By Michael Pearsall, P.Eng., CVS, FEC – Vice President / President-Elect, SAVE International
To say 2020 has brought us some unexpected things so far would be an understatement. However, one thing I can always count on is the enthusiasm and dedication of the SAVE International Value Summit planning committee. Through all of the recent developments, your Summit planning committee has continued to meet (virtually) on a regular basis to plan our future events.
In June we held our first ever virtual Value Summit and by July the committee was back at it planning the 2021 Value Summit to be held at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa in Glendale, Arizona. In addition, the committee has also been planning how to successfully re-broadcast highlights from the 2020 Virtual Value Summit and planning a small Virtual Value Educational Event in the fall. More on all of this below.
We were very happy with the success of our first virtual Value Summit; however, many of us still missed the camaraderie from our traditional face-to-face events. We don’t know for sure what the climate will be like in 2021 for large events. The reality is that we have a contract signed with the hotel in Arizona and we are moving ahead with plans for a full-scale in-person Value Summit. The difference being we now have a sound back-up plan ready in case we have to switch gears again.
We have heard many comments in support of future events being either all virtual or a hybrid of in-person and virtual. These concepts have been discussed in detail both at the Summit planning committee level and at the SAVE Board level. After much debate, the Board has landed on testing the concept of alternating years between virtual and in-person events. This would mean an in-person event in 2021 followed by another virtual Value Summit in 2022. I am keen to hear feedback from our broader membership on this proposal.
As you read this we will be into October and a couple weeks into the fall. Previously I had indicated we would have an announcement out about rebroadcasting portions of the 2020 Virtual Value Summit by late summer. With 2020 continuing to throw some curveballs at us, this date has slipped a bit and we are just getting the first portions posted on the SAVE website this month.
The great news is that we have chosen to use on-demand webcasting for the 2020 Virtual Value Summit highlights. This means that you will be able to log on and view the sessions at anytime of your own choosing, in any time zone around the world.
The next big thing I want to tell you about is the mini Virtual Value Educational Event we have been planning for November. Building on the success of our June event, we are going to be hosting a somewhat smaller but value-packed Virtual Value Educational Event. This time around it will be a two-day event with just two, two-hour blocks per day for a total of eight-hours.
We are putting together a quality event that will focus on the virtual theme with a professional development session on facilitation with a focus on the nuances of virtual facilitation by Drew Algase. We have some paper presentation spots available, so contact us quickly if you weren’t able to present in the spring yet have time now to record your presentation and be included in our fall event.
Finally, I want to report that the 2021 Call for Papers was issued this week. I want to emphasise that again this year we will be looking for papers and specific workshops that explicitly deliver on one of the SAVE core competencies. We want to focus on presentations that integrate with the audience since we will be in person. Think about delivering papers that really engage the audience. Since we can’t do this as well virtually, our in-person Summits will try and focus on presentations that encourages participation.
Click here to read the Call for Papers and see the revised guidelines to start your submission.
As I said at the start, none of this would have been possible without a strong group of volunteers. I was very pleased to see some new faces join the committee this summer with fresh enthusiasm and ideas. Sadly, I have had to say goodbye to a couple old friends on the planning committee and they will be dearly missed.
Looking forward to seeing all of you at the 2021 Value Summit in Arizona!
Print 
PDF