INDIANAPOLIS—The Society of Broadcast Engineers has announced that it will conduct its 2021 SBE Leadership Development Course from June 8-10 in person in Atlanta. The SBE event may be one of the first in-person industry events to take place since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic last March.
The SBE Leadership Development Course is a three-day study of leadership and management strategies to help broadcast engineers. The course will look at the nature of leadership, the difference between a manager and being a leader, how to build a winning team, the importance of attitude in the leadership position, communication insights and more, according to SBE.
The course is designed for broadcast engineers who have or aspire to have management responsibilities.
Rodney Vandeveer, professor of Organizational Leadership and Supervision at Purdue University, will be instructing the course for the 13th time.
Nearly all industry events have gone virtual since the pandemic. However, as vaccine rollouts continue, there is hope that in-person events can resume in the coming months. NAB is expecting that its rescheduled October NAB Show will once again be in-person in Las Vegas, for instance.
When asked to comment on any contingency plans in case there are ongoing issues to the pandemic, SBE Member Communications Director Chriss Scherer provided the following statement:
"While no one can predict exactly the situation for June, we have set May 4, 2021, as a go/no-go date. If the course needs to be cancelled or postponed, the SBE will refund any registration fees received. While the SBE registration fee can be paid now with no risk, the SBE suggests making travel arrangements as late as possible to ensure the class will be held to avoid any cancellation or change fees.
"The Leadership Development Course is designed to be taught in-person. The class participants engage with each other, and small-group breakouts are common. There currently isn't a plan to conduct the class in a virtual environment.
"Naturally, the SBE will keep any registrations up to date on the event plans as the date approaches."
The 2021 SBE Leadership Development Course will be held at the Hyatt Place Atlanta South. A special rate for room reservations can be made up until May 9. The cost of the event is $670 for SBE members, $725 for non members. For more information, or to register, visit www.sbe.org.
