Stephen Rymal and Bryan Dillon will preside over AAFD annual conference in Mesa, Arizona
SAN DIEGO, March 2020 – The American Association of Franchisee and Dealers (AAFD) announced that Stephen Rymal and franchise attorney Bryan Dillon will return as co-chairs of the AAFD’s 2020 Franchisee Leadership Summit and Annual Conference, taking place October 14 – 17 at the Sheraton Mesa Hotel in Mesa, Arizona.
The conference co-chairs are responsible for developing the content of the meeting, recruiting top seminar speakers, and supporting this year’s theme, “Empowering Franchisee Associations.”
Stephen Rymal is a franchisee of the Griswold Home Care (GHC) system and has owned his franchise since 1997. Stephen is a founding member and past president of the Griswold Home Care Franchisee Association (GHCFA) and was elected by his peers to assist in renegotiating the GHC franchise agreement. That agreement received a score of 97% conformity with the AAFD’s Fair Franchising Standards.
Bryan Dillon is a partner with Lagarias, Napell & Dillon, LLP and for more than 20 years has exclusively represented franchisees and franchisee associations – never franchisors. Bryan is certified as a Specialist in Franchise and Distribution Law by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization and is the immediate past chair of the State Bar’s Franchise and Distribution Law Advisory Commission (FDLAC). Bryan has represented some of the largest franchisee associations in the country and has been repeatedly named to the Franchise Time’s list of “Legal Eagles.”
Both Stephen and Bryan have served as presenters at past AAFD Franchisee Leadership Summits and have plans to continue the AAFD’s efforts to empower our members through education and mutual collaboration. In a joint statement released to the AAFD Franchisee Voice, Dillon and Rymal said, “Understanding that ‘knowledge is power,’ and that strong and empowered franchisee associations are essential to protecting a franchisee’s equity, we will continue to build on the AAFD’s efforts to promote a fairer and more balanced franchise community at the 2020 Franchisee Leadership Summit.”
“We are so fortunate to have two luminaries presiding over our leadership summit and annual meeting,” said Robert Purvin, Chairman of the AAFD. “As a past franchisee association president and preeminent franchise attorney, respectively, Stephen and Bryan provide an unmatched depth and breadth of experience that will ensure this conference is highly valuable for all of our attendees.”
Each year, the AAFD’s Franchisee Leadership Summit and Annual Conference brings together franchisee association leaders as well as top attorneys, suppliers, and other leaders within the franchising industry for three days of education, discussion, networking, and celebration. In addition to powerful sessions focused on our conference theme, the AAFD Leadership Summit includes networking opportunities, our supplier showcase, and our signature Total Quality Franchising Awards Gala.