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Digest Newsletter | September 2020
TECNA Board Chair Message
Dear TECNA Members,
 
During a special meeting on August 27th, the TECNA Board of Directors made a unanimous decision to begin searching for a new, full-time, executive director of TECNA.
 
As Chair of the TECNA Board of Directors, I am proud to appoint Brian Kennedy, Vice President of Operations & Strategic Programs for the Pittsburgh Technology Council, and an active member of the TECNA board of directors, to lead our search committee. This committee will include additional volunteers from both the board and our membership. If you would like to participate in this effort, please let me know.
 
The search committee will soon draft an official job description and publish this opportunity to national job boards. However, the power of a referral and sharing this information with our networks is one of the best ways to identify the best candidate. We’re seeking a leader with experience working with associations, public policy, and managing relationships with corporate sponsors. These are just some of the important attributes our board has identified for this position. It is our goal to complete this search before the end of the year.
 
Tim Jemal and Alina Hardy have led and supported the TECNA organization for the last five years, increasing the value TECNA provides to our members and growing the number of members and sponsors to new heights. They accomplished this work in a part-time format – though most would never have known because of the strong work ethic and dedication to the organization. I look forward to formally recognizing their leadership at a later date.
 
In the meantime, Tim and Alina will continue to operate as usual and we will continue to honor their contract until the end of this year or until a new executive director has been hired.
 
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you,
Ryan Weber 
Chairperson | Technology Councils of North America
President & CEO | KC Tech Council
TECNA Member News
VOLTA names Martha Casey, former COO, as new CEO of the Halifax innovation hub - read more.

KC Tech CEO, Ryan Weber, participated in a story about Tech Career Fairs Adapting to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Palm Beach Tech Council is now South Florida Tech - read more from Joe Russo, CEO, about the change announced following the council's 5 Year Anniversary.

Northern Virginia Technology Council announced new President and CEO, Jennifer Taylor - read the release. NVTC also announced winners for their second annual Virginia Data Center Awards.
TECNA Public Policy Advocacy
Public Policy - US
TECNA Signs on to support for rural broadband development - read the letter.
Public Policy Committee Meeting
Next Meeting TBD

Contact Alina at ahardy@tecna.org if you'd like to be added to the Public Policy Committee Mailing List.
Communities of Interest Webinars

TECNA Communities of Interest (COI) are peer-to-peer collaborations and information-sharing groups exclusively for members: membership, events, workforce and communications.
Communications - Community of Interest Q3 Webinar
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 at 10:00am Pacific / 1:00pm Eastern
"Exploring the Creative Marketing & Communications TECNA Innovation Award Programs"

Requests or ideas for Community of Interest webinar topics, contact the COI Chairs:

Recent past COI webinar recordings and slide decks are available for download in the members-only portal on the TECNA website. Login at tecna.org/login and click on the Resources tab to view.
TECNA Discount for Premier Virtual

We are very pleased to announce TECNA has partnered with Premier Virtual to offer a TECNA Discount for their platform which offers virtual career fairs and virtual hiring events: 
  • First Single Event Cost for TECNA Members $2,500
  • Additional Single Event Cost for TECNA Members $3,500
  • TECNA Member Yearly License Discount 10%
You must be a TECNA member in good standing to get this TECNA benefit.

Review the Info Guide about Premier Virtual’s offering and standard pricing – click here to download or visit their website to learn more.
 
We encourage you to reach out to Jamie Varraso at Premier Virtual directly with any questions or to schedule a demo to learn more about this software that bridges the gap between technology and human interaction.
TECNA 401k Program Offering

We are very pleased to announce TECNA has partnered with the 401(k) Tech Collective to offer the TECNA National 401(k) Program. This is a national retirement program built by the WTIA, one of our member associations. This program has been constructed specifically for technology organizations.
 
This partnership enables you to offer this exclusive program to your own member companies, providing additional value to their membership and helping them attract and retain talent in this competitive time. It also opens the door to a new revenue opportunity for your association.

Please check out all of the benefits here: 401ktechcollective.org
TECNA Health Insurance Benefit

TECNA launched a new health insurance benefit for members, as well your members. TECNA is committed to helping member councils provide additional value to you, your staff and your members. Insurance is one area where TECNA may be able to offer immediate savings on items for which you and your members are currently paying. Your council must be a member of TECNA in good standing to qualify for this benefit. Please click here to see an overview of TECNA’s Health Insurance Benefit.

Coming Soon: Member General Liability, Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) Cyber Liability, Property & Workers Compensation Insurance.
TechGirlz Partnership Opportunities for TECNA Members
TECNA and TechGirlz are partnering in 2020 to offer member tech councils the opportunity to host a workshop.

The TechGirlz program works to make learning technology both thrilling and inviting for middle school girls, through their free extra curricular workshops (or TechShopz as their coined them!). From programming to robotics, web/app design, genetics and beyond, there is so much for the TechGirlz to experience. Their vision is to create a world where girls have a lifelong passion and confidence in their use of technology throughout their careers.

TECNA member councils interested in organizing a TechGirlz workshop please contact Alina Hardy, ahardy@tecna.org.
Subscribe to TECNA Event Calendars
Click a link below and follow the prompts to synchronize with the default calendar on your system (if available). To synchronize with a different calendar, copy and paste the desired URL into your calendar software in the location where feeds are accepted, often identified with "Subscribe", "Add Calendar", etc.
TECNA on Slack
Join TECNA's community on Slack exclusively for TECNA Member Council staff. Slack Channels include membership, events, talent/workforce, policy and private channel for CEOs.
TECNA Members Only
You can group chat, private message, share files and search the discussion archive for help and best practices shared by other members.
Thank You to TECNA's Strategic Sponsors
Keep Us Informed
We are always looking to provide valuable content to TECNA members. If you have any suggestions for content in the TECNA Digest, please email: news@tecna.org.