Mark Halperin to Return to The Conference—Popular author and political pundit to provide analysis  of upcoming presidential election

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 17, 2012—The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) today announced that New York Times bestselling author and well-known senior political analyst forTIME, Mark Halperin, will return as a featured speaker at The Conference, CRN’s annual symposium for the dietary supplement industry. The Conference takes place October 3-6 at the Montage Laguna Beach in Laguna Beach, Calif. and Mr. Halperin will speak on the last day.  

As a featured speaker at The Conference, Mr. Halperin will share his insights on the upcoming race for the White House, the 2012 Congressional elections and how any shifts in power may affect the dietary supplement industry over the next few years. The 2008 presidential election was the focus of his wildly popular book Game Change; he is currently writing a follow-up book on the 2012 election and will share some of his stories from this new book with conference attendees. 

“We are delighted to welcome Mark Halperin back to The Conference,” said Steve Mister, president and CEO, CRN. “Mark Halperin is this generation’s Bob Woodward, a shrewd investigative journalist with an ability to capture the most important moments in our political era.  His speech at our 2010 annual conference was one of the highlights and I know attendees will be looking forward to hearing from him again. He gave us a riveting account of the 2008 presidential election, and I, like so many others, am looking forward to getting his take on what is shaping up to be one of the most interesting political cycles in decades.”

Mr. Halperin is the editor-at-large and senior political analyst for TIME, where he covers politics, elections and government for the magazine and TIME.com. He is the co-author of the New York Times best-seller Game Change. Mr. Halperin is also the creator and author of TIME.com’s “The Page,” a news and analysis tip sheet that gathers and edits the latest political stories, campaign ads, TV clips, videos and campaign reactions from every news source, along with his own analysis. 

In addition, Mr. Halperin is senior political analyst for MSNBC, where he appears regularly on "Morning Joe" and other programs on the cable channel. Prior to joining TIME in April 2007, Halperin worked at ABC News for nearly 20 years, where he covered five presidential elections and served as political director from November 1997 to April 2007. In that role, he was responsible for political reporting and planning for the network's television, radio and Internet political coverage. 

The Conference has become a “must-attend” annual event for dietary supplement industry executives because it consistently features high-profile political speakers, such as Stu Rothenberg, Robert Gibbs and Karl Rove.  The Conference is open to CRN members and non-members. 

Montage Laguna Beach is located on 30 spectacular, beachfront acres in the heart of Laguna Beach, approximately 18 miles from Orange County's John Wayne International Airport. There are several registration options for The Conference and those interested are encouraged to visit http://www.crnusa.org/2012events/ for more information.


Note to Editor: The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing dietary supplement manufacturers and ingredient suppliers.  In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, quality control and safety, our 75+ manufacturer and supplier members also agree to adhere to additional voluntary guidelines as well as CRN’s Code of Ethics. Visit www.crnusa.org