This past week, for many of us who are parents, teachers, educators, and students, it was convocation week, a celebration of hard work and the growing of young minds. I sat at my own son’s graduation from Grade 12 and cheered him on as he walked across the stage to get his diploma. I couldn’t help but let out a cheer for the one student, out of 120, who said they were going into audiovisual and broadcasting as their choice program.

The fact that there are still creators wanting to create, and students graduating who want to support them from programs across this country, means our industry is still happening, thriving, and growing. Even if it doesn’t look the same as it did 20 years ago, it’s still here.

It is also the season of holiday coverage. Who can be left alone to support stations, offices and AV departments while the main or experienced technical staff member heads off to the cabin or takes a family vacation camping? Will that cell phone ring during the next storm? Will they get the rolling eyes of their partner when they answer a call from work during their holiday time?

One thing I know about summer in Canada: everyone I call from the AV and technical industry is busy. They’re planning for a rollout they probably wish started in January, but someone just pulled the trigger, issued the PO, and now hopes it can be completed before year-end.

If you’re part of one of these summer projects, where you won’t see a holiday but maybe the occasional weekend off, you are understood by so many of us.

This is also the time of year when contracts and RFPs are being sent out and signed, with hopes that next year is a fruitful one. Whether it’s for a project, an install, or gathering a crew for the World Cup, the Olympics, or the next hockey season, nothing in production happens overnight. It takes months of planning, ordering, integrating, drawing specs, following up, receiving, testing, and then finally turning things on. Only after all that can the magic happen, handing it over to the operators and content creators, who can start to tell stories with the tools that were quietly built for them.

If you’ve got a project this year in Canada and have the ability to travel to Calgary, all of the most important people who can help you execute that project will be at our conference this fall. If you want to get into the Canadian market, if you have a product that needs to be in front of the people buying, integrating, and looking for solutions, our 75th conference at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, is where the nation gathers.

If your role has changed, a layoff has come your way, or you’re looking for an opportunity, it’s a great place to meet a few people and find out where your next role might be. 

There’s a lot on the horizon. Our programming this year, which we’ll announce shortly, is going to inspire you and offer great ideas. We hope you learn something, make a connection, or discover a person or idea that changes everything.

We are also looking for award nominations. If there’s a technical team who’s completed a project in this country that you think deserves recognition, this is a great opportunity to highlight people who are often unrecognized for their hard work.

We are also looking for volunteers to help lead, support, and build WABE’s future. If you’re interested, we’d love to have you as part of our community, helping shape the future of our event and organization.