ACCT Newsletter 2023/02/24

February 24, 2023

That's a wrap!

The 2023 INTERNATIONAL ACCT CONFERENCE AND EXPO was a smashing success with 120+ educational sessions, 58 exhibitors, 840+ registered attendees (over 100 more than last year), and 2 After Hours parties including the debut of the ACCT House Band - The Rope Wranglers!

Thank you to the presenters, Conference Work Group volunteers, Yellow Hat Service Crew volunteers, ACCT staff, exhibit hall vendors, sponsors, HPN Global staff, The OCC staff, the Hyatt Hotel Staff, and of course, all of the attendees for making this year's conference a success!

Thank You Conference Silver Sponsors!

Thank You Additional Conference Sponsors!

Bill Zimmermann has resigned from his position as the Executive Director. We thank Bill for his time and service, and we wish him well in his future pursuits.

As we manage the transition, please know that we sincerely value the ACCT staff, as well as the volunteer community that helps support them. The Board and Staff will be directly managing the transition period. Please direct all questions to the Board Chair, Korey Hampton

A New Term, a New Board of Directors:

This year’s conference marked the start of a new term for your ACCT Board of Directors. We would like to thank outgoing Board members Carson Rivers, Bahman Azarm, and Keith Jacobs for their many years of service. Volunteers are vital to the success of our organization, and as with all our volunteers, these folks gave considerable amounts of their time, talent, energy, and dedication to the role.

Board members still serving in the upcoming term include Korey Hampton, Rohan Shahani, Erik Marter, Billy Simpson, Jason Ong, and Connor James.

New members elected to the Board of Directors this year are Leslie Sohl, Michael Smith, and Kennerly de Forest. We congratulate them and thank them for their willingness to serve.

As is customary, at the Board meeting immediately following the conference, a new slate of Directors was elected from within the Board. This year’s Executive Committee will be:

Chair - Korey C. Hampton
Vice Chair - Rohan Shahani
Treasurer - Erik Marter
Secretary - Michael Smith

First-Ever Accredited Operator Symposium:

Did you know that history was made at this recent ACCT conference? This year was the first-ever Accredited Operator Symposium! To become an Accredited Operator, an organization must go through a review process administered by the ACCT that demonstrates their compliance with the standards, through a review of their inspection, training, and operation procedures.

The program launched in the summer of 2020, and there are currently 13 accredited operations around the world. Following the long-standing tradition of the Accredited Vendors (PVMs), while in Portland for the conference the Accredited Operators participated in a day of learning, sharing, and community-building together. There was much excitement in the room, and great optimism for future gatherings and opportunities to collaborate, including future symposiums for this quickly growing group of operators.

If you would like to join in on the fun and learn how your program can earn accreditation see: https://www.acctinfo.org/operation-accreditation

The 2023 conference only ended 2 weeks ago, but it is already time to start planning for the 2024 conference. That means the Call for Presenters is open! The deadline to apply to present is May 31st, 2023. That is only 3 months away! So start thinking of an idea or topic to present on!

You don't need a fully developed presentation before you apply. You just need a good idea and an outline. Present solo or gather a group to collaborate with. Perhaps convene a panel or conduct research and gather data over the next 11 months then present the findings. There are a lot of different ways to present.