From the Chief’s Corner: The Summit - Time for Reflection

By Chief Alan Perdue (ret.), SBC Executive Director

Posted on June 16, 2023

Wednesday, May 24th was a great day. A large group of in-building stakeholders met in our Nation’s Capital for the Safer Buildings Coalition’s first-ever Wireless Tech & Policy Summit. As with many events I attend it’s always great to network with people you may not see in our day-to-day activities and catch up on what’s going on in their world.

Each of these encounters provides an opportunity to enhance our professional experience. When I think about experience, a quote from American philosopher John Dewey springs to mind: “We do not learn from experience; we learn from reflecting on experience.”

As I reflect on the May 24th event, there were so many opportunities to develop our experience level. From the keynotes to the panel discussions, a lot of information relating to multiple aspects of our industry was discussed, highlighted, debated and clarified. The ability to hear from industry leaders, subject matter experts, and people in the trenches that are focused and committed to improving our ability to communicate is always intriguing. During each session, I noted several nuggets of information that could be added to one’s experience bucket.

Another experience enhancing opportunity that I enjoyed at the summit was the chance to visit with the many vendors who participated in the event. Visiting exhibitors like those at the Summit provides an opportunity for some great discussion about not just what products exist today but also insight into what the future holds. Those insights into what’s on the horizon are critical and can position us to better meet tomorrow's needs for the industry.

As the idea for the SBC summit was developed there were a lot of unknowns about what it would be like, who would attend, how it would go – and many other thoughts along the way. But, in the end I was truly amazed and proud of how the team put it all together and am so thankful for everyone who played a part in making the event a success. What does the future hold for another event? You’ll have to wait and see but, in the meantime, remember to reflect on those experiences and use them to help you make people #feelsafeinside…

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Related Article: Wireless Tech And Policy Summit Illustrates SBC’s True Scope