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 By Dave Ferrara, HRTS Executive Director
Greetings from sunny Hawaii! Okay. If that sounds like a greeting card, I apologize. I just wanted to prove to my staff that I actually left the thirty mile zone for a long overdue vacation. Of course, since HRTS is never too far from my thoughts, I figured what better way to spend a five hour flight than to ruminate a bit on the latest and greatest from our very own HRTS.
Let’s see…the spring portion of our Newsmaker Luncheon season is upon us and we’ve already enjoyed the Cable Chiefs panel earlier this month hosted by former HRTS President, Rod Perth. We are also prepararing for our April 22nd, "Broadcast Reality" panel. Co-chairs Sean Perry and Kevin Beggs have outdone themselves with this one. Panelists including: Mark Burnett, Tyra Banks, Michael Davies, Mike Fleiss, Arthur Smith and Allison Grodner will participate in a panel discussion moderated by Emmy winner Jeff Probst about the challenges of producing alternative programming for the broadcast landscape. Tickets are on sale at HRTS.Org now for this special event.
We’ve also launched our new HRTS website, which I hope everyone has had a chance to visit! Full length videos of past Newsmaker Luncheons (yes, even the Bill Clinton event) are available for viewing exclusively for HRTS Members. In addition we have launched the new HRTS Job Board, a career resource specifically geared to the needs of HRTS Members and member companies, a fully searchable online member roster, and fully automated online renewal and/or ticket purchase cycles to make your membership experience with us a simple and pleasant one. Should you have any questions regarding the new site or anything else regarding your HRTS membership, do not hesitate to call our office.
CALL FOR MENTORS
The HRTS, in association with our Junior HRTS membership is launching the first ever formal HRTS/JHRTS Mentoring Program. This program will be exclusive to HRTS Member Mentors and JHRTS Member Mentees and will pair up pre-screened junior executives with higher level HRTS members for a six month period to meet periodically and share industry best practices and insights to assist our next generation of leaders become better industry execs. At the end of the six months participants have the option to continue the mentorship, or be paired up with another partner. We will also survey participants to better develop the program going forward with the intention that this program will grow and expand as word of mouth spreads and successes are shared. All of us have had mentors in our life and we hope you will take this opportunity to give something back to the next generation of industry leaders. I’m looking forward to this as I know we’ll all probably be working for them someday! HRTS members who are interested in this program are encouraged to call me directly at HRTS to discuss or to receive the mentor application for consideration.
The captain just informed us we are about to land so I need to pack away the laptop but I hope that this edition of Society Views finds all of you well. And if you are on your way to MIP or NCTA I wish you all a successful and pleasant week ahead. I’m looking forward to my brief break in Hawaii but can’t wait to get back next week to dive full-steam into our spring HRTS schedule.
Don’t forget the sunscreen and I’ll see you at the next luncheon!
Aloha,
Dave Ferrara
Executive Director
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