TECNA Digest - July 2019

TECNA Board Chair Message

The first week of July is a pretty big deal north and south of the world's longest undefended border as we celebrate all that it means to live in our two great countries. July 1st is Canada Day, July 4th is Independence Day, and both are an annual tradition of food, music, fireworks, family, friends, and so much more.

As next-door neighbors, Canada and the United States share the biggest trading partnership in the world, but as we all know, our relationship runs so much deeper than that: from arts and culture, to sports and entertainment, to tourism and tech. In many respects, TECNA embodies that bi-national commonality and shared interest, friendship and respect. Later this month, we will come together at the annual tradition that is the TECNA Summer Conference. A time to reconnect with friends and peers from across the network, to meet new members of the TECNA family, to learn and share best practices, and this year, to celebrate and be inspired by the incredible work of the many nominees, finalists and winners of our first ever TECNA Innovation Awards. I look forward to seeing you all in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin.


Doug Robertson
TECNA Board Chair
President & CEO,
Venn Innovation, Inc
2019 Summer Conference in Two Weeks!
July 23 - 25, 2019  
Madison, Wisconsin  
at Epic Corporate Campus
 
The 2019 TECNA Summer Conference is a three-day event focused on sharing best practices and strategies to help you grow your tech council and increase your value to members, sponsors and stakeholders in your communities.
 
Agenda, Speakers & Breakouts
We have a dynamic program planned - TECNA Summer Conference Agenda.
  • We'll hear from speakers on a variety of topics, including an opening segment on power of Tech Council partnerships.
  • We're excited to hear from Reggie Henry, chief information and engagement officer for the American Society of Association Executives, who will talk about the drivers of change that ASAE sees in associations nationwide.
  • We are thrilled to have Amanda Reid from Cummins as a lead presenter on diversity and inclusion programs.
  • Additional breakout sessions include maximizing RoI for your events, membership engagement, revenue generation, building the talent pipeline for your members, communicating and marketing your tech council story, and public policy, both U.S. and Canada.
 
Evening Events 
  • We'll enjoy a casual "Welcome to Wisconsin" opening reception near Lake Mendota, one of the city's signature lakes. It will include trolley tours of the University of Wisconsin campus, a performance by our "official" Tech Council rock band, an authentic Wisconsin summer supper club buffet, and access to the Union Terrace - the best place to enjoy summer in Wisconsin.
  • Our Wednesday evening reception will offer a bird's eye view of Concerts on the Square, which is a vibrant outdoor performance by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra held on the state Capitol grounds. It typically draws 10,000 people.
Post-Conference Golf
  • Register Online to Golf with us on Thursday afternoon following the conclusion of the conference. Tee times at approximately 2:00pm at University Ridge. Limited space available to register asap, and please let us know if you plan to rent clubs so we can reserve them in advance. Golf Registration Deadline July 11.
This gathering of North American tech associations and councils will connect you to peers while offering a glimpse at the tech ecosystem in Madison, the capital of Wisconsin.  
 
Plus we're excited for the first ever TECNA Innovation Awards which will be presented on Thursday, July 25. 
 
Register Now - You won't want to miss this annual meetup!   
Cost is $350 for all TECNA Member association staff, and $550 for Non-Members.   
*Final day to cancel with refund, July 9, 2019 
 
TECNA Innovation Awards
Thanks to all who submitted nominations for the first-ever TECNA Innovation Awards!  
We're pleased to announce the Innovation Awards Finalists - click here.
 
Winners and finalists will be recognized at the TECNA Summer Conference in Madison.
Welcome New TECNA Members
Welcome to our new member Nebraska Tech Collaborative! This cultivation of industry leaders are committed to strengthening Nebraska's reputation as a tech-sound state to grow world-class companies, retain top high-tech talent and pioneer technology expansions into the state's 21st century.

Welcome to our new member Knoxville Technology Council! They are working to connect, develop, promote, and advocate for the technology industry in the Greater Knoxville region. KTech unites the region's technology leaders and empowers businesses and entrepreneurs through networks, events, resources, and more.
All are invited to the KTech Launch Event: August 15, 2019. Learn More and RSVP.
Public Policy & CompTIA 
TECNA, CompTIA and tech councils across the U.S. recently joined together in support of: 

H.R. 1361/S.553, the Blockchain Promotion Act of 2019

Please contact Tim Jemal at tjemal@tecna.org for more details. 
   
Member News
The Minnesota High Tech Association announced this week that Jeff Tollefson will serve as its next president, effective August 5, 2019 - read the release.

Flagship.Kansas, newly formed council and new TECNA member in 2019, names Executive Director - Lisa Roberts - read the news release.

BC Tech shares their council's impact to their members via social media and an infographic.

NJ Tech Council shares feature article by CEO, "Yet Another Great Jersey Invention: Blockchain" in ROI New Jersey - read the article.

Venn Innovation shares a video of a startup sharing their experience at Money 20/20 - check out the video.

CMG shares a blogpost about how to Drive More Sponsor Interest with Pre-Event Attendee Demographics - read here.

The Greater Nashville Technology Council celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a Summer Party where it recapped the last 20 years of tech industry impact in Middle Tennessee and announced its 2019 Hall of Fame Inductee, Sal Novin. Nashville will host the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) 2019 Legislative Summit and the NTC is excited to co-host and provide local support for the "United States of Tech Innovation in the Music City" reception with national tech advocacy association hosts CompTIA and CTA on August 6th.
 
TechPoint launched a new talent hunting campaign to attract experienced tech talent back home to Indiana. The campaign was announced in June and leads up to a Red Carpet Experience in October with 25 individuals looking for to make a move. Visit the campaign online.   
 New & Emerging Tech Councils
New Series: For New & Emerging Tech Councils
First installment: Enhancing Non-Dues Revenue
Key questions this article addresses:
+ What's an ideal split of revenue types between dues and non-dues?
+ What are major types of non-dues revenue?
+ How do tech councils build this kind of capacity?
Members can now access this resource: Members login at tecna.org/login then click on the Resources tab.
Strategic Partner News
 
"Americans' overall level of financial confidence has improved in recent years, according to the latest annual report on economic well-being..." shares Slavic 401k - read more about Household Well-Being and Retirement Preparedness.     

2019 Membership Survey
All Member CEOs are asked to complete the annual Membership Survey unless they delegate to other staff to complete. Click Here to Complete the Survey.
 
Results will be shared at the 2019 Summer Conference.
   
Communities of Interest (CoI)
TECNA Communities of Interest (COI) are peer-to-peer collaborations and information-sharing groups exclusively for members: membership, events, workforce and communications.

During webinars, conference calls and Slack Group communications, TECNA members share best practices and gain valuable insights on solving common challenges.

Q3 Communities of Interest Meetings at Summer Conference in Madison.

Recent past COI call recordings and slide decks are available for download in the members-only portal on the TECNA website. Login at tecna.org/login and click on the Resources tab to view.

You can connect with Communities of Interest anytime on TECNA's Slack.

For more information about COIs, please contact Alina Hardy: ahardy@tecna.org.
TECNA On Slack

Join TECNA's growing Slack network exclusively for all TECNA Member Council staff. Slack Channels include membership, events, talent/workforce and private channel for CEOs. 

TECNA Members Only
Join TECNA's Slack Now - Click Here.

You can group chat, private message, share files and search the discussion archive for help and best practices shared by other members.

Contact Alina Hardy with questions about Slack.

Subscribe to TECNA Calendars
Subscribe to the TECNA Event Calendars. 
Click a link below and follow the prompts to synchronize with the default calendar on your system (if available). To synchronize with a different calendar,copy and paste the desired URL into your calendar software in the location where feeds are accepted, often identified with "Subscribe", "Add Calendar", etc.


 
Contact Alina for assistance, ahardy@tecna.org.  
Thank You TECNA's Strategic Partners & Sponsors 
 
 


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