Going virtual TEA honors Thea Award recipients with Digital Case Studies event by Joe Kleiman
T
he annual TEA Thea Awards Case Studies opened August 6, 2020, showcasing Nancy Seruto (Portfolio Creative Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering) the recipient of the Buzz Price Thea Award for a Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements. The session was a conversation between Seruto and Phil Hettema of The Hettema Group, with a live, online networking, Q&A and chat session that included some of Seruto’s colleagues. The session was sponsored by The Bezark Company. Subsequent Thea Case Studies sessions will go on to showcase other projects in the global slate of 26th annual TEA Thea Awards, with presentations given by the project owner together with members of the creative team. But instead of taking place over the course of a single day with hundreds of people together in a conference room at the Disneyland Hotel, TEA has adopted an online format for its 2020 Thea Awards Case Studies. The sessions will be spread out over several months, available sequentially “live” and then on-demand. One ticket buys the full package of seven sessions. With travel restrictions and health concerns due to COVID-19, companies and individuals – and the associations that serve them, such as TEA – have had to quickly transition to virtual meetings and working from home. And with projects postponed
or cancelled and economic uncertainty, within the industry, the need is greater than ever for networking and professional development. These are the factors that led to re-conceiving Thea Case Studies in an online format. “TEA is a mission-based organization and our mission is to serve members, which includes helping them stay connected and facilitating networking, education and professional development,” says TEA Chief Operating Officer Jennie Nevin. “Thea Awards Digital Case Studies will help do all of that, as well as provide the uplift of celebrating some of the greatest global achievements in visitor attractions, and shine a light on industry superstars such as Nancy Seruto.” TEA had already changed to cloud-based, team software systems in mid-2019 and built a robust social media presence over the past decade, so was in a good position to take the necessary next steps when the pandemic hit. “The TEA Headquarters staff were able to quickly and effectively transition to working from home,” says Nevin. “We launched TEA Digital in March 2020, rolling out a full schedule of mixers, webinars, watch parties and online chats, while preparing for the possibility that TEA’s tentpole conferences, such as Thea Case Studies, might also need to be part of the package.”
TEA International Board President Michael Blau and TEA COO Jennie Nevin
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