Posted on Aril 24, 2024

IWCE 2024 hit Orlando the last week of March, and SBC and a large number of our members attended the show -- as exhibitors, speakers and sponsors. IWCE is one of the biggest and most important fixtures on SBC’s calendar – and this year’s installment did not disappoint.

After several years in Las Vegas, the 2024 version of IWCE took place at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando March 25-28, with the Conference spanning all four days, and the Expo taking place 27-28.

SBC's In-Building Communications educational track included three sold-out sessions and a special -- and very productive - Florida workshop. We also hosted some 150 SBC members at the annual Member Reception & Dinner. The Expo Floor open, SBC debuted our new, larger, open-concept hangout booth.

There is no better opportunity to connect with the Safer Buildings Coalition’s community, the in-building wireless sector, and the mission critical communications ecosystem than IWCE. The Informa team responsible for the IWCE convention offered amazing collaborative opportunities to the Coalition, including a full day of in-building wireless sessions, providing space in the convention center for the SBC Member Reception and Dinner, and facilitating 600 sq. ft. of space in the expo hall where we held non-stop visits and demos with our current and future stakeholders. We are especially grateful to the staff at IWCE for their willingness to create and innovate. Their support of the in-building wireless and mission critical communications sectors is second to none.

A Four-Part Educational Program
This year, SBC, in collaboration with IWCE, put together and hosted a full day's 4-piece educational program which, with a strong, insightful line-up of panelists, examined the current state of in-building wireless coverage, including a special interactive noon workshop focused on Florida: "Florida In-Building Public Safety Communications: Improve What Works, Fix What Doesn't.

IWCE’s willingness to create and innovate was especially appreciated in our Florida In-Building Workshop, featuring a collaboration among SBC, The Florida Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association (FFMIA), and IWCE. Taking advantage of this year’s Orlando location, IWCE opened the doors to Florida Public Safety (as well as many other public safety representatives from around the country) and industry to take a structured look at the issues of noise, interference, industry competency, best practices, and a constructive path forward for Emergency Responder Communication Enhancement Systems (ERCES) deployments in Florida and nationwide. The session, led by SBC and world-class facilitator Charlie Fleetham of Project Innovations, charted the current state of ERCES and a course forward for continual improvements. The workshop set the table for follow-up meetings with all attendees to ensure no loss of momentum in the insights documented during the session.

“The Florida Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association, with leadership from Executive Director Jon Pasqualone, and FFMIA President, Fort Lauderdale’s Deputy Fire Chief and Fire Marshal Jeff Lucas, showed tremendous collaboration, leadership, and caring of the first responders and citizens of Florida by helping to pull off our important workshop: Florida In-Building Public Safety Communications – Improve What Works, Fix What Doesn't. We are extremely grateful for their insights, support, and continuing efforts.”

John Foley, Managing Director, Safer Buildings Coalition

All four sessions were filled to the last seat, and we'd like to thank everyone who attended/participated in these important educational sessions.

Member Dinner - A New Approach
SBC's Annual Member Meeting, Reception & Dinner was a little different this year. Not only did the event take place in Orlando for the first time, we also made some key changes to the format after listening to input from our members.

- The dinner was held on Tuesday night, rather than Monday night. This enabled more members and guests to attend the event.
- More interaction and mingling; (much) less presentation. Perhaps the biggest change was the format of the evening itself. In previous years, our annual meetings/dinners have been centered around comprehensive presentations from SBC leadership, invited speakers, et al. As a result, guests spent the better part of the evening listening -- and looking toward the dais. This year, we wanted to make it more engaged, more interactive, and, importantly, more relaxed. So we handed the reins to -- facilitator extraordinaire -- Charlie Fleetham who came up with a wonderfully inspired "menu" for the evening.

The feedback from our guests was universally positive. Many expressed their delight in being seated with — and striking up conversation with — new people, having more time to mingle -- and for the generally relaxed and pleasant vibe of the evening. So yes: We'll do this again -- in Las Vegas next year.

A heartfelt thanks for everyone who joined us for the dinner. This was a highlight of the year for SBC leadership and staff as well!

2024 Member Dinner Image Galleries

We collected the best pictures from a wonderful evening.

Speakers

Dining

Mingling

Registration

Thanks for joining us, Members!

A Different Kind of SBC Booth
Like we did the member dinner, SBC also decided to change the playbook for our space on IWCE's expo floor. IWCE gave us a big 20x30 spot near the center of the floor. And rather than setting up our usual booth, we turned it into an open-floor cocept hangout, with ample and comfortable seating and refreshments -- and our new touchscreen kiosk as the centerpiece. Hanging above: Our huge banner ensured that Expo visitors would notice our spot as soon as they entered the hall.

For two full Expo days, we hosted and entertained members, prospective members and other guests as we saw a steady stream of visitors. Many also took the opportunity to just sit down, grab a drink or snack, charge their batteries -- and rest their tired legs.

Based on feedback from visitors, this, too, was a winning concept, which we'll revisit for future shows.

Thank you to everyone who swung by.

IWCE Orlando is behind us -- we hope to see you in Las Vegas next March - for IWCE 2025!