Spirit Is Not Lost as NAMM’s Advocacy Fly-In Goes Online
VIRTUAL SUPERHEROES “Who would have thought when we gathered at The NAMM Show in January that it would look so different in June? You are all dealing with challenges in your life we could have never conceived of. What we are doing today could be as powerful or more powerful than before.” —Joe Lamond
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By Brian Berk Unfortunately, NAMM had to cancel its annual Advocacy Fly-In, one of its most memorable events of the year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the trade group wanted to make sure it did not skip the event entirely and simply wait for its return to Washington, D.C., in May 2021. So, NAMM on June 16 hosted a virtual advocacy event instead. Although it is difficult to replicate in-person visits to Capitol Hill, having lunch in the U.S. Capitol, and enjoying the nighttime entertainment and camaraderie among attendees the Fly-In provides, the four-hour digital event was about as good as it gets for something that only required delegates to log on to computers from their respective living rooms. NAMM president and CEO Joe Lamond remarked that, although the world has been turned upside down in 2020, that does not mean NAMM members cannot continue to make a big difference. “Who would have thought when we gathered at The NAMM Show in January that it would look so different in June? You are all dealing with challenges in your life we could have never conceived of,” he said. “…What we are doing today could be as powerful or more powerful than before.” While COVID-19 continues to provide unfortunate challenges, Lamond made sure to stress how impressed he is by today’s advocacy efforts. “We are everyday people getting things done,” he remarked. “I am humbled.” Intense challenges also provide opportunities, Lamond added. “Big opportunities happen at times of disruption,” he said. “…Now is the time when big things get done.” Mackie V. Spradley, president of the National Association for Music (continued on page 40) JULY 2020
