The Countdown is On to number 72!

Hello Technical Professionals and Friends

The Western Association of Broadcast Engineers is pleased to welcome exhibitors, sponsors, and delegates in less than a month to our 2022 convention! We are excited to be back ‘in-person’ for our 72nd annual convention, October 4th & 5th, 2022, at the Best Western Premier Calgary Plaza Hotel & Conference Centre!

September 9 is the last day of our extended “Early Bird” delegate registration deadline. It’s not too late to register and get the discounted price. After all, it is one of the best convention and membership rates of any professional group and a great value.  We have also added extra reserved rooms and the WABE room rate will be honored until September 14.   Call the hotels local number at (403) 248-8888 to get your WABE room rate.  There was no ‘online’ option available.

We left WABE in 2019, not knowing that we would not be returning for two full years! Now we can shut our screens off and see each other in person. Together we will get updates from the industry, hear about new emerging technologies, and be challenged by what we learn.

Not knowing what to expect, we polled our delegates and exhibitors and found that a shorter two-day program was preferred. We also made good on our goal to re-establish the official ‘not for profit’ status and WABE is now a registered society in the province of Alberta. We have also reviewed and corrected our bylaws to ensure that we use inclusive language.

WABE will also reflect that inclusivity by having our first female President, Tessa Potter. With her leadership, we will embark to develop a strategy plan to shift WABE to include the wider media technical professional, including pursuing partnerships with the world of community broadcasters and post-production houses. Very exciting times are ahead as we use the shift created by the global pandemic to reinvent and reinvigorate the organization.

We continue to build on our 72-year history as Western Canada’s association for broadcast and multimedia technology professionals. The event includes an impressive list of presenters and networking opportunities for delegates, sponsors, and exhibitors alike. The exhibit hall is fully sold out.

We will honour those in the industry with an awards luncheon. A remarkable list of nominations was received. This is also an election year, so we are looking for our next executive member. Let us know if you are interested or know someone who would like to commit to serve the organization in a challenging yet rewarding chapter in its history.

For more information on Western Canada’s premier broadcast industry convention and trade show, please watch our website at wabe.ca. Follow us on social media and watch your email inbox for more news and details about this must-attend event.

Rob Brown

WABE President