Blind Merchants Lift Off in Nashville

by Terry C. Smith

From the Editor: Terry Smith is the Director of Training and Technical Assistance for the National Association of Blind Merchants (NABM), a division of the National Federation of the Blind consisting of Randolph-Sheppard vendors and other blind entrepreneurs. Terry left his position as director of Tennessee Services for the Blind in 2012 and joined NABM. In addition to his advocacy work, he currently assists NABM President Nicky Gacos in planning and coordinating training events, such as the conference he describes in this article, and provides technical assistance to state licensing agencies and elected committees of blind vendors. Here is his report on the return of the NABM’s Business Leadership and Superior Training (BLAST) conference after a long hiatus:

In November of 2024, Nashville, Tennessee, hosted the largest Randolph-Sheppard training event in history. Almost six hundred blind merchants, teaming partners, purveyors, state agency personnel, and other stakeholders converged on Music City for four days of outstanding training.
BLAST (Business Leadership and Superior Training) is the premier training event sponsored by the National Association of Blind Merchants (NABM), the National Federation of the Blind’s Merchants Division. BLAST dates back twenty-five years, with past conferences being held in such cities as Las Vegas, Orlando, Denver, Memphis, Austin, San Antonio, Indianapolis, Chicago, and three previous times in Nashville.

“COVID hit our guys hard, so we were hesitant to do a big event like this,” said Nicky Gacos, president of the National Association of Blind Merchants. “This was our first full-blown BLAST since 2018, and we were absolutely blown away by the turnout. I still have someone tell me every day that it was the best BLAST ever, and it got folks regenerated and excited about the future. Our goal is to educate, motivate, and stimulate creativity while having some fun too.”
NABM’s membership consists primarily of blind merchants who operate food services in government buildings pursuant to the Randolph-Sheppard Act. As a result of COVID, government workers left their offices to work at home. Five years later, the majority of government workers still work from home, meaning that there are fewer customers to buy food products from the blind merchants. Twenty-five percent of these merchants went out of business, and many more have lost significant income. The program is going through a transition and needs innovation if it is to be here for future generations of blind people.

“This is why BLAST was so important this year,” said President Gacos. “Superior training and creative thinking are more important than ever and hold the keys to building a bigger and better program.” One of the conference’s significant features was a full day of training for state agency personnel; the Randolph-Sheppard program is administered through licensing agencies in each state. One hundred and fifty state staff participated. The event’s high-energy keynote address was delivered by Emmy Award winner and bestselling author Clint Pulver. The America’s Got Talent alumnus’s presentation on building a winning culture featured not only his dynamic drumming but an impressive group performance by the attendees, who were all provided their own set of drumsticks. They learned what they could do all working together.

There were sessions on micro markets, legal issues affecting blind merchants, the new political landscape, investing and money management, social media, nontraditional opportunities, innate commissaries, marketing, artificial intelligence (AI), the violence epidemic, Social Security issues, and much more. The most impressive presentation may have been an AI-generated conversation between President Gacos and Senator Jennings Randolph, who sponsored the original bill that created the program in 1936. And there was plenty of entertainment along the way. What would an event be in Nashville without music? Whether you are a fan of Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, or not a country music fan at all, there was something for you.

BLAST has come to be synonymous with amazing trade shows. This BLAST did not disappoint, as sixty purveyors were there to show their goods and services. The big players like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Keurig Dr Pepper, and Mars were there promoting their products. Smaller startup companies shared new products. Vending machine manufacturers had their equipment on-site, as did micro market providers. Technology companies joined in the fun, along with companies selling their business-related services.

But the highlight of the entire event may have been the recognition of some outstanding contributors to this field. Foremost among these was the Lifetime Achievement Award presented to James Gashel. “It was a thrill for me to be able to present this award to a man who helped get key legislation passed and has been such an advocate for our program for over a half-century,” President Gacos stated. “No one has done more for blind merchants than Jim.” President Gacos paused and then added, “If there was a Mount Rushmore for Randolph-Sheppard, he’d be on it.” Mr. Gashel, who had just presented on his reflections of the program fifty years after the 1974 amendments, was surprised and humbled by the award.

Awards were also presented to three outstanding blind merchants. Ron Brown of Indiana received the Scott Young Award, which recognizes outstanding advocacy efforts. Melba Taylor of Maryland and Michael Colbrunn of Minnesota received Gold Star Awards for their distinguished service.

Where does BLAST go from here? Large four-day events like this are expensive and difficult to plan. President Gacos has hinted that the future may be smaller training events such as the one being planned for May 5-6, 2025, in Las Vegas in conjunction with the National Automatic Merchandising Association Show. But the community is already clamoring for another big BLAST. “Never say never,” laughed President Gacos. “Someone might just make us an offer we cannot refuse.” If they do, you can bet it will be even bigger and better.