(San Diego, CA August 26, 2003) – The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) announced today the featuring of Five Expert Connection Training Workshops at the SSPA Conference @ Savannah, to be held September 29-October 1, 2003 in Savannah, Georgia. One choice for attendees will be the Economics of Certification - Management Overview Workshop. This fast-moving workshop discusses the value of certification for service professionals and support centers. It will include short dynamic presentations from experienced industry practitioners. There will also be time for open discussion on issues that are key to all support organizations. You are certain to come away with new information and knowledge you can put to use right away!

“There is a great deal of hype surrounding the topic of certification” says John Hamilton, President of Service Strategies Corp. “This workshop will help dispel some of those myths. Attendees will hear first hand from peers about the real value of certification programs relative to individual staff and the support operation”

The other four-hour Expert Connection Training Workshops on day three of the Conference will include: STAR Award Winners Showcase: "Benchmarking Against the Best” * Support Center Practices (SCP) Best Practices User Forum * Developing a Services Architecture * and S-Business: Reinventing the Services Organization: How to Drive Revenue and Create Competitive Advantage

The SSPA Savannah Conference is "the" event where the future of the Service and Support industry comes together in a fusion of visionary key note addresses, vibrant tracks and workshops, interactive forums, fun networking events, informative exhibits and a special dinner featuring the SSPA STAR Award winners -- all in the heart of America's most magical city, Savannah Georgia.

The opening day of the SSPA Conference at Savannah will be highlighted by 3 keynote presentations by Elliott Masie, Director- The MASIE Center; Chris Shea, Vice-President Consumer Service and Support Americas and Randy Spratt, Sr. Vice-President- McKesson Information Solutions.

Day two will feature Five Tracks each with six focused sessions for a total of 30 sessions guaranteed to unlock the secrets to mastering the future of customer service and support. The Five Tracks on the second day of the Conference will include:
Track 1: The Future of Support Technology; Track 2: The Future of Customer Demands; Track 3: The Future of the Support Executive; Track 4: The Future of Managing People; Track 5: Delivering World Class Service in the future.

Day Three is completed with the attendee’s choice of a round of golf at the pristine Club at Savannah Harbor Golf Course, next to the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort. - a tour of America's most magical city- Savannah- or a tour of Savannah’s wonderful coastal area.

Those who attend the SSPA Conference at Savannah will be well equipped to master the future of customer service. To view additional details of the Conference and to register, please visit www.thesspa.com/savannah.

About SSPA
Founded in 1989, the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) was formed to focus on the specific needs of service executives who are responsible for support centers and overall customer relations. Today, the SSPA represents over 21,600 service professionals at 2,500 support centers worldwide. These executives look to SSPA to provide insight into the future of support services, a road map of best practices within our industry and access to the best service and support vendors. SSPA has become the center of support providing a reliable and comprehensive resource for news, research, benchmarking, standards and collaboration.

SSPA was created for professionals, managers and executives that make their living in the IT support services community. It is not a generic, one-size-fits all website where nobody ever feels like they belong. SSPA is dynamic, interactive, living resource specifically designed for the unique needs of support professionals. This exciting virtual community creates a forum for constant interaction with peers, industry experts, technology vendors and much more. For more information regarding the SSPA and other related divisions, log on to www.thesspa.com or send an email to info@thesspa.com.