The new year is a great occasion to be inspired, and I’m sure you’ll agree that Wisconsin’s local broadcasters have given us many sources for inspiration as we face the hopes for 2021. You provided critical services to your local communities in 2020 and demonstrated to everyone what we always talk about when we say broadcasters are serious about their commitment to serving the public. We have a lot to be hopeful for in 2021 and a lot to be proud of from 2020.
Your WBA Education Committee is excited to take a new approach to this year’s WBA Student Seminar on March 6. Yes, it will be an online event, but the event is going to focus strongly on giving students something that has been hard for them to get during the pandemic: face time with professional broadcasters. For those of you who have attended our speed networking event at the Student Seminar, this will feel familiar. We will hold three half hour sessions in which a small group of students (6-7) will spend time hearing from a broadcast professional and asking questions about their jobs and how to get into the business.
We’ll be looking for you, Wisconsin broadcast professionals, to take part in these sessions. It will take about 2 and a half hours of your time on the morning of Saturday, March 6. If interested, please contact Kyle Geissler at kgeissler@wi-broadcasters.org. It is a great way to connect with aspiring broadcast professionals!
And….if you volunteer, you can also stick around to hear from our keynote speaker (a definite highlight), Wisconsin’s own Charlie Berens. Charlie’s address will be followed by our WBA Foundation scholarship recognition and WBA Students Awards for Excellence presentations. Learn more here.
For those of you looking to advance your own professional development in 2021, your WBA has a lot for you to consider, and all of it available for free to you, our valued WBA members. On Jan. 27-28, your WBA is joining the Rising Above Virtual Sales and Management hosted by P1 Learning and the Swagger Institute. They’ve gathered an amazing list of speakers to teach, coach, inspire, and motivate you for the year to come.
Check out the full list of speakers and registration information here.
We’re excited to offer the Results Broadcasting Education Grant for a second year. We received amazing response to this grant last year. We are so incredibly grateful to Bruce and Don Grassman not only for their financial support of the grant, but for their inspired idea to support new broadcasters with relief for their education debt. Do you know someone who should apply? Learn more here.
Finally, we’ve heard from many of you who are wondering about the status of our 2021 events, including our Awards Gala, Summer Conference, and Broadcasters Clinic. You might have already heard that the Walker Broadcast Management Institute will be delayed to 2022. As for the rest of our WBA events, while we’re most hopeful they can be held in person or as hybrid events, we can’t yet know for sure what the coming weeks and months will bring. Like you, we will hope for speedy and safe distribution of the vaccine and a green light from health officials. In the meantime, we are planning as though the events are going to happen so that we’re ready to provide you, our valued WBA members, with the best events possible under whatever circumstances we’ll be working under. As always, watch your inboxes…..when decisions are made, you’ll know!
Here’s wishing each and every one of you a safe and prosperous 2021! Know that your WBA team looks forward to seeing you in person this year, and we remain hopeful that it WILL happen!
