http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) was founded in 1992 on a simple premise: to bring members of the independent toy industry together to help each other succeed. Since then, we have grown to be the largest association for companies in the toy and children’s products arenas, with more than 1,000 members. en-us Copyright 2012 on Behalf of the the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) - All Rights Reserved. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST 20 http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=7 Message by ASTRA on 2/7/2012 CST February is always a big month for the specialty toy industry. We will see many ASTRA members at Toy Fair in New York, where ASTRA members enjoy the special member-only discounts we arrange from manufacturers, and AST ... Tue, 7 Feb 2012 15:23:00 EST http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=7 http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=6 Message by ASTRA on 1/11/2012 CST So here we are: 2012. That means the 20th Anniversary of ASTRA—a milestone that seemed so far away when our founders and early members started sharing business tips and experiences in 1992. Get ready for a big celebrat ... Tue, 7 Feb 2012 15:23:00 EST http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=6 http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=5 Message by ASTRA on 11/23/2011 CST The emphasis this year is on local business. It's a drum beat that started a couple years ago with the farmers' markets and local sustainable foods and restaurants and is carrying over now to all small business. The m ... Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:57:00 EST http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=5 http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=4 Message by ASTRA on 9/27/2011 CST You may notice that increasingly our attention is turning to the BIG day; November 12th, ASTRA's 2nd annual Neighborhood Toy Store Day. We've spent the summer working with committees, designers, printers and our public ... Fri, 2 Dec 2011 13:05:00 EST http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=4 http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=3 Message by ASTRA on 7/14/2011 CST It was about six weeks before the annual convention when the staff came to me because they were having email issues. To solve the problem they wanted to upgrade Microsoft Outlook to the newest version. All the reasons ... Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:25:00 EST http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=3 http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=1 Message by ASTRA on 4/20/2011 CST We are excited to announce that along with the new ASTRA Website, we are introducing the next generation of the listserv: discussion boards. We believe the new discussion boards will become a game-changer in member com ... Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:16:00 EST http://www.astratoy.org/presidents-report.asp?i=1