Convention Season in a Pandemic

With the convention season upon us and the uncertain fate of thepandemic, I started thinking about a convention backup plan for ourindustry. Knowing that our states and national associations still need the support of their vendors and our pilots needing to receive their CE credits,what could we do if an in person gathering were not allowed and/or notfeasible?

I recently attended a Zoom board meeting with members of the California Agricultural Aircraft Association to talk about some ideas. Terry Gage, President of the association, talked with me further to discuss their plans.

In reviewing the situation in California, Terry stated there are no facilities that could host groups greater than 25. Based on the recent rise in positive numbers of virus cases, they decided to transition their November convention to “Fall CE programs” spread out over 4-6 weeks via Zoom webinars approximately two hours each. The PAASS program will also be via Zoom meetings.

She’s been monitoring the situation on what other associations have been doing to address the pandemic restrictions, noting that across the nation large and small associations were converting to some type of online format. “We’re going to keep it simple with CE and PAASS and create some levels of sponsorship opportunities that would acknowledge those that supported the program.

Terry said they did a survey and half of the exhibitors could not commit to attending. However 90% of the members wanted to meet in person and 95% said they would try Zoom if it was the only thing offered. Their continuing education requirements are based on a two-year rotating basis. She said her highest priority was to make sure that the CE credits were available for members to renew their licenses.

I asked her the cost of the vendor sponsorship and they decided to keep it the same amount. She wasn’t sure if they were considering door prizes at this time due to shipping costs, etc.

She said “There’s a lot of communication that’s going to have to happen. We’ll have to change our publication to go out in time.” The new “Fall CE program” is still a work in progress hopefully starting on Sept. 29th. (For more details go to CAAA.net or email Terry directly @ terry.gage@caaa.net.)

I also talked to Sandy Wells with the Oklahoma Agricultural Aviation Association. She stated that they are currently looking for a place to hold their in-person convention. The restrictions in their state were not mandated by the state but by the city and she is currently planning on having the convention at this time.

Lindsay Barber with the National Agricultural Aviation Association also stated that their current plans were to still hold an in-person gathering in Savannah, Georgia but were still considering the option of a virtual convention, if necessary.

In order to help our associations (whether they have an in-person gathering or not), our company (Chem-Man by DataSmart) decided to help by having a common website that could help direct users to state and national links to their contact information. Within each state and national link, there will be a directory of vendor sponsors. The vendors can send optional videos about the latest things going on in their company. The website will be called “agavationconnect.com” and is a work in progress.

There’s no doubt about it, an in-person gathering is definitely the preferred method of holding a convention. Not only do you get to talk to your customers directly, but it’s kind of like a family reunion seeing everyone and catching up on the latest. Socializing is what we do! However, I’m a hard believer in having a backup plan. Let’s all hope this pandemic is behind us soon and look forward to a safe and prosperous year!