All The Latest News from NECA
The 2013 NECA Show opened immediately after today’s Opening General Session with Gen. Michael Hayden. Fanfare was provided in classic D.C. drumline style by drummers, pom squad and color guard from the Robert R. Gray Elementary School Eagles. Check out some of the great exhibits and product demos from the first day at the 2013 NECA Show on our Flickr feed.
The rainy weather hasn’t dampened spirits so far at the Board of Governors meeting, Energy Forum and pre-convention workshops – and especially last night’s Opening Reception at the National Building Museum!
I’m Beth Margulies, NECA’s communications director, and I’ll be live-blogging all the great programs and events at NECA 2013 DC. My personal favorite so far has been the Green Energy Challenge student design competitions – the three finalists teams from Iowa State, Penn State and the University of Washington gave outstanding presentations yesterday an intimidating “Board of Directors” made up of NECA contractors and industry experts. Those jurors will evaluate the presentations and the winning team will be announced Sunday at the NECA Student Chapter Summit.
Student teams were charged with creating a bid package for lighting retrofits, EV charging station installations and a renewable power source for a parking facility in their campus communities – everything from the types of lighting controls to financing options. Pretty impressive stuff, and each student team thanked their sponsoring NECA chapter and local contractors for helping them create their comprehensive presentations.
Stay tuned to find out who won this year’s Green Energy Challenge, plus recaps from the general sessions and photos and videos direct from NECA 2013 DC! Leave a comment if you have any questions or thoughts about what you see and experience.
Proud Penn State Green Energy Challenge finalists + their green garage retrofit
Get your copy of 101 Code Questions Of The Day and meet Code-guru Charlie Trout at the NECA Booth!
Charles M. “Charlie” Trout has for many years distinguished himself as the premier source of National Electrical Code knowledge for thousands within our industry. Charlie is now concluding his service on NECA’s Codes and Standards Committee and his involvement in the NEC code-making process. Charlie had reached thousands of participants in the electrical industry as the author of NECA’s popular Code Question of the Day.
To recognize Charlie for his many contributions, NECA has compiled 101 of Charlie’s best Code questions and classic responses from the past two years into a special booklet that will be distributed during Charlie’s guest appearances at the NECA booth during the 2013 NECA Convention in Washington, D.C. Please stop by to thank Charlie for all he’s done to improve industry understanding of the Code!
To receive a guest pass for FREE admission to the 2013 NECA Show and your chance to meet Charlie Trout at the NECA Booth, go to blog.necaconvention.org.
by John Chaney, President/Co-founder, Dexter+Chaney
Throughout the year, I meet and speak with numerous folks around the country, ranging from clients and prospective clients to industry analysts. With each conversation, I learn more about the industry, get new ideas for our construction software, and understand new challenges facing contractors. However, I find I learn the most during trade shows like the NECA Show because there are so many diverse companies and individuals congregated in one place at one time.
From my experience, I’m not the only one who uses events like NECA to discover new trends, technologies, and industry news. At a trade show last year I spoke with a controller who had switched companies and was now looking at new construction management software for his current company. Even though he had been part of a software buying decision at his previous company, he commented how much had changed over the years, and how much he was learning about the latest technology.
The number of ways to exchange and learn information has been growing dramatically in recent years – online seminars, electronic newsletters, LinkedIn groups, blogs, and so on. But they do not deliver what the trade show delivers – personal connection.
There’s no disputing that online media provides valuable tools, but I firmly believe that personal connections provide more and better information because those involved are engaged in the conversation. Responses are more than just a quick reply to a forum thread or a comment on a news article. People enter into dialogs with passion, feeling, and unscripted exchanges. And when it comes to understanding industry challenges, there can be quite a bit of feeling involved.
Spectrum software from Dexter + Chaney will be demo’ed at the 2013 NECA Show
Similarly, construction software providers and other vendors at trade shows are passionate about their products and services. Everyone wants to tell their story, and trade shows provide the perfect place to do so.
This is not to say that new technologies do not provide a good medium for sharing information. I think we can all agree that because of new technology, more connections are being made and more information is being shared. But to me, really engaging someone means establishing a personal connection, and that means meeting them, talking to them, listening to their stories, and understanding what a day in their life is like. These connections help me give feedback to our product management team, which helps with developing new products and setting the direction for our company’s software.
When I’m at a trade show or other live in-person event, I can do this with many folks in one place at one time. I can get immersed in their world, which helps me serve them better when I return to my desk. So I hope that you’ll take some time to visit the vendors at this year’s NECA Convention – tell us about your challenges and learn about the solutions available to help you.
>>Got something to share with John or his company? Feel free to use the comments below to ask questions or let him know what you’d like Dexter + Chaney to discuss at the NECA Show, Oct. 12-15 in Washington, D.C.
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John Chaney is the President and Co-Founder of Seattle-based construction software provider Dexter + Chaney. He can be reached at jchaney@dexterchaney.com, and more information on the company can be found at www.dexterchaney.com. Dexter + Chaney will display its Spectrum® Construction Software at NECA Show 2013 (booth #555).
NECA Show-goers get to see the latest and greatest in products and services from nearly 300 exhibitors, as well as several special technical workshops from top industry insiders. NECA has partnered with our exhibitors to bring you 19 technical workshops covering topics like power quality, data center projects, improving productivity, alternative energy opportunities, new management t
ools, security and life safety.
Technical workshops are free with admission to the NECA Show (for a complementary industry pass, click here), and they offer some of the most timely and valuable information available at the event. Electrical product developers, manufacturers and distributors often boast some of the best research and development teams in the industry. By studying trends and innovations, they create new technology and processes that help electrical contractors work smarter.
For a full schedule, including session descriptions, go to Technical Workshops under At the NECA Show. Most sessions will be offered more than once during the trade show.
If you work in the electrical industry, you can still see all the product innovations, time-saving tools and services, and meet leading manufacturers at the 2013 NECA Show at no charge. All you need to do is register online with the special code ECB13 and you’re in!
The NECA Show is the industry’s premier event for the products, tools, software and equipment that make the industry run. You can be a part of it, too! Register now!
Beth Ellis reported that registrations for NECA 2013 Washington DC are coming in daily, putting this year’s convention and trade show on track for the same record-setting attendance that we enjoyed last year in Las Vegas. Beth has been making the rounds at all the NECA spring and summer meetings, getting the word out about this year’s great program in D.C. We caught up with her between travels to see what she thinks will make NECA 2013 Washington DC special.
Q: So what’s going to make NECA 2013 Washington great?
Beth Ellis: Well, this year will mark the first time NECA has been in Washington, DC since 2001 when we celebrated NECA’s 100th anniversary. Of course, 9/11 was weighing heavy on all of us at that convention, too. I think this year will be a great time to examine how much the industry has changed in just 12 years. DC has changed, too. We’re going to be at the brand-new convention center, we have several new hotels we’ll be using for housing, and there’s a lot to look forward to.
Q: Like what?
Beth Ellis: We could only host a “Night at the Museum” opening reception at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in DC! Outside of that movie, how many people ever get to see what the museum looks like after all the visitors are gone? And no one expects to outshine the Hope Diamond, but we’re going to glam things up, too. We’ll have a great dance band and several other entertainers, plus bars and the best hors d’oeuvers in the city – not to mention a few other surprises throughout the museum!
Our education programs are also incredibly strong this year. We kick everything off with pre-convention workshops (that are a great value for intensive training), and we’re hosting the Safety Forum and Energy Forum again. We’re offering 19 technical workshops throughout the NECA Show and an array of management seminars with full registration.
Q: So you’re expecting crowds similar to last year?
Beth Ellis: If registrations keep coming at the same rate, we’ll actually have more people this year than we did last year. The Washington Convention Center is a beautiful, spacious facility and we have plenty of rooms reserved for attendees.
And if you don’t have time to attend the full convention, our weekend packages are a great choice. You get the maximum education and networking opportunities for a minimal time commitment.
But everyone should get their plans and registrations made sooner rather than later – not just for the Early Registration savings, but to make sure they get their first-choice for hotel and travel. There’s so much to do in the city, and October is the perfect time of year to be here.
Early registration is now open for NECA 2013 Washington, DC – the premier electrical construction event that brings together the best minds in the industry together to discuss the opportunities, issues and innovations affecting electrical contractors.
Nearly 50 different educational opportunities to learn from leading experts on the industry trends, business practices and technology shaping electrical contracting today. NECA 2013 Washington, D.C. includes pre-convention workshops, management seminars and technical workshops.
A three-day event featuring more than 300 exhibitors from the leading companies working with electrical construction professionals. NECA Trade Show includes the annual ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine Showstopper Awards of the best innovations in tools, equipment, products and software.
Customized training and networking sessions make NECA 2013 Washington the leading gathering of electrical professionals working in all aspects of the industry. Special sessions include the Third Annual NECA Energy Forum, the Second Annual Safety Forum, NECA’s Student Chapter Summit and 5th Green Energy Challenge, the Women In NECA Roundtable, and a meeting of NECA’s international chapters.
If you’re looking for the best way to get the most education value and networking opportunities for your electrical contracting business, NECA 2013 Washington, Oct. 12-15 is the place to be!
The Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee of Southern Nevada’s showcase at NECA 2012 Las Vegas was the subject of the article, “Solar Power, Plug-in Cars Mesh Well” by Stan Hanel in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The article also covered how electrical contractors are making connections for electric vehicles and solar-powered charging stations. From the article:
Here in Southern Nevada, where the sun shines 300 days a year, there is a synergy that benefits people who install photovoltaic solar panels on the roofs of their homes and buy plug-in electric cars. Unlike other homeowners, they can create a portion of the energy that powers the appliances in their homes and provides fuel for a plug-in electric car.
The article discussed EJATCSV’s training program in renewable energy and technology, and how apprenticeship includes classroom and on-the-job training. Read the full article, including details about solar power and EV charging installations, online.
A complete list of media coverage from NECA 2012 Las Vegas can be found online.
