347: HETMA Virtual Conference Preview Episode

In this short solo episode, Joe Way gives less of a preview and rather a reminder to log in for the HETMA Virtual Conference, emphasizing that it is free, easy to access, and built to fit into a normal work week. He explains that all you need to do is create a free account on the HETMA community site, go to the Events and Replays area, open the Virtual Conference listing, and click the Zoom link to join, with the schedule and recordings also available through the community.From there, he reflects on why the virtual conference matters to the organization’s identity, because it was how HETMA began and how its “by us and for us” approach came to life, with the community choosing what it wanted to learn and bringing in the right experts rather than relying on a generic call for sessions. He notes that the virtual conference became an important platform for higher education voices, especially during the COVID era, and that it helped accelerate the organization’s growth, leadership development, and initiatives, including moments where honest feedback from attendees shaped meaningful action.Joe highlights the unique community effect of the event, where people can join quietly, participate in chat, and still build relationships that later turn into deeper involvement and leadership within HETMA. This year’s conference runs for three days, with morning kickoffs, sessions throughout the day, and a daily happy hour to keep the community connection strong, and Joe repeatedly gives permission to attend in the most realistic way possible by putting it on in the background, jumping in between meetings, and treating it as a flexible shared experience rather than something that requires stepping away from work. He closes by reinforcing that this free conference is especially valuable when budgets and travel are limited, because it still provides three days of learning, networking, and shared problem solving with the higher ed AV community, plus the ability to catch replays afterward if you cannot attend everything live.Visit the community page: https://community.hetma.org/posts/80675845.