“The future is no more uncertain

than the present”

Walt Whitman

And, don’t we know it.  There are many lessons that we all learned over the past year plus – some individual lessons, some group lessons – but many life lessons. We are looking forward to sharing time and life lessons with you again.  Time is approaching for our trip to the Land of Enchantment and the Inn of the Mountain Gods for this year’s TSTCI Future’s Retreat, August 11 & 12, 2021. 

The TSTCI Future’s Retreat always opens opportunity and insight of our industry and our world.  We try to present information about the ever-changing movement of and in our industry and tools of fine-tuning needed to continue our participation, management and growth in the communications and people business of today and tomorrow.   

The theme of this year’s Future’s Retreat is “Uncertain Futures.”  And as we have done for many, many years, the sessions we’ve put together for this conference are intended to help all of us traverse the moat of uncertainty – in the communications industry – legislatively, regulatory and competitively; in the business arenas of your communities; and, as an Association.  Uncertain things abound.  What I know is that real courage is continuing to move forward even when the outcome is uncertain. 

So, we are going to move forward together -- whether it is educating and adapting to technology changes, rule changes, financial changes and challenges, or facing events, decisions and barriers that impact our businesses and our association --  we’ll face and conquer together.

The 2021 TSTCI Futures Retreat will begin Wednesday morning -August 11th^h  at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, Mescalero, New Mexico and conclude Thursday, August 12^th  around noon. 

On Wednesday morning, plan to join us for a breakfast buffet at 7:00 am leading into the Opening General Session at 8:00 am.  This year we bring a positive approach to some of the negative.  Joel G. Block, CPA, CSP will open the conference as our Keynote Speaker Wednesday morning bringing “Navigating Disruptive Business Trends – How to Get and Stay Ahead of the Competition.” 

Joel will guide us through some of the disruptive trends we all encountered with the pandemic as well as some of those disruptive trends that were already there pre-pandemic. 

The morning will continue as we look the uncertain future straight in the eyes with “Network 2030 – What Should We Be Engineering For?”  If 2030 sounds like a long way away, it is not.  It seems moments ago we thought 2021 was a long way away – and yet. 

After lunch (on your own), Joel G. Block will return for what we’re terming the “Afternoon Mastermind Session – What is the Future of our Industry?  And, What are We Going to Do About It?” 

The business portion of the day will end in time to give you some personal time before the Celebration Reception 5:30pm – 7:00pm. 

On Thursday, we’ll begin again with a 7:00 am breakfast buffet and two powerful and powerhouse morning speakers before ending around 11:45 am. 

Our first speaker Thursday morning has become a friend of TSTCI and has presented to our group before.  He is a valuable friend and resource to TSTCI – David Villyard, Operations Manager NCC COMM-ISAC Watch, Deputy Director National Communications & Coordination Branch (NCC) and DHS, National Cybersecurity Communications Integration Center (NCCIC).  David will present, “What’s Been Going On In Cyber – You Need to Be Ready!”

We are again pleased and honored to have returning as our Closing General Session speaker Edmund J. Seifried, Ph.D.  Dr. Seifried will address the economy question of today – “It looks like the 2020 Covid Recession is in our rear view mirror – What Comes Next?”

Hotel Information

Rates:                                                           

Single/Double - $149.99

Daily Resort Fee:  $17.00 (valet parking, in-room coffee/tea, bottled water, newspaper, sauna, hot tub, indoor pool and fitness center)

Make your reservations by July 19, 2021 to ensure the group rate and availability. Please be sure to mention the TSTCI Futures Retreat.

Cut-off date:          July 19, 2021

Check-in/Check-out Times:      

Check-In – 4 p.m.  

Check-Out – 11 a.m.

Attire Meetings – “Business Casual”

Transportation Information

There are several airports within a short drive of The Inn of The Mountain Gods in Mescalero, New Mexico including:  Roswell, New Mexico (1.5 hours); El Paso, Texas (2.25 hours); and Albuquerque, New Mexico (3 hours).  All three of these airports have car rental agencies.

Shuttle and limousine transportation is available and can be arranged through guest services at The Inn of the Mountain Gods, (800) 545-9011.  Arrangements for transportation must be made at least one week prior to arrival or departure otherwise a fee may apply. Full ticket price is charged upon arranging transportation. Cancellation must be made 48hrs. prior to the departure date to receive a refund.

Continuing Education Units

The objectives of this conference are to improve the skills and knowledge of accounting and other issues related to the telecommunications industry.  Participants shall receive 10 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

Conference Evaluation Forms

Be sure to complete the Conference evaluation form and return it to the registration desk after the final session on Thursday.  Thank you!

Online Registration

To register online, go to www.tstci.org.  You can make your payment by check.  Once you have registered online, make check payable to Texas Statewide Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (TSTCI) and mail payment to:  TSTCI, 3112 Windsor Road, Suite A # 338, Austin, Texas 78703.

Cancellation Policy: No refunds will be given after July 19, 2021; however, substitutions will be permitted.

Please contact Pat Holder if you have any special needs or for general questions.  See the following contact information:

Registration Fees:                                 Early Bird                After 7/19/21

                                                              Before 7/19/21        and on-site

Member                                                $575                       $675

Associate Member                                $575                       $675

Non-Member                                         $675                       $775

Speaker                                                $200                       $200

Retreat Sponsorship

     Platinum $2500       Gold $1000      Silver  $500         Bronze  $250                           

            Discretionary (unlimited)

SPONSORSHIP – Very Important Part of the Programs

Sponsorships help support the meeting activities and also provide additional exposure for you and your company.        

Our traditional Sponsorship levels include:  Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze.  In addition to the above sponsor levels, you may also contribute to the TSTCI Board Discretionary Fund and the TSTCI Foundation.  Sponsor benefits include being listed in the weekly newsletter, This Week in TSTCI and in the on-site program for the meeting and on the signage at the event, a ribbon indicating you are a “Sponsor” on your name badge to further identify your support to the attendees, and verbal recognition throughout the meeting.  You may include your Sponsorship preference on the on-line registration form.  We appreciate all of our sponsors who help us provide the quality meetings and we appreciate the support of the TSTCI Futures Retreat.

Have questions about the Conference?

We hope you will plan to join us for another great Futures Retreat in New Mexico.  If you have questions or need any assistance, please contact Weldon R. Gray, CEO-TSTCI at 903-658-0055 or [email protected] , Kari at the TSTCI office at 512-343-2587 or [email protected] or Pat Holder, Event Planner at 512-349-7470 or [email protected]

Look forward to seeing you in August!