“My Take” on #HETMA23 with Conference Chair Troy Powers
By Troy Powers
Three years ago, if you told me that I’d be attending a conference that I chaired for the second time, I would have laughed at you. It’s amazing how much has changed for me both personally and professionally in the time since I offered my services to replace Jimmie Singleton as Conference Chair of HETMA; in many ways, that is a testament to the power of our organization and the supportiveness of the community we have created within it. One thing that I have learned since taking on this role is that attending a conference that you chair, while both rewarding and exhausting, is a far different experience than simply attending one and takes a great deal of help and coordination. To all my colleagues who assisted with the planning and organization of the conference, those who volunteered their time as moderators, all our wonderful panelists and the sponsors who support our organization; thank you! Without you all, none of this would be possible.
There are several highlights from this year’s conference that will stick with me. From watching Natalie Gillespie, a member of my team here at Northwestern University and HETMA’s current DEI chair, join Karen Ethier and Joè Lloyd for such a powerful keynote on diversity and hiring practices. To the great conversations that were had about the viability of remote AV support, Instructional Design, and Service Level Agreements. An incredible discussion about Assistive Technology with Korey Singleton and Kimi Zamora that you never would have known was put together in less than a weeks’ time. There was the musical talents of Jeremy Gerick on the Sax and Anthony Papamichael on the guitar and the technical issues that initially plagued both performances. Jay Seaman’s wonderful Kahoot on the origins of video conferencing (and the bottle of whiskey I won for coming in second place). All of the great conversations, often led by Lisle Waldron, during the networking events, especially during Friday night’s record-breaking happy hour! And we certainly can’t forget that industry shaking announcement that came with added responsibilities for the Conference Chair; we will be forming an actual committee now if anyone is interested in getting involved. One of the things that makes this conference so great is that, despite all these takeaways there are still more than a dozen sessions that have been recorded that I have not yet watched!
In closing, I’ll leave you all with some final thoughts regarding my position here at HETMA. What was supposed to be an interim appointment turned in to a second year as the board voted to extend all inaugural appointments. This means, at this point, I have not yet been voted into this position by my peers. In a few short months, when our annual elections roll around, I can only hope that I’ve done the job well enough thus far to be asked to do it again.
