The NNA Convention will go on — with a new virtual platform!

Jul 1, 2020

Lance

Greetings, NNA members!

I have received several emails and phone calls recently asking how NNA was going to handle our convention this October in Jacksonville, Florida. We have been working hard to find a way for the convention to go on and we are thankful that the pieces are now falling into place.

After several meetings with the Riverfront Hyatt, they have graciously allowed us to move our convention and trade show to September 30–October 2, 2021, with no penalties.

We are also in the final stages of an agreement with a virtual conference platform that will allow us to maintain all the important aspects of our annual convention that you have come to expect.

And this year, you can tune in from the comfort of your own home or office, and more people will be able to attend.

So keep the date on your calendar — our 134th Convention and Trade Show will be held Oct. 1–3, 2020, online. The Convention will include:

• The same quality experience and amazing trade show we are known for. Each exhibitor will have their own virtual webpage within the platform for registrants to visit, request meetings, get more information, watch demonstrations and drop virtual business cards for chances to win great prizes!

Exhibitors will have trade show hours, during which they’ll be available to talk to you live.

• The same informative editorial and advertising educational sessions and workshops held in small and large video conferencing groups.

• Virtual cocktail hours with fun surprises and drawings.

• Solutions Start Here! from our exhibitors — short sessions with newspaper testimonials on how our exhibitors helped a member solve a problem or navigate new waters.

• Virtual networking where you can connect with people who have similar interests in small groups or one-on-one. The online platform makes it even easier than in-person meetings to connect with people who have the same interests and challenges. View the attendee list online and request meetings with those you'd like to meet.

• And our most attended session, the Great Idea Exchange, is going to be bigger and better since it allows those who don’t normally travel to convention to join in the idea swap.

With the money saved by not traveling and no hotel, food and beverage costs, NNA will be able to offer the same quality experience and amazing Convention and Trade Show we are known for and expect that more people will be able to attend.

We will be launching registration soon, so be on the lookout. We are setting the registration price at $50/person, and this will be all-inclusive.

We encourage you to register, even if you don’t think you can make it to all the sessions. Registrants will have access to everything for one year AFTER the convention, so you can keep going back and benefit from the content and visit the trade show for solutions.

Our members are like family, and our conventions like family reunions. We will miss the hugs and handshakes we won’t get by going virtual this year, but we will try to make it have the same feel as we navigate these strange times.

Lynne Lance is the executive director of the National Newspaper Association, headquartered in Pensacola, Florida. Email her at lynne@nna.org.