Presidents Message – August 2020 Update

Hello WABE friends!

Well, we made it through our first (and hopefully last) pandemic summer! As I sit on my back deck out at the lake typing this, I am really enjoying this new way of doing things. I do want to give a shout out to the teams that are in the station every day making sure that all the lights stay on. This time has really highlighted the importance of the Broadcast Engineer to make sure everything is up and running to keep everyone informed and entertained. From upgrades, to getting people working remotely, to sometimes being the only person at the station to receive deliveries, to making sure that workspaces are healthy and safe, the Broadcast Engineer is truly the glue that keeps it all together.

We have been very busy over here at WABE headquarters, working on the WABE convention. After researching many different options, we are excited to announce that we have partnered with the Scarritt Group to hold our 70th annual convention on Nov 4th & 5th. Scarritt Group is a global meeting, planning and logistics company that has held over 8,000 on-line meetings over the last 20 years. Since the beginning of our search process, they have been awesome to work with and are committed to making this year’s convention a success.

This one will look a little different this year, as it is what I call, Version 2.1, meaning that we will have 2 days of online virtual convention on Wednesday November 4th and Thursday November 5th, followed by local meet-ups (as much as local health authorities will allow) at cities across Canada on Friday, November 6th. There will still be paper sessions and an exhibit floor with virtual booths where you can connect with vendors to find out what is new and have the ability to connect with your favourite sales teams. The other good thing is that the instance will stay up throughout the year so that we can continue to hold educational seminars.

Although we don’t have all the papers and content confirmed yet, there will be a space where you can watch presenters live, see any power point or other media they wish to share, as well as an opportunity to ask questions or chat with others that are also viewing the same session as you.

The exhibit floor will house all the same companies that you have seen in past years, with the opportunity to chat with them and see what they have to offer. You can also confer with others in the exhibit hall to share what you have seen and network together. (I’m not sure how I am going to get my rubber chicken this year though?) In an effort to help keep your costs down, we have lowered the exhibitor booth registration fee to $500 per booth, and reduced the costs of the silver and gold sponsorship levels. Sponsorship levels are filling up fast, so please reach out soon as to not miss a spot. See below for sponsorship details.

We are very excited about this new convention style and look forward to connecting with you all again. We continue to look for more ways to make this a fun and interactive event. We will have prizes for winners of fun events such as; trivia time, the most interactive attendees and much more. All this for only $25 per attendee for the whole year!

Thank You,

Clint Hollinger
WABE President