Firstly, thanks ever so much to Chris Biddle for expertly manning the fort here these past couple of weeks whilst I was away visiting family in the US. As ever his fascinating and thought-provoking views are much appreciated.

It's a great week to be back - and not just because the weather has been the same as it was in California (I assume it was like this the whole time I was away?!). No it's great to be back because there's loads going on at Service Dealer Towers to be excited about!

As you may have already seen, the magazine has a shiny new website! There has been much hard work going on behind the scenes by the amazingly talented team to get the new site prepared for launch. It's up there on the internet today for all to see - and I do hope readers take advantage of all that it offers. As well as looking all snazzy and modern, one of its main functions is to act as an archive of Service Dealer content. Both of the paper magazine and this Weekly Update.

So now if there's something you want to read again, either from a magazine you can't put your hands on, or from an Update you've deleted from your inbox, you can head over to www.servicedealer.co.uk and worry no more!

There's plenty of other delights to be found on there as well, including the announcement today of the first details regarding November's Service Dealer Conference & Awards.

Taking place once again at the Oxford Belfry Hotel, on Thursday 15th November, the theme for this year's edition is tied in to the fact that Service Dealer is celebrating 30 years as the independent voice of the industry in 2018. The event will reflect on that heritage, but more importantly look forward to what the next 30 years could have in store for our specialist dealer readers. Hence the title for the event has been chosen as 'To 2048 - Insights For Our Industry: Helping You To Prosper Over The Next 30 Years'.

The content of the day will once again include leading industry speakers and experts, panel debates and breakout sessions. Keep an eye on this Weekly Update and the magazine for further reveals, but what we can say at this stage is that the Conference programme is based around the most commonly expressed concerns and issues identified by dealers in interviews and surveys published in Service Dealer and from feedback and suggestions from last year’s attendees. As such the conference will be tackling topics such as Succession and Urbanisation - plus guest speakers will give first-hand accounts of what large spending customers expect from a dealership.

Also live today on the new site, entries are open for this year's Dealer Of The Year competition. As ever the presentation for the Awards will take place at the Oxford Belfry, during the gala dinner following on from the day's Conference activities. Always a special night, Service Dealer and our sponsors, are delighted to continue to honour the incredible work being achieved by independent dealers of all sizes, across the country.

To be in the running for one of the core dealer prizes in the categories of Garden Machinery, Professional Turfcare, Farm, Forestry or ATV / Utility, head over to the site and nominate your dealership. Manufacturers and supplies can also nominate their dealers they feel deserve an accolade. Many factors are taken into account when judging the categories including innovation, best working practices, customer care and customer feedback - so there's plenty of opportunity for the smaller dealer as well.

There are also two other award categories on the night, Star of The Dealership and Apprentice of The Year - both of which are open now for entry. With these categories we want you to tell us who really goes that extra mile to help make your business a success. This is a great opportunity to nominate an employee who exceeds expectations within your business.

The Conference & Awards day is always such a memorable occasion, which is getting bigger year on year. We do hope to see as many of our readers there as possible In November. If you head over to the new site now you can register your interest in attending or take advantage of some very attractive Early Bird discounts on tickets.

So plenty to look forward to with Service Dealer for the rest of this year. As ever, everything we do is guided by you, our dealer readers. So please keep giving us your invaluable feedback so we can make sure that all our output across the magazine, Weekly Update, website and Conference & Awards all reflects your interests and concerns.