NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting Thank You Letter

Dear NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting Participants,

Incredible is the word I would use to describe the meeting we just experienced together and for several reasons. First, when the pandemic broke out, we were planning for an in-person meeting in St. Louis, and it took us a little while to realize that it just wasn’t possible. Then, we had to figure out how to put together a “virtual” meeting—not something NDTA and USTRANSCOM had done to this scale before. As you can imagine, a few challenges had to be overcome, but our planning team took them on, one at a time, and figured it out. Even so, our biggest concern was the willingness of our government, military and industry, logistics, and transportation community to embrace and support a virtual meeting. However, embrace and support you did with an astonishing 1,520 registrants. To me, that is incredible!

You supported the event in a big way, and for that, I want to say thank you very much! Our goal each year is to create a meeting environment to foster education and learning. With that in mind, this year’s Fall Meeting featured some amazing keynote speakers and roundtable members. Additionally, we held 79 Transportation Academy classes, with a stacked deck of fantastic instructors and speakers who provided a wide variety of learning opportunities across ten educational learning tracks. I want to personally thank all our keynote speakers, moderators, roundtable members, and instructors who volunteered their time and were willing to share their experience and expertise with us. The Fall Meeting is meaningless without your participation and we are all the better because of it.

I hope you visited the Exhibit Hall and Resource Center, and had a chance to meet with our many exhibitors and sponsors. If you did not, I invite you to return to our virtual meeting site—it isn’t too late. Industry sponsorship and participation allows NDTA to continue to exist and I want to say thank you for your dedication and devotion to NDTA, the Fall Meeting, and our many events. I continue to be humbled by your desire to support a strong national defense and look forward to future opportunities to work together.

Lastly, I want to say thank you to all our Fall Meeting volunteers and participants. Your willingness to take time away from your very busy work schedules to attend our events and participate makes all the difference. If I may, and if you haven’t already, please let us know how we are doing and how we could do better by returning to the virtual home page and taking our attendee survey. We will be sending you an email in the next week with a survey link to help make it easier. Thanks for your attention to this important item.

In conclusion, it is my sincere hope the Fall Meeting met your needs and helps us to continue working together as we seek to solve problems and build a strong national defense. Your willingness to support a virtual Fall Meeting is a testament to your flexibility and willingness to adapt. At NDTA, we look forward to an in-person Fall Meeting in 2021 and hope to see you at the Gaylord National Harbor in Maryland, October 18-21, 2021.

With gratitude,

VADM William A. Brown, USN (Ret.)
President & CEO, NDTA