2020 Annual Membership Meeting 

And, we’ll rise up — We’ll rise like the day
We’ll rise up — We’ll rise unafraid
We’ll rise up 
And we’ll do it a thousand times again
And, we’ll rise up  

 
Hello…we’ve been missing you and are cautiously optimistic that we’ll get to see you in October. If all things cosmic, heavenly and politically all align in the universe like we so hope they will, we will be having our TSTCI Annual Membership Meeting and Conference at the Omni Las Colinas Hotel, October 7-9, 2020. Please know this is our hopeful path and we are moving forward with making these plans. However, as this year has been full of unexpected detours, we also will be keeping the path of the pandemic in mind as we move forward and alter plans as may be necessary. But for now, please plan to join us in Irving.
 
TSTCI will celebrate 68 years of representing the interest of the small rural telecommunications industry. Sixty-eight years of sharing education, technological advancements, employment and employee innovations and training, co-worker/co-industry networking and a genuine fellowship among our fellow rural telecommunications industry members and supporters.    
 
2020 has been an unprecedented year on all fronts and complicated on every level. There isn’t an aspect of any one of our lives that hasn’t been touched by this year’s ride around the sun. But like we always do, “we will rise up.” Our planned continued ascent begins with the TSTCI Annual Membership Meeting and Conference at the Omni Las Colinas Hotel in Irving Texas, October 7-9, 2020. 
 
Before we get into the outline for the program for the meeting, we want to share with you some of the updates, enhancements and precautions that the hotel has put in place to help host our event in a safe and most hospitable way. 
 
The lobby of the Omni Las Colinas has been completely renovated. While it has been awhile since we held a meeting at this location, they have always been a great and wonderful host location. Some of you may recall the LRH Restaurant & Bar — it now overlooks a new pool area and will be a lunch and dinner location. The Bar part is positioned as a focal point and they serve and you may enjoy craft cocktails and local brews. In addition, The Lakehouse Waterfront Lounge is at the heart of the hotel’s brand new pool scape and includes a bar that features TVs, bar seating and poolside dining.  Then there is OTC “Over the Counter” — located near the front desk and offers fresh bakery goods, sandwiches, salads, snacks and assorted beverages, including coffee and espresso drinks.
 
Omni Las Colinas Hotel has also put in place “Stay a Part of Safety” procedures to keep guests and associates safe. These are the safety guidelines that will be followed during our stay: 
  • All associates are subject to a daily health screening including temperature checks
  • Additional hotel staff will be utilized to keep high traffic public areas cleaned and sanitized
  • Proper social distancing will be in place in all public areas — signage will be used to inform the hotel guests
  • The front desk will include clear physical barriers to keep guests safe and for social distancing
  • Guest rooms will be cleaned daily (special attention given to high touch items — door handles, TV remote, etc.) and glassware will be substituted with packaged disposable options. 
  • The meeting rooms will be set with social distancing in mind (1 per 6ft classroom seating) This will include the tabletop display and welcome reception — there will be proper distancing between display tables and cocktail rounds
  • Custom banquet menus will be used for all breakfast/ breaks, receptions and dinner — hotel attendants will assist with serving the attendees during the meal functions
  • Masks will need to be worn when in public parts of the hotel and the conference except when drinking and eating. 

I still believe that an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. Hope you do too. 
 
With all that in mind, we will begin our ascent on Wednesday morning October 7th with the traditional Wesley B. Roberts Memorial Golf Tournament at the Bear Creek Golf Club. A breakfast prior to tee off begins at 7:00 am and tee off begins at 8:00 am.  
 
Conference registration will open at 3:00 that afternoon and our “Where the Stars are Still Big & Bright Welcome Reception” will officially begin the conference. The Reception will include our Vendor Table-Top Displays and will also include some version of auction to benefit the TSTCI PAC. More details on that forthcoming. While there is always food and drink to share during this opening event, we end early enough if you want to make personal dinner plans.
 
Thursday begins with breakfast and will go half day with General Session programs for all attendees. Thursday afternoon, the ILEC members and designees attend the Annual Membership meeting where the officers for the coming year are elected. Thursday evening, we are still planning to gather back together for the “Rural Matters Dinner.” This evening event provides an inclusive time together to introduce the new Board and Officers and look back over the year and look forward to the year in front of us. It has been such a trying year — however, together we have grown. We do hope you will plan to join us for this dinner and celebration of each other. Friday, we come back together with an exciting panel and a political update from a well-known political insider. 
 
We are still putting the finishing touches on the program, however, we have more than a few tidbits to share as we open up registration. After the Thursday morning breakfast (7:00 - 8:00 a.m.), TSTCI President Mark Washington and TSTCI CEO Weldon Gray will kick off the business sessions of the conference and introduce our Opening Keynote Speaker: Dr. Ben Welch, Texas A&M.  Dr. Welch will outline “10 Proven Keys to Success” for us. He is a self-proclaimed Texas Aggie. He serves as the director of the Department of Student Activities for Texas A&M, Director of the Mays Business Fellows and Honors programs and associate director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Texas A&M. Dr. Welch has worked at Texas A&M University for 28 years. For the past 14 years, he has been exclusively training executives from around the world. His education includes a B.B.A. from the University of Dayton, an M.S. from Houston Baptist University and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.

Following Dr. Welch, we will continue to build and rebuild our personal and professional grit with Dennis Rose, Resiliency Consulting Services, LLC addressing “Individual Resiliency Skills.”  Following Dennis, Clay Sturgis, Partner-Moss Adams, will guide us through “Managing Your Business with Data - Analytics & Data Visualization.” Then before we break for lunch and the afternoon session for the Membership Meeting, Steve Gatto, GVNW Consulting, Inc. will enlighten us on “FCC’s Digital Opportunity Data Collection.” All of these topics are important and relevant and all of these speakers are engaged and entertaining.  

After lunch on Thursday, we hold the Annual Membership Meeting which is open to TSTCI ILEC members and their signed-in designees. The whole afternoon session will be the Annual Membership Meeting & Election of Directors.
 
Thursday evening we will all come together for the 7th Annual Rural Matters Dinner. An evening of shared fun, food and fellowship. There is no additional charge to conference attendees and their guest for the banquet; however, when you register for the conference, we would very much appreciate your filling in the area about whether you and your spouse/significant other will be attending the banquet. This is a catered event and your help to ensure a reasonable headcount is greatly appreciated. In addition, we always make arrangements for a vegetarian dinner option or other special dietary needs, so please let us know. We have several opportunities for sponsorships of this important event including “Table-Sponsorships” and “Hosted Bar Sponsorship.” Table sponsorships are a great way to get extra recognition — your table will be reserved with your name and you will also get to invite other registered attendees who you would like to be seated with you at your table for five. In addition, you will be listed as “Table Sponsor” in our promotional material and will get verbal and signage acknowledgment during the conference. Details for all sponsorship opportunities are included on the website sponsor page. Please make plans to join us for this shared evening.  
 
We have a powerful finale lined up for Friday. We begin the day with breakfast from 7:00-8:30 a.m. Then join us for a panel discussion “Industry Partnerships — Strategic, Technological and Convenient” with members of our industry, Steve Singletary-Taylor Telecom and David Brooks-Calix along with Eric Craven, Senior VP Governmental Relations-Texas Electric Cooperative Association. This will be a great discussion and perspective.
 
Before we adjourn for the day and because this is an election year conference the month before the election, we will hear “The Season for Politics” from Ross Ramsey, the Executive Editor and Co-Founder of the Texas Tribune. The Texas Tribune is only member-supported, digital-first, non-partisan media organization that informs and reports and engages with Texans and elected officials about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.  
 
We hope you’ll plan to attend and go ahead and register for this highly anticipated, badly needed and undoubtedly great conference.  At the end of the Conference, we will draw for the Grand Prize Drawing sponsored by Texas Communications Expo. Remember you have to be present to win this one. 
 
Please plan to join us in Irving!
 
REGISTRATION is now open CLICK HERE to be taken to the registration page.  
 

Hotel Registration

For hotel reservations for the Annual Membership Conference & Associate Member Table-Top Display at Omni Las Colinas Hotel, 221 East Las Colinas Blvd. Irving, Texas 75039 visit this link: https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/dallas-mandalay/meetings/tstci-2020-annual-meeting-10062020. 

Room rates for our conference are $195.00 single/double. The hotel cut-off date is September 22, 2020. Please remember to tell them you are with the TSTCI conference when making your reservations to ensure the group rate, availability and so that your reservation is credited to our function.   

Check In time is 3:00 pm and Check Out time is Noon.  

Self-parking at the hotel is complimentary and valet parking is $22/day.

For hotel questions or concerns, contact Pat Holder, Event Planner at 512-349-7470 or [email protected]. Ground transportation to/from the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is available through Yellow Checker Shuttle. The charge is approximately $15/person each way. Rental car agencies are located at the airport. There are also various ride share options to consider.

 
Our meetings are “Business Casual”

Continuing Education Units — The objectives of this conference are to improve the skills and knowledge of attendees on issues related to the telecommunications industry. Participants shall receive 7 non-technical CPE credit hours for participation, and there are no prerequisites for participation. We have registered with the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy as a CPE sponsor. This registration does not constitute an endorsement by the Board as to the quality of our CPE program. TSTCI Sponsor ID# 2349 

Be sure to complete the Conference evaluation form and return it to the registration desk after the final session on Friday. Thank you!
 
Again, to register online, CLICK HERE. You can make your payment by credit card or check.  
 
Cancellation Policy: No refunds will be given after September 22, 2020; however, substitutions will be permitted. Please contact Pat Holder if you have any special needs or for general questions.  
 

Dinner Sponsorships – Table Sponsors and Hosted-Bar Sponsors 

Sponsorship/Door Prizes/ Auction Items — As an appreciated sponsor, your company will be recognized in the on-site printed program, on the Sponsor-Sign displayed throughout the meeting and in the Weekly “This Week” leading up to the conference. To be included in the printed material, we need to receive your sponsorship, door prizes and/or auction items donation by September 20, 2020. As always, your support is very much appreciated.  
 
Discretionary Fund — The TSTCI Board appreciates contributions to the Discretionary Fund — used for important off-budget expenditures such as payment for featured speakers, memorials, PAC administrative expenses, and more. The Discretionary Fund is included in the annual independent audit of TSTCI. Since this fund is not used to provide campaign funds to candidates and office holders, corporate contributions are acceptable.  Contributions to this fund can be made online when you register for the meeting. Credit card payments (online), as well as corporate or personal checks made payable to the TSTCI Discretionary Fund may be sent to the TSTCI Austin office, 3112 Windsor Road, Suite A #338, Austin, TX 78703. 

 
 
If you have questions or need assistance with registration for this meeting, please contact Weldon R. Gray, CEO-TSTCI at 903-658-0055, [email protected] ; Kari at [email protected] or Pat Holder, TSTCI Event Planner at 512-349-7470.