Posted on October 28, 2020
By Derek Brockbank, Executive Director, American Shore & Beach Preservation Association
American Shore & Beach Preservation Association’s (ASBPA’s) 2021 National Coastal Conference was held as a virtual conference for the first time ever. After hosting in-person conferences every year for over 30 years, we made the decision in April to move the October Conference online and change the theme to “Navigating Stormy Times.” Although this seemed like a risky decision the spring, it was clearly the right choice. Hosting an online event was challenging and not something we plan on doing regularly, but it was mostly successful and actually had some advantages over an in-person conference.
The National Coastal Conference had over 430 people registered, nearly matching our best attendance ever. Hosting the conference online also allowed every presentation to be recorded for viewing after the conference, allowed speakers to attend who would not have been able to spend the time or funds to join in person, and offered much greater analytical tracking of what sessions, posters, and exhibit booths attendees viewed.
Robert Ramsdell, Director of Production Engineering and R&D with Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD), said, “The online experience was well thought out and easy to navigate. The option to view recorded presentations later is a big plus in the many cases when I wanted to see two presentations at the same time.”Greg Sraders, Geotechnical Manager, with GLDD added, “Also, we could decide to attend last minute and it was not a big disruption or big expense for travel.”
But as Lee Weishar with the Wood Hole Group, the 2020 Conference Co-chair, noted, “While the virtual conference was a huge success, it is in no way as exciting as meeting and seeing presentations in person. Let’s hope that this historic conference does not have to repeat itself!”Certainly, the energy and networking connections were not at the level that any of us would have preferred.Online networking is a new skill that many in our community need to improve– and something that we can learn from Generation Z – but it does not replace making in-person connections. The online networking function on the conference website had 180 people log-on, but that was less than half the attendees, and engaging others online takes a willingness to pro-actively reach out.
Given the expectations for the on-going pandemic and the likelihood of travel and gathering restrictions going into next year, ASBPA has announced that the 2021 Coastal Summit, usually held in DC, will be held online March 23-25. But the 2021 National Coastal Conference is being planned for in person in New Orleans, Sept. 28-Oct 1, 2021. There may be more online elements than past conferences, but ASBPA is looking forward to getting together again next fall.We hope you will join us.
DredgeWire was pleased to be a media sponsor for the 2020 ASBPA conference.
