With Change Comes Educational Opportunity

Sep 8, 2020 | DTJ Online

The 2020 NDTA-USTRANSCOM Fall Meeting scheduled for October 5-8, 2020, is quickly approaching and provides an exciting prospect for the transportation and logistics community. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event has changed from in-person to virtual. With this change comes immense opportunity.

 Unlike every other year, no need to check your calendar, clear your schedule, and arrange for travel. Guess what? You can make it! While many will want to attend as the sessions are live, that’s not necessary. Your registration fee includes access to all the speakers and classes until the first week of January. If you miss something or want to review what someone said, you can view it at your leisure.

Having access to this material for the rest of the year also eliminates one of the most significant downsides to the in-person experience. You no longer have to make decisions or trade-offs on which classes to attend—you can “attend” any course you want, regardless of scheduling conflicts.

On the subject of education, let’s consider what this year’s meeting could do for those in your organization who may stand to learn the most from the material presented. There has never been an easier time to “bring” your younger or less experienced team members to this event. Here’s your chance to educate, help grow, and inspire these future transportation and logistics leaders. While budget restraints may have prohibited their attendance in years past, this year is different, and I encourage everyone to take advantage of that fact.

But this year is not just a chance for those junior leaders. It’s also an opportunity for individuals who have never had the chance to go before, as well as those of you who attend every year. The program is created with all of you in mind—and from intern to CEO, everyone will learn or take away something valuable from this event.

Our impressive main session lineup includes keynote speakers GEN Stephen Lyons, USA, Commander, USTRANSCOM; The Honorable Jordan Gillis, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, Office of the Secretary of Defense; Mr. Bob Chapman, CEO, Chapman & Co. & Barry-Wehmiller; and Mr. Rami Goldratt, CEO, Goldratt Consulting. We also have three roundtables led respectively by VADM Dee Mewbourne, USN, Deputy Commander, USTRANSCOM; Lt Gen Steven Kwast, USAF (Ret.), President & Chief Global Officer, Genesis Sytems, LLC; and CMSgt Jason France, Command Senior Enlisted Leader, USTRANSCOM.

In conjunction with the Fall Meeting, NDTA and USTRANSCOM will present Transportation Academy, which consists of 80 classes covering a broad range of subjects. Classes are divided into ten topic tracks including Acquisition & Finance; Blockchain; Combatant Commands & Security Cooperation; DOD & Commercial Logistics; Interactive Workshops/Training; IT, Cyber, & Analytics; Leadership & Human Resources; Legislation & Policy; Resilience, Innovation, & Disruptors; and the SDDC Workshop. Did I mention there is something for everyone on the schedule?

Despite moving to the online environment, Transportation Academy has not lost its interactive nature. For each course, chat rooms will be established, comments monitored, and participants’ questions will be gathered for the presenter or designated team office response. There will also be other opportunities for you and your fellow attendees to interact and learn from one another throughout the event. To register and find more information on the agenda, visit www.ndtahq.com/events/fall-meeting/.

If you would like a sneak peek as to what you can expect, check out videos below from last year’s in-person event. While this year’s event may be the first of its kind, you will find that providing quality educational content is nothing new for the Fall Meeting.

 2019 Videos:

 

By Sharon Lo Managing Editor, Defense Transportation Journal and The Source

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