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FGIA staff is eagerly preparing for the Virtual Fall Conference October 6-8 and we are all excited to share the knowledge and expertise of several speakers. Our presenters will focus on topics our members care about most, like the state of a post-COVID-19 economy, safety awareness during the pandemic, fenestrations of the future, commercial design trends for fenestration and glazing and more. If you haven’t already, you can still get access by registering now. Early bird pricing ends Monday, September 28.

If you attended the Virtual Summer Conference in June, you know our online format makes it easy to ensure you are in the right “room” at the right time. While we are adding some sessions with multiple tracks this time to make sure there is technical content appealing to everyone, many of our speakers will be across-the-board presenters. This includes Dr. Chris Kuehl (Armada Corporate Intelligence), who will give his keynote address Tuesday on the post-COVID-19 economy, titled “Ten Patterns Likely to Change.” Earlier that day, an FGIA members only session will cover a market study update from researcher Nick Limb (DuckerFrontier).

On Wednesday, Michael Cook (Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope) will give his presentation on safety awareness. YouTube star and builder Matt Risinger (Risinger Build), back by popular demand following his 2019 Fall Conference appearance, will deliver “Fenestrations of the Future – Today!” On Wednesday afternoon, participants will hear a U.S. and Canadian legislative and regulatory report from FGIA U.S. Codes & Regulatory Affairs Manager, Kathy Krafka Harkema, and FGIA Glass Products and Canadian Industry Affairs Director, Marg Webb. Winding down the day before the Virtual Happy Hour, Oak Moser (Coaching2Connect) will deliver a session titled, “How to Get People to do What You Want: Two Processes You Can Follow to Increase Your Influence with People.”

On Thursday, those at the conference will gain insight into commercial design trends, including exterior, fenestration and glazing requirements, as offered by William Babbington (Studio NYL). Before the conference closes out Thursday, Kathy and Marg will share a codes update for the U.S. and Canada, respectively.

Our two Virtual Happy Hours will be Tuesday and Wednesday after each day’s last session, and each night will offer different themes. For Tuesday, choose from the Halloween/Thanksgiving costumes room, “Sports Talk,” “Hidden Talents” and the “Good News” room. Wednesday’s choices are “Proud Pet Parents,” “Time Machine” (bring those old photos to share!) or “Travel Stories.” When FGIA staff gets together for happy hour on Zoom, we have a blast sharing vacation stories (sometimes vacation horror stories!), photos from our high school graduations and weddings or showing off our household pets.

Will you be participating in the FGIA Virtual Fall Conference? If so, comment below. If you’re not yet registered, there’s still time! Early bird registration for members is $249. Non-member registration is $499. For an additional fee of $249 (members) and $499 (non-members), an upgrade to the registration can be purchased that includes unlimited company employees participating from unlimited locations and/or connections. See you there!