Every year, after InfoComm, I go radio silent for at least three to four weeks. I have to. The months of preparation and planning, set-up and lead-up, the event itself, and the energy expended to be “on” for ten days straight make it both a mental and physical overload. The juggernaut that is InfoComm is no joke. So, a few years ago, got myself into a post-IC habit… I return to work to play catch-up for a week or two and then I find a remote island for a week or two to recover, relax, restore, reflect, and refocus.
As I now reflect on InfoComm 2026, I’m really finding this one to be one of those weeks that is truly difficult to wrap my head around. Not because of anything about the event, but because of my perspective this year.
I’ll be honest with you all… I’ve been trying to get out of the daily operations of HETMA and “influencer” limelight for a while. I’ve been trying to make my “exit stage left” and sail off into the sunset. But, I’m a glutton for punishment, I guess. Actually, I just love this industry so much that it’s so much easier to say “yes” than it is to say “no.” That said, this last year, I have been very intentional about stepping back and letting those around me in their respective leadership positions (both with HETMA and UCLA) take ownership. Honestly, that’s hard for me. These are my babies. But, I’ve knowing that for things to be successful in the long run, it has to be that way.
The beautiful part… and this year, it really happened. And it turned out to be the best IC ever for both HETMA and UCLA. I didn’t know half the stuff that was going on! LOL! And that’s exactly how it should be! I MC’d the Higher Ed AV Awards, ran the booth’s social happy hours, and did media events, but… everything else was lead by our incredible organizational leaders. It was awesome sauce. All that to say, that makes it harder to have real reflection on the week.
The road to InfoComm begins long before my Cybertruck rolls into Las Vegas. It isn’t simply a matter of attending our industry’s largest annual gathering. It’s a week of hosting, organizing, recording, celebrating, connecting, and creating opportunities for the higher ed AV community to be seen, heard, and advocated for. It’s 100% about focusing energy on others… from behind the scenes. It’s about creating a space for people to flourish.
But this year was honestly different. The dang thing ran itself! Volunteers were empowered and nailed it. It was finally the dream coming together in a way I had only previously hoped. The board of directors, chairs, and volunteers in all their roles just made the calculus it takes to make the HETMA week flawless look like 2nd grade math. I’m so proud of all of them. I can’t even put it into words. And hence, this rambling article.
The thing that did stick out to me was how HETMA and Higher Ed AV “owned the news cycle,” as they say in the business. HEAV crew, you slayed it! Even 4 weeks later, brands are still posting and reposting about their booth and awards experiences. Through the Higher Ed AV Podcast recordings, HETMA newsletters, community conversations, social media posts, and our InfoComm preview coverage, we all worked to make sure higher education professionals understood what was available to them during the week and who to meet with to get the most out of their time at the show. InfoComm can be overwhelming, especially for first-time attendees, so part of our responsibility is helping people navigate the show with purpose and find the education, tech solutions, relationships, and community that will provide the most value. And that happened… but it even went well beyond that. HETMA became THE brand to tag. At my initial count, HETMA was tagged, mentioned, shared, liked, or commented on over 78,000 times across all our platforms! Damn! So I just stopped counting. Now that’s an ROI my PR peeps.
Then, there was the HETMA Education Summit. Because of the awards and booth, this year, I just did my annual welcome cameo by playing MC with the crowd, which also served as a warm-up to the Higher Ed AV Awards that would come later that night. But, that wasn’t the end of it from me. For days, every time I’d meet with one of our members, they’d bring up how great one of the sessions was and how they got something tangible to take back to their campus. Bingo. Nailed it. By us, for us, in a nutshell. And agin, I had nothing to do with it. And I love that. Great work to the education committee and all our speakers and panelists. The thing is… bringing higher ed professionals together before the show creates space for conversations that are difficult to have while rushing between appointments. The Summit allows us to speak honestly about the challenges facing our institutions while finding real solutions from those who face the exact same challenges, day-in and day-out.
And, those conversations carry directly onto the show floor. The HETMA presence at InfoComm has continued to grow because the higher ed community has continued to grow. The final numbers from the show showed that while their overall numbers were down, end user numbers were up. And that’s who we as HETMA are there to cater to. Our booth serves as more than a location on a map. It is a meeting place where colleagues reconnect, new attendees find a welcoming entry point to their peers, and industry partners engage directly with the people responsible for supporting technology across colleges and universities. We saw this at the very successful first-ever VIP after-hours qualified buyers reception. I heard from so many people (both member customers and vendors) how that one event was worth the entire InfoComm trip. Making connections up-and-down the channel line is what we’re about. And that was just the first year for that. I can’t wait to see how it grows in future years.
But of course, for me one of the week’s most meaningful moments was the Higher Ed AV Awards. Now in its fourth year, the ceremony has become the official industry celebration dedicated specifically to the people, projects, and products shaping higher ed AV. Still even today, the AVIXA post from that night popped up on my feed, and to just witness our people celebrating our people is why that event happens. From a HETMA point of view, it’s a loss leader. We’ll never break even on that event, but it doesn’t matter. Just seeing our people be celebrated when we know that many of us rarely get any recognition at all on our campuses is so meaningful. And there’s no better feeling than hearing that congrats from those who understand you. What we do matters. And the sellout from that night proves it. That to say… not gonna lie, it was hard to MC all evening without my sidekick, Tim, but I managed, and I hope everyone had a great time.
And of course, I can’t talk about the Higher Ed AV Awards without mentioning my proud papa moment for Chi Hang Lo and the UCLA team for winning for best cloud project and project of the year. This was so well deserved. The work I’ve seen him do over this past year on that project is truly industry-changing. And really, I really just let them do it all. This was an example of me as a leader in my daily professional life stepping back and trusting those who work for me to take charge and own a major innovation of their own. And they nailed it. It was so awesome being able to witness this huge accomplishment. (And no, I wasn’t even on the judging panel, people!)
In the end, I just want to reiterate what I started with. I’m so grateful for the HETMA volunteers, leaders, and sponsors who made every part of InfoComm possible. I’m grateful for the Higher Ed AV contributors who continue to tell the stories of our community. Grateful for the partners who believe in the mission. Most importantly, I am grateful for every person who stopped by, attended an event, attended a show floor tour, joined in a conversation, grabbed a drink, or simply took a moment to reconnect. I hope your time at any of the HETMA events helped make your time special and edifying. I know it did for me.
I love ya, HETMA fam, and I’ll see ya at InfoComm 2027 in Orlando! (Well, and a bunch of other stops in between, but you know what I mean.)
