs can help you become more proficient in many subjects such as business management, labor relations, route structuring, category management and account retention.

Operator Bottling Report

A Report on the Status of the Relationship Between Operators and Bottlers can now be viewed by clicking here. The Report was prepared by NAMA's legal staff in 2002 and revised in 2003. NAMA's Board of Directors has reviewed and discussed the Report; further, in its 2003-2005 Business Plan, The Board Directed the staff to communicate the Report to the membership.

The Report is offered with the same intention with which it was prepared and reviewed—to facilitate better understanding and improved relations between vending operators and soft drink bottlers, focusing on the overriding issue of fair play and a level playing field.

Keeping up-to-date on Government Affairs is just one of the many benefits you will receive from your NAMA Membership.

Presidential Dollar Coin

The United States Mint announced it is offering a wide range of free informational materials on its website at www.usmint.gov/$1coin to help retailers, financial institutions, educators and other interested organizations promote understanding of the new Presidential $1 Coins. The Presidential $1 Coins are being introduced as a result of the Presidential Coin Act of 2005, which requires the United States Mint to mint and issue the dollar coins commemorating the former United States Presidents in the order in which they served. The first in the series of Presidential $1 Coins features President George Washington and will be released on February 15, 2007.

Patent and Trademark Protection

In current Government Affairs news, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) contacted NAMA and asked that we help spread the word about their new small-business education campaign. This program is aimed at encouraging small businesses across the U.S. to recognize and consider the benefits of strong patent and trademark protection - both domestically and abroad. If you are running a sales campaign, marketing program, or have logos and business names you'd like to protect, this program could help you. To learn more, click here to visit the USPTO website.

Business Opportunity Awareness