Last week, I joined the HETMA crew at St. Petersburg College’s Clearwater campus for another great Roadshow. Kyle Bell and the local team put a lot of work into this event, and it showed throughout the day. From the education sessions to the crowded vendor rooms to the conversations that continued well into the evening, there was a lot to enjoy.
But before we could do any of that, we had some classrooms to empty.
Thursday was setup day, and two classrooms were transformed into vendor showcase spaces. There is always plenty to do when you bring one of these events onto a working campus, and I appreciate everyone who helped get things ready. Once setup was finished, a group of HETMA volunteers and a few vendors headed to Bascom’s Chop House for dinner. Getting to spend some time together before the event was a great way to start the visit.
Friday got underway at 8 a.m. We heard opening remarks from the college’s CIO and from Kyle, who served as our local host and led the volunteer effort. Unbeknownst to me, I was also on the agenda. I found that out when it was my turn to speak, so I ran up front, said a few words about HETMA, and then we got right into the education sessions.
After the sessions, we opened the first two hours of the vendor showcase, and those two classrooms filled up. They stayed busy the entire time.
At every Roadshow I attend, I try to get around and talk to all the vendors. These are the people helping make these events possible, and I want to spend some time with them, hear how things are going, and thank them for being there. This time, I missed one or two because every time I had an opportunity to stop by, they were already having a conversation.
And I was happy to let those conversations continue. When a vendor is talking with someone who has questions, a project, or a problem they’re trying to solve, I’m certainly not going to interrupt just to say hello. Seeing that happening throughout both rooms was one of my favorite parts of the day. We want our sponsors to have valuable interactions with the people attending, and there were plenty of those happening in Clearwater.
Lunch brought back something I really enjoyed at the Toronto Roadshow. During a plenary session, each manufacturer had two minutes to get up in front of everyone, introduce themselves, share a little about their company, and invite attendees to come talk with them.
Toronto is still one of the Roadshows people bring up regularly, along with Arizona and Chicago. I thought this was a great part of that event, and I was glad to see it return.
There is something about seeing the person behind the table get up and talk to the whole room. You hear a little about what they do, get a sense of their personality, and maybe share a laugh. By the time you walk back into the showcase, you have a little familiarity with them. You have something to start a conversation with.
That matters, especially for someone who might be attending their first event or who doesn’t already know everyone in the room. Walking up to a vendor can be easier when you’ve already heard from them and have a reason to say, “Hey, I wanted to ask you about something you mentioned at lunch.”
For me, that is a great way to help build this community. We talk a lot about relationships in HETMA, and giving our manufacturer partners an opportunity to show a little of who they are helps those relationships get started. I hope this continues to be part of future Roadshows.
After lunch, we went back for another two hours with the vendors before heading out on classroom tours. Kyle had the opportunity to show off his Higher Ed AV award-winning spaces, and it was great to see them in person. Campus tours are always something I look forward to at these events. We spend so much time talking about the work we do that getting to walk into someone else’s classrooms and see that work for ourselves is a real benefit.
While we were touring, the team was putting the showcase classrooms back together. I want to give that crew some credit because the teamwork and efficiency were impressive. They took two rooms that had been full of vendors and attendees and restored them to functioning classrooms. Running classroom support myself, I appreciated watching how well they worked together to get that done.
We wrapped up on campus with raffles. Thanks to our manufacturer partners, we had some great prizes to give away, including a few small TVs, an Apple Watch, and some LEGO sets. AVIXA was also gracious enough to donate an education pass for InfoComm.
Around 4 p.m., we headed over to OCC Road House & Museum for happy hour. We had great food, drinks, and plenty of opportunities to sit down and talk with people.
Those conversations are a big part of why I keep coming to these events. You get time to talk about what’s happening on your campus, ask someone how they’re handling an issue, or catch up on life. Sometimes you start talking about AV and end up somewhere completely different. Having that time together helps you get to know the people you’ll be reaching out to after everyone goes home.
And we had plenty of time. Happy hour went pretty late. There was also a local professional wrestling event afterward, so anyone who wanted to stick around could watch. That was a fun way to finish a day that had started with remarks from the CIO.
Thank you to Kyle and everyone at St. Petersburg College who helped host us. Thank you to the HETMA volunteers who put in the work before, during, and after the event, and to all the vendors who came out to support it. And thank you to everyone who attended, asked questions, joined the conversations, and spent the day with us.
I left Clearwater glad I had made the trip. I got to catch up with friends, meet some new people, see some great spaces, and watch another local team bring the HETMA community together. That’s a pretty good Friday in my book.
