It's been easy to overlook the importance of storeowners to the growth of the ATM business. With the diverse players in the ATM game, from banks and ISOs to software vendors and security firms, we sometimes forget about the businessman whose focus is divided between his ATM and selling lottery tickets and gasoline.

The ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) is taking a giant first step in reaching out to those storeowners at its upcoming conference, "ATMs Hit the Big Screen", Feb. 19-22 in Hollywood, Fla. The workshop, called "ATMs: Best Practice for Optimal Value," will take place the afternoon before the conference gets underway.

ATMIA's first-ever pre-conference workshop is designed to help merchants run their ATM operations more efficiently. A roster of experts, including Brian Archer, executive vice president of Cardtronics, and Bruce Kreeger, president/CEO of ATM Center, will give valuable advice to merchants on operating an ATM program in any off-premise location.

The two-and-half-hour program also includes a presentation from Palm Desert National Bank on cash replenishment, and an overview of tools available to merchants through ATMIA. My role will be to provide an overview of resources available to merchants here at ATMmarketplace.

Just 75 spots are available for the workshop, at a cost of $300 each. Contact Dana dana@trademediagroup.com. You can also register online.

Broadening its appeal to merchants is just one of several steps being taken by ATMIA to expand its reach. The three-year-old association, under the leadership of executive director Michael Lee, will really blossom in 2002 after an incredible year of setting the stage for growth. Membership in North America alone grew 66 percent to nearly 300 members. The ATMIA insurance program now covers more than 1,200 ATMs.

The conference in Hollywood is just the first of four scheduled ATM industry gatherings in 2002. Others are ATM Security 2 in London (April 17-18), Pacific ATMs in Sydney (May 27-29), Optimising European ATMs in Budapest, Hungary (Sept. 23-25) and ATMIA Conference West, set for sometime in the fall in San Diego.

The security show and ATMIA West debuted in 2001, while the organization will make its initial appearances in Hungary and Australia.

Of special note is the London event, where ATMmarketplace.com and ATMIA will present special security awards to companies who have made strides in increasing the safety of the ATM for owners and users. (See related story)

And you can't help but notice the international expansion of the ATMIA. Mike Lee has done an outstanding job of recruiting new members on a global scale – helping to form active regional chapters in North America, Europe and Australasia. He's also recruited sponsors, including NCR Corp., Tranax Technologies, Papelaco, ACI Worldwide and ATMmarketplace.com.

Of course, if you know Mike and the level of enthusiasm he brings to the job, you know that he's just getting started. He's leading ATMIA's efforts in the areas of advertising, security, access for people with disabilities and smart card compliance.

In Florida next month, ATMIA is expecting to attract its largest audience, one that will include members of that oft-overlooked segment of the business – the merchant.

The goal, of course, is to help those merchants improve ATM operations in off-premise locations, and keep merchants up-to-date on important issues such as new audit requirements for convenience store ATMs. I'm also looking forward to hearing the opinions of merchants on key issues such as advertising on ATMs.

All in all, I expect a productive and entertaining exchange with some of the folks most responsible for the growth of ATM placements. See you there.

For more information, please visit the ATMIA Web site.

About the author: Tom Harper is president of NetWorld Alliance, the publisher of ATMmarketplace, KIOSKmarketplace and PizzaMarketplace. He is also a co-founder of the ATMIA and founder of the ATM Advertising Council.