Kansas City, MO – It was a night of appreciation in Kansas City as the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) kicked off its 50th Expo with the Annual Appreciation Dinner. The festivities included honoring current and past board members, President Kenyon Gleason's 10th anniversary, and a farewell to NASGW's SCOPE program director Easton Kuboushek.

"We had a lot of fun last night with a few surprises along the way," said NASGW President Kenyon Gleason. "The annual Appreciation Dinner is always a great way to kick off our week, honor some great partners in two-step distribution, and recognize some of the top new products in the industry."

Each year the NASGW Expo brings together wholesalers and manufacturers within the shooting sports industry to get a first look at new products and plan sales for the upcoming year.

Included in the Expo festivities is NASGW's Appreciation Dinner, at which NASGW recognizes top companies in six categories for the Appreciation Awards.

In addition, NASGW partners with the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) to select the top individual products in seven categories – called the Caliber Awards. An independent panel of 18 industry judges selected the winners in each category as well as a Best Overall New Product. In order to qualify, manufacturers needed to be a NASGW member in good standing; the product must have been publicly released between the end of last year’s NASGW Expo and the beginning of this year’s Expo; and submission of the products was required through the NASGW Expo New Product Showcase, found on the NASGW Expo website.

The Caliber Awards offer a unique, unbiased approach to recognizing and honoring new innovative products. The voting panel is comprised of the people who buy and sell these products on a daily basis as well as the media members who review and report on these products in the field.

Being chosen as a finalist is an honor in itself. More than 170 submissions were narrowed down by the panel to three finalists in each category. Judges were asked to consider the uniqueness, market need, value of the product, ingenuity, and presentation.