Dealers and publishing professionals have been finding practical training and spiritual renewal during the annual Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit (RBTE), which runs through tomorrow at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Ill.

Retail trainer Jack Scott, who has taught booksellers at CBA events and the American Booksellers Association as well as at numerous international bookselling associations, focused on the nuts and bolts of retailing on Tuesday. His morning session addressed customer service, while practical marketing was the focus of his afternoon presentation.

Scott served 20 years as director of the Provident Bookstores, a chain of 10 Christian stores. He also directed trade marketing for eight years at Herald Press, the book division of the Mennonite Publishing House. In both capacities, he taught numerous international publishers and retailers who came to North America to gain more business skills.

The Catholic Book Publishers Association (CBPA) hosted a session Tuesday for publishing professionals on The Benefits and Challenges of Print-on-Demand, and another focused on understanding parish Catholics.

In addition to the workshops, RBTE has offered ministry. Sybil MacBeth presented a dealer seminar Tuesday on Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God. At Tuesday's luncheon, WaterBrook Press author Robert Benson discussed Tending to Life in Your Own Backyard: Finding the Holy in the Ordinary. The popular Tuesday night concert, held for the first time in a theater, featured the release of John Michael Talbot's 50th album.

The exhibit floor opened yesterday with more vendors than last year and brisk floor traffic. Exact figures were not available at press time.

Today's schedule features a CBPA-sponsored session on identifying mentoring tools for new editors. In addition, today's luncheon was to feature a CBPA anniversary celebration and the presentation of the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award to Michael Leach, one of the industry's "founding fathers."

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