Jim Apodaca and his wife, Kathy, are enjoying the sun and sights in Denver this week, partly on Charlie Ergen’s dime.
Apodaca, owner of JKA Communications in Hanford, Calif., has a chance tonight to catch the Beach Boys in concert and yuk it up with comedian Rich Little.
It’s all part of the annual event that EchoStar Communications, which is run by Ergen and operates the Dish satellite-TV network, throws to motivate its retailers. This year, the party is in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center.
More than 1,900 sellers are expected to attend the gathering, which runs through Sunday, Echo Star spokeswoman Kathie Gonzalez said.
It’s the Apodacas’ first trip to Denver in 10 years.
“This is five-star all the way,” said Jim Apodaca, referring to the performers and “steak and salmon” dinners served at such events. “It kinda rejuvenates us, gives us a lift to take our business to the next level. It’s also a chance to meet other retailers and network.”
In addition to rocking out with the Beach Boys and John Fogerty, the retailers can go to training seminars on how to set up new Dish Network equipment and how to improve sales and customer support. Douglas County-based EchoStar also is offering up tickets to a Colorado Rockies game, a trip to the Dave & Buster’s entertainment venue and a golf tournament.
Apodaca has been a Dish retailer for six years. This is the fifth summit he and his wife have attended. They said former President Clinton addressed retailers during the 2003 Dish summit in Atlanta. Last year’s summit was in Nashville, Tenn.
Co-founders Ergen and Jim DeFranco are set to address their guests Friday night. The company is expected to unveil new products and services, including three new models of satellite dishes and four new high-definition channels, according to Scott Greczkowski, founder of the Web forum satelliteguys.us, which focuses on the satellite industry.
Dish retailers also have the opportunity to tour one of EchoStar’s uplink facilities in Cheyenne, the company’s customer-service center, as well as Lockheed Martin in Jefferson County, where rockets carrying Dish satellites are made.
Dish Network is the second-largest satellite- TV provider in the nation, with 12.3 million customers. DirecTV in El Segundo, Calif., has more than 15 million subscribers and holds regional meetings with its retailers.
EchoStar has been embroiled in a lawsuit filed by several retailers since 2000. The retailers claim that EchoStar reneged on contracts and accuse the company of obstruction and destruction of evidence. EchoStar has said the claims are unfounded.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
