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 By Dave Ferrara, HRTS Executive Director
Ahhh...It must be that time of year! It feels like 180 degrees outside, air conditioners are humming at max, the sky is choked with smoke, and my email announcements to our membership are returning about fifty percent out of office. It can only mean one thing in our lovely town. Labor Day's just around the corner and with it, the launch of a new season, both for our industry and also for HRTS.
So many unanswered questions loom. Will House survive the loony bin? Will Charlie choose Chelsea or Mia? Did O'Malley die? Did Izzie? Can Don Draper be a good dad? Will Pam and Jim be able to keep the baby a secret from Michael? Can Tom Delay dance? And after a record setting 21 years, will Bart Simpson ever age?
At least we do know a couple of things. On September 8th HRTS will present its kickoff luncheon and the launch of its New Media initiative with "The Digital Chiefs" presented in association with our friends at NATPE, moderated by Disney's Bob Iger and featuring panelists Chad Hurley (YouTube), Chris Anderson (Wired Magazine), Jason Kilar (Hulu) and Jonathan Miller (News Corp.) I wonder if Chris Anderson will be able to convince the assembled execs that content should in fact be Free...(the title of his latest book). Should be a great conversation and one you won't want to miss. If you have not yet purchased tickets there still are some seats available for this luncheon. Just call the office or go on-line to HRTS.org.
Additionally, we're proud to announce that for those of you unable to attend the luncheon, HRTS, in partnership with Limelight Networks and Digital Rapids will be (for the first time) Live Streaming the event. You will be able to view the entire discussion from your desktop live, as it happens. To secure your live stream reservation visit the event order page at HRTS.org and click on Live Stream purchase. It's $29.95 for this exclusive opportunity and we are grateful to Limelight Networks and Digital Rapids for their efforts in making this possible for our members.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that shortly after the luncheon we will be announcing our first steps in our relationship with our new charitable partner My Friend's Place. For a first effort, we will launch a clothing drive to support the efforts of MFP. I encourage everyone to clean out the closets and donate your new or gently used wardrobe items. I just did it and it's amazing how much stuff I cleared out. I uncovered more closet space and am helping out a very worthwhile organization. It's a win-win!
And of course we will be announcing more of our upcoming HRTS luncheons and other special events in the coming few weeks so stay tuned! We hope you are looking forward to the fall with as much anticipation as we are. New shows, a fresh new outlook on our business and the opportunities to expand our understanding of our business in the digital age are just a few of the things we are excited about in the coming months. Count on your HRTS to lead the way as your resource for staying informed and connected to the people and companies that make our business go.
Now..If I can just figure out how to get my new DirecTV dvr to record all the season premiers...
See you at the next luncheon.
Dave Ferrara
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