TIA Moved Conference to D.C. Because What Washington Does Matters, Seiffert Says
With the Telecommunications Industry Association set to hold its annual meeting in the Washington, D.C., area, next week, TIA President Grant Seiffert told us he hopes the partial government shutdown will be brief. After gathering in Dallas for two years, TIA members will convene in suburban Maryland for the three-day conference starting Monday at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center (http://bit.ly/1dYd0fs). But the government shutdown is widely expected to continue through next week.
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"There’s so much that industry is working on and educating on and focusing on with the government agencies and the Hill that any delay is a delay in business,” Seiffert said. Seiffert said TIA always planned to move the conference to various locations, and D.C. was “an obvious choice” for this year’s meeting. “There is so much work, so many issues, so many policies, that are being debated here in the Washington region that we felt good about bringing a conference to bring together industry experts to talk about different markets and the technology and policy issues of the day,” he said.
James Clarke, senior vice president of The Center for Association Leadership, said in an interview many associations are looking more at Washington as a conference venue because of government travel cutbacks. “Folks have looked at the opportunity to come to Washington and be able to engage with federal employees here,” he said. But, he said, there are only so many places where conferences can take place in the area. “Our concern is that some federal employees need to attend important meetings because of the important dialogue that takes place,” he said.
Some meetings have taken a hit because of the shutdown, said a Thursday blog post by Associations Now, which tracks developments at associations. “With federal employees on furlough and unable to attend meetings, some associations are dealing with reduced attendance and speaker cancellations at their events,” the post said (http://bit.ly/15OmW5S). “It’s day three of the partial government shutdown, and its effects are being felt throughout the meetings industry, including among associations."
A TIA spokeswoman said Thursday that at this point most of the policy speakers, including members of Congress and National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander, have said they will attend.
Decisions made in Washington are key to industry, Seiffert said. “Washington and the regulatory agencies and the issues that are being debated impact the bottom line everyday,” he said. “Washington does matter and what the policymakers do matters for the future of our industry and many others.” Some recent industry conferences have had few FCC speakers other than the FCC commissioners, because of sequester-related travel cuts. Seiffert said moving the conference to Washington was intended to increase participation. “Not only is the work load and agenda so full, but the travel budgets have had an impact [on meetings] and I believe they'll continue to have an impact,” he said. “I know they would prefer to be there and be on the ground and learn from industry. ... That’s their preference. But the reality is it just doesn’t happen as much as it used to.” Seiffert said of government officials “things move so fast within the industry, they like being part of it in real time.”