2025 TMSA HQ Year in Review

In this special end-of-year edition of On the Move, Jen brings the TMSA HQ team together, with potentially a few surprise guests, for a candid, behind-the-scenes conversation about the moments that defined 2025. From community wins to standout programs to the stories that made us laugh (or sweat), the team reflects on what made this year unforgettable for TMSA and its members.

But this episode isn’t just about looking back. We also pull back the curtain on what’s ahead in 2026, offering listeners early hints about new tracks, upgraded programs, and fresh ways to engage with TMSA all year long. Whether you’re a long-time member, a brand-new face, or a partner cheering us on, this episode captures the energy and momentum shaping TMSA’s next chapter.

Check out the Transportation Sales and Marketing Association (TMSA) website or engage with us on LinkedIn.

Transcript

Year-End Wrap And Welcome

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 0:22

Hello, everyone, and welcome to On the Move, a show where we share transportation sales and marketing success stories. I'm Jennifer Carpis Romain, Executive Director of TMSA, a trade nonprofit educating and connecting marketing and sales professionals in transportation and logistics. Today is our last show of the year. And so we wanted to do a special TMSA headquarters wrap-up. So on the show with me for now, I have Eileen Dobrowski, TMSA programs and member director. We do have some special guests coming in later in the show. So stay tuned. And yes, every single person that you will see today is dressed up in holiday nonsense because they followed the drill when I said please do. So we're excited to wrap up 2025 here at TMSA and thinking about what comes next. It's been an exciting year. Eileen has been a part of TMSA as a member previously. This was her first time here at headquarters for TMSA. So, Eileen, looking back on this year at headquarters, what stood out to you the most?

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Yeah, a hard question to answer, Jen, especially in a short time. But I think for me, uh TMSA changed my life when I was a member. So it's first of all awesome to give back and support the association in a different way. But I think what stands out the most for me is how much intentional momentum we built as a community. So we're going to be sharing some things that we're going to launch in 2026. And that was really derived from the population we strive to serve the most, our members. So this was the year, in my opinion, that TMSA moved from being an association people were a part of to being a community people can actively grow with. And that's really important to me as a human. Watching members dive into new education tracks, like hear their kind of initial chatter, collaborate across disciplines, share ideas. And let's be honest, a lot of this year has been us bonding together. I don't want to use the word trauma bond, but kind of 2025 has not been super magical. So I think the really important thing for me about TMSA has always been our sense of community. And uh so now we've taken that incredible intimate

From Members To Community

SPEAKER_01 2:40

sense of community. I can call a ton of people to vent, to troubleshoot, to work through an idea campaign. But now, in addition to that sense of community, we're elevating programming. We raise the bar for what professional development is going to look like for our transportation and logistics professionals. And then seeing people kind of get excited about maybe some new levels of confidence, belonging, and clarity has probably been a highlight for me.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 3:07

Absolutely. I would agree. I feel like I hit my four-year mark in November, which was kind of crazy, like officially here. Um, because similar to you, I was a member first. And so sitting in that and thinking about like, okay, now that I was a member for many years and then leading the association and having varying staff members throughout my my tenure here, but having you here as like an L and D expert, how can we actually elevate, if you will, pun intended, name of show, June 7th through 9th, next year in Denver. We'll get more to that later. But how can we do more for our members? How can we really excel with the team that we have, including headquarters, our board members, our committee members, being more targeted and focused with everybody's time? So it's been a lot of like labor of love and really figuring out where all the pieces can go. And I'm excited to move forward with that. I agree, like the momentum of being like, okay, I feel like the first couple of years for me was figuring out my own leadership path, what that looks like, how to do that, um, getting things under new management and flowing in a different direction. But now that I've been here and now that you're here, how could we really push things forward in into the next piece? Um, I'm curious if there was a moment then for you through all of that where it was kind of like, yes, this is why we do this. This is why we're here, this is why I continue to commit my time here at TMSA.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

Yeah, so so this was one of the associations that paved the way for me to be successful, I think, as a human, as a professional, as a former broker, as somebody who's always thrived in LD. But I think recently it's happened multiple times. Um, but one kind of let's call it a series of moments stands out for me. And it was when, you know, I do member calls. Here's how you can maximize your membership, here's why you should be pumped about 2026, here's right. So, and when you share, especially something you've been putting so much blood, sweat, and tears into, and and people you hope it lands well, but you're, you know, sort of going into it fingers crossed, seeing our members light up, right? Seeing our members tell me how excited they were about uh our big tracks, which we'll talk about in a minute, and how they believe it would help them better advocate for themselves at work, learn how to ask for promotions, shape and inform overall strategy, improve cross-team alignment, or basically simply feel more seen and supported in their roles. That is why TMSA exists, to help elevate marketing and sales professionals in their journey, whatever that journey looks like. And a lot of other associations, although they're wonderful, and I support a lot of other industry associations, because I think collaboration matters. Industry associations should not be, oh, we're we're competing. We should be how are we supporting people? And how can we work kind of cross-association uh level to support people? Because I think at the end of the day, especially when things get tough, as 2025 have has been, 2024 wasn't super great either. Uh, we have to pivot and kind of adjust with our membership. And our members were struggling, and we needed something to differentiate us. Um, and I've had members share with me, I feel

Personal Wins And Leadership Growth

SPEAKER_01 6:30

like when we go through this process, I'll finally have the language, I'll learn some new tools. Maybe I'll actually be confident in myself. That's the moment for me when uh things started to click. And and let's be honest, you you know, we all have things that we pour our passion and our heart into. But for me, seeing something so education-based come to life and get people excited. Like I can't tell you how excited I am. You're probably gonna hear me say it 900 times, but I cannot wait for Elevate because to see something that has been this, this journey and this idea come to life. My goal, and I know TMSA's goal, and Jenna has been your goal for as long as I've known you as a human, is to give people a place to belong to and a platform to grow, right? TMSA has always been known for its uh community and network. That's great, and I don't want to change that at all because that's phenomenal. But how can we build upon that? So that's the foundation, and now we're we're creating this platform to help members grow. That is incredible to me.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 7:33

I would agree. And my answer, you went very professional, so I'll go like personal in my answer. So there's two moments. So for me, um, I took this role because of my belief and passion for the organization, not because I had a um a lot of experience in what I was doing. And so, like I said earlier, like I feel like I'm now at a point where I can make strategic moves, which is what we're talking about. But having the members see that and like reinforcing that what we're doing and what I'm doing as a leader, they have confidence in is a big thing for me. So there's been two moments, um, which you already hear know both of them. But at Elevate, I told somebody I was the shiny penny because everyone knows who I am at Elevate and wants to talk to me, which is beautiful. And I wish I have spent six months trying to remember the person who told me that I wasn't a shiny penny, but a shiny silver dollar, and I should know my worth. And so that is really important. It was such a like fun off the cuff moment that we were having, but that was really like empowering, even though it was a joke, just because it is, but like that is part of my job is to like talk to everybody. And I wish I had more time to be able to do that, but it was really um cute and funny. And then at Executive Summit this year, um, I was having a conversation with one of our younger um female members, and she told me how impactful it was for her to see not just a female, a woman on stage leading an organization, but one who has piercings and tattoos and purple hair, one that like leads with such authenticity. And that was one of the most powerful moments I've probably had in my entire career, let alone this year, because you just tried to do your best and be yourself. And in those moments when you're just having an off-the-cuff conversation with another human and it it impacts them in a way that they feel empowered to tell you that. Um it was just an amazing moment for me. So, as you said, you know, TMSA is a space for belonging. We want everyone to be part of this community and to um find their space in it and and to grow forward. So really excited about what we have come next, what we have coming next. But before we dive fully into what we have coming next, I do want to pause and give a special shout out to the person who was our third member of our headquarters staff this year, and that's Morgan Bertner. She served as the marketing coordinator and podcast producer here at TMSA. She really dove in and filled a void for me that needed to be done, helped me produce this podcast, do all kinds of stuff. She worked with our awards. Um, but she will be moving on into new and different things. Um, but then I did invite her on the podcast, but she said, no, thank you. I would like you just to talk about me. She didn't say that either, but I told her I would talk about her as would Eileen because we've enjoyed working with her so much. And um, this year I actually served as her official mentor as well, which I will continue to do moving forward. But it's just been really cool to watch her learn and grow and move forward into her um

Why Tracks And Why Now

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 10:45

next steps as well.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Yeah, Morgan, you are a pure pleasure to work with. Um, and and my favorite kind of Morgan moment was helping me uh understand. So I'm not super into fashion or trends or right, and I never know what is it fashionable? Yeah, you're you're cracking up because you know exactly where I'm going. Um and and probably my favorite human-to-human, woman-to-woman moments with Morgan is I was wearing something and just somehow the price of what I was wearing came up. And I was like, I'm sorry, what? What do you mean? Like what this? I mean, not this Christmas tree. I'm sure this was very affordable. Um, but I had no idea because I call myself KmR in my relationship, and I happen to be married to Neiman Marcus, right? For for perspective. So Morgan opened my eyes, and naturally there was a phone call that was made. Um, but Morgan, it was like my favorite uh human moment with you.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 11:47

So thank you for sure. It was a beautiful outfit though. I still recommend you wearing it.

unknown 11:54

It better be.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 11:56

But, anyways, so moving forward, we've kind of teased this a little bit, but we've been able to sneak peek where we're going to go for 2026. Um, we've showed our board of directors and of course got their sign-off and approval on it. Um, we've been able to show our committee members. We've shared it early in early conversations with member calls. Um, I've been able to talk to upcoming sponsors about what we have going on. But TMSA for 2026 is moving to a track-based model. So, as we talked about, the we had such great community, we had great educational elements, but we just were not hitting fully where people needed to go. We still have people telling us, I need something higher level, or I need something more hands-on that's going to be tactful information for me. I want to be able to network with people that are just in my pocket of the industry or just in my job role. How do we do that? So we sat and we thought how we do that is creating a track-based model for TMSA that allows people to do all of those things and more when they get to elevate. So we're gonna have five tracks. We're gonna have um company leaders, marketing leaders, sales leaders, sales practitioners, and marketing practitioners. Every person that is a member of TMSA and every conference registrant will be able to choose a primary track, and you will have the opportunity to choose a parallel track if you so wish to. And part of why we did that is because we have so many of our members, so many of our conference attendees serve multiple plurals. Like you might be a VP of sales and marketing, and you're like, hey, what do I pick? Well, you pick one, the cohort that you would want to travel the most with at conference, but then you can still get all that information that's going on in the other track as well. Or maybe you're a marketing coordinator that one day wants to be a marketing director or a CMO or something like that. So you want to start receiving the information both at Elevate and through the rest of the year that is best targeted to that role. I'll pause because I was a lot of role.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Yeah, Jen, you shared a lot. Uh, can you tell us how passionate the two of us are about this? And and Jen, I kind of want to flip the script on you a bit and ask you a couple of questions because I think that this is such an important shift in uh TMSA's educational strategy. So, why do you feel it was important for TMSA to rethink how education is structured? Why now?

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 14:18

So now, because our members are asking for it. And I think that we're also in a part of we're no one is going to get any less busy. It is, you always say things are on fire. I feel like that's that's the case. Everybody is moving through life as fast as they can. They want to absorb information, but they need to have the information that's most relevant to them in ways that they can quickly understand it. And so having these five tracks allows us to better cater that content to what they're actually going through, what they actually need in more digestible content or even just longer form content that's more geared to what they are doing specifically.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

Love that, could not agree more. Now, I'm a big uh problem solver. I think so are you, so are you, Jen. So, what problem or pain point do you feel these tracks are designed to solve for sales marketing and leadership professionals, especially in transportation? Absolutely.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 15:14

So I think that the the track will solve there's one of your dogs trying to enter the show right now. Here we are. So I feel like structurally for TMSA, I really thought about the members who had uh that TMSA was the biggest impact for them. And it is the members who really jumped in, got involved in committees,

Five-Track Model Explained

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 15:40

um, utilized that as professional development tools. They went after awards, they um, like I said, joined committees, maybe multiple committees, maybe they rose to the board. They used it as a stepping stool in their careers and also to help build people on their teams. But admittedly, TMSA didn't do an awesome job explaining how that path could be done through our association. And so that's what we're trying to do with the tracks. We're saying, hey, you don't have to just send one person to elevate. There are multiple tracks, multiple people that you can engage with. You can, if you're a sales rep, just go to the networking for sales networking people. If you're a marketing leader, you can just talk to the marketing leaders. Of course, we will still have the general um networking stuff so you can still interact with everybody because me personally, um, I liked to network with people who weren't in my job title. I wanted to learn from others. So we didn't want to take those opportunities away. We just wanted to build on it so you had more customized places for you to learn and grow so that way you when you hit the office again, you have those tangible things to hit the ground running on immediately.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

I love that. Um, and and I I get to work with you on a daily basis, but I just love how passionate um and I think you'll feel that from both of us. We wholeheartedly believe in this because it's designed for our members. So, one more question for you, Jen. Uh you spoke to this a little bit when you mentioned kind of that primary and then uh kind of supporting track or you know, major minor, however you want to look at it. So, how do you think the tracks allow people to see themselves and their career path specifically uh more clearly, specifically at elevate?

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 17:19

So I think that when you're in your track, whether it's at elevate or even throughout the the rest of the year with the membership and how we're going to be catering content, even right now, if you go into the TMSA member portal, you can search by track and all of the information that's applicable to you will pull up. Those are the types of um tactical changes that we're making. But you'll be able to better understand what pieces of TMSA can align to you. For instance, we have a rising star award. Those are for people who've been in the industry for five years or less. Applications now being accepted through the NARA. Yes. And with that, then if you're a leader, we'll send you those, be like, hey, do you have awesome team members? You should nominate them. Whereas for the practitioners, we'll be like, hey, are you an awesome person in the industry? You should nominate yourself. Same with our purpose awards. Are you a community um-based organization? Is that something you guys really care about? Um, submit for that. And then of course we have our Travelers or campaigns. We'll help you build those steps. Um, we did we have members that will come in, take leadership in um one of our committees, whether that's subcommittee leadership or committee leadership, with committee leadership, you also get a board seat. So maybe you're a person who, hey, guess what? So many of our, especially on the marketing side, but we have people who are just one person teams. They may never get the opportunity in their current job to lead other people. At TMSA, then you can come in and you can build that skill set. You can learn, you can grow, you can um help other people usher different parts of their career. So you can build your skill sets outside of what you do every day, but still advancing your career.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

I love that. I love that. Thank you, Jen.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 19:04

Of course. And so, of course, we talked about like your experience is learning and development. And that's part of why when we had staffing shifts earlier this year, I'm like, please come on and let's see what we can really build. How can we really get to the heart of what our members and our attendees want? So you've told me that building the frame of these tracks has been your favorite thing that you've got to do so far at TMSA. So, why is that?

SPEAKER_01 19:30

Yeah, so I have two answers. One is like the nerd answer, and then one is just a cool human answer. So I'm gonna give you both. So building the framework for these tracks uh has been probably my favorite project I've worked on in a very long time, uh, because it represents like the very heart of what I believe TMSA is here to do create pathways for people to grow, belong, and thrive in this industry. I think since I've joined this industry over a decade now, which is crazy to think about. There hasn't been much structure or guidance. It was like, hey, you were good at your last job. Congratulations, you've now inherited a team of humans.

SPEAKER_04 20:09

Good luck, right?

Career Paths And Member ROI

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Buckle up. A lot of us figured it out or watched a podcast or sort of fangirled for people, but didn't really have a formal correct, you know, structure direction. And there really isn't many defined development or career paths in this industry. I think that that's slowly starting to change, but we still have a very long way to go. I'm also big on like the lack of shared language for what great looks like. People are so hesitant in our industry because it's so competitive to share, like, hey, here's where I crushed it. Maybe you can tailor that and make it your own. And I've always found TMSA to be different because people are more willing to share and be intentional. But building these tracks kind of addressed everything that I just said. We finally got to answer that gap with something meaningful, intentional, and future focused. It wasn't just curriculum developing. And I have a right, a PhD in that, that's great. Super. Don't often use it. This was one of those rare occurrences where I actually used my college degrees in like the very long time I went to school to build something that matters. To me, it was identity building. It said to our members, your career matters, your skills matter, your growth matters, and here's the framework to do it. And here's how we're going to support you in your journey. So as I mentioned, you know, the human version is it's cool to actually use something you put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into. In transportation, I haven't always used a lot of my formal education or academic experience. But getting to architect and be involved in this has been the true application of actually getting to use your degree to enact positive change. So I'm excited.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 22:00

Me too. And it's been cool because I know, like getting to tell our committee members about it. I've been on some sponsor calls and things like that, but you've been on a lot of our member calls and already getting positive feedback from them. So how do you think those member calls have evolved since you've been able to finally start talking about the track model for the next year?

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Yeah. So so first of all, the difference in it, you know, sometimes people are super pumped to talk to me. And I like to think I'm a fun human to talk to, but the reality is you mentioned this earlier, Jen, everybody's busy. You use the word flames. Many of us feel like we're going down in flames on a daily basis. When I start to talk about here's the ROI of your membership, and here's tangibly how we can help you create it. It's everybody, everything about that members mannerism shift, right? It's like the oh, tell tell me more about that, right? They perk up, they light up. I've I've been told the words like I feel seen because I felt really lost. Um, they start making connections, right, between the track content and then some of the challenges that they face every day. And to me, that's huge. You know, I'm big on, you know, you mentioned Jen, living with authenticity. Um, and and that is something else unique. Not everybody's journey looks the same. And the cool thing about it, while we're gonna have suggested tracks, it is not gonna be a, hey, you're only confined or you must stick to your track. If there's a topic, and I'm sure you're gonna go through that in a minute, but we built it fluidly to allow members to truly tailor their journey. And it does go beyond elevate. We're gonna talk about that a little bit more later, but our goal is to create year-long content that provides a path, but also builds enough flexibility and fluidity to allow members to kind of shift and chart their path. Some of the things that um members have said that really stood out to me was this is exactly what I needed that I didn't know I needed. Maybe this will help me finally figure out where I fit in, or this helps me understand where I'm going next in my career. Uh, you know, as I mentioned, it's been a rough year. So anything we can do to give hope and like that glimmer of like we have your back, I think really matters. Um, and especially right now with our call for speakers live. So, PS, anybody listening, we'd love to hear from you. And and just because you're at the practitioner

Call For Speakers And Awards

SPEAKER_01 24:20

level, that doesn't mean that there's not expertise that you can still share. And we also encourage collaboration uh amongst speakers. So just know that we'd love to hear from you and have you submit.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 24:32

Um, and I'm sure John will provide some links to that when we'll put those links in the show notes and know if you are listening to us, and hopefully it's before December 31st, because that's when the call for speakers closes. So I know it is a crazy month with the holidays, but we want to hear from you. And like Eileen said, practitioners still I want that's part of what we're talking about here. This is how you can advance your career by speaking at a practitioner level session, showing what you do every day and what you're doing great at, but then also building those skill sets to be able to speak in front of people. Um, some of my first shows I ever spoke at was a TMSA show, actually. Um, I was in my my former role and my boss could not come to that TMSA space. There you go. And um, then it just became one of my favorite shows to speak at. And of course, people probably get sick of hearing from me now at TMSA events. But um, I one of the biggest things that we've talked a lot about is just how much more value for the members that these tracks will build. So, do you want to talk a little bit on that?

SPEAKER_01 25:34

Yeah, so first of all, um, anybody who's a TMSA member, one of the things that has has been the most eye-opening is even if you've been a longtime member of TMSA or you're a new member. So, welcome to the family and we're glad to have you. We have an on-demand member portal that now allows you to filter by track. So you select the type of learning you want to do. Do you want to read a white paper? Do you want to read stuff that's specific to sales practitioners? You can already do that in our member portal. This is a great way to support new employees or greener employees or see other tactics or strategies from other uh transportation professionals. So that's one way. But I think I'm excited about this. Enhancing membership is clear pathways for growth, which I mentioned, the roadmap, it's not random, you know, pick pick a series of workshops at a conference. It's designed to build. So we're gonna lay the foundation for you and then allow you to set your journey. We're also really big on creating practical, relevant skills. So the Call for Speakers is a whole process, you're gonna hear more about that later. It's a collaborative effort of many, including our education committee, which is pretty phenomenal. But the goal is to create sessions where members get tools they can use immediately. So this isn't uh apply it in five years, it's stuff you can take home and activate that day. Um, it also creates a stronger sense of identity and belonging through a cohort model. So, what better way to learn best practices than be in a kind of contained collective environment with people in similar roles? Jen, you mentioned that it was always a highlight for me attending TMSA events. And with that, there's gonna be better networking and peer-to-peer support. Because as I said, you're gonna be with these humans over the course of your educational journey through TMSA. So it's gonna be a group of humans that you can now call on to leverage and ask for support, and you can be the same for them. There's lots of development there that doesn't happen. Another thing I'm really excited about is career advancement power. So members can point to their track participation as a measurable investment in their roles. So I used to love end-of-year reviews because I'm a document queen. Here's all the stuff I did, right? And it makes it hard to argue. This is a tangible learning path that you can take to your end-of-year review or to that next promotion you're gonna ask for and say, hey, look how I invested in myself. Here's what I learned, right? We want you to attend elevate and bring back what you learned and what you know and share it with your team, share it with your boss, share it with your leader. Um, and then you know, we can't talk about individuals without talking about organizational ROI. So companies now see TMSA as a way to develop their entire teams, not just individuals. And it becomes easier for companies to justify memberships when they see that upskilling and industry benchmarking. So, in short, right, I know that's a lot, but these tracks, these tracks, in my opinion, take the TMSA experience from good content to career changing development, and they make our membership

Announcing The Elevate MC

SPEAKER_01 28:40

not just valuable but essential.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 28:44

Absolutely. Um that I'm all super excited about it. It does look like you might be getting a little grainy in your video. So hopefully you will come back. But I heard everything, which is good. And we are um, as Eileen said, this a lot of this participation and the tracks and the breakdown will be going on at Elevate. So we are going to Elevate June um 7th through 9th in Denver, and I'm excited to bring on our first special guest who's been diligently sitting in the back room waiting for this announcement. So we are going to announce who is going to be the 2026 MC of Elevate, and we are happy to welcome back Coleman Rathen.

unknown 29:30

Yay!

SPEAKER_05 29:32

I'm glad to be back. I made the cut. I'm so excited, you guys.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 29:36

We are so excited to have you back. Um, we had you as our MC back in 2024, which was just last year, but I um I keep thinking about like what a tough year for you to do that because it was our 100-year anniversary. I'm like, hey, I'm cool, calm and collected through this entire show. There's no additional stress or elements going on for me. Um, but it was great to work with you then and excited to have you back. So, what made you say yes to returning to MC for LB 2026? Because I don't know if people actually know that that was your first time, like MC.

SPEAKER_05 30:14

Oh, 100% was. It was a plus. Yeah, exactly. Now, what made me say yes this time, aside from you saying you were gonna break my fingers if I didn't, um, I'm I'm completely just kidding. It this was honestly the easiest yes I could have ever said. Um, it's not only an honor but a pleasure getting to work with both of you again, some of the other people that are behind the scenes making everything happen, and just being a part of this community. Uh, there is never a single moment where I felt like you know, people were judging me or anything along those lines. This is you guys have touched upon it uh multiple times on this talk so far, but the community here is is one of the most welcoming and the best that's out there. So it was a very, very easy yes when I uh you asked me.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 30:57

Well, I'm excited to hear that. Um, excited to have you back. Um, do you think that it'll be less pressure the second time around, especially because it's not 100 years and because like you've done it before now, as opposed to this being a brand new experience?

SPEAKER_05 31:13

Yeah, you know, I don't I don't think that there's either less or more, right? I think that there's an equal amount of pressure because we always, and again, this is going with both of you as well. We want to make sure that we're putting on the best experience and show for everybody. Um, but uh, you know, there were some big shoes to fill. Charlie absolutely crushed it last year. So maybe there's a little bit of added pressure from that standpoint. But again, everybody is is so welcoming and easy to go in front of and speak with. So I don't think that there's less or more. Really, I would say it's just more of the excitement. So maybe the pressure is kind of feeling from internal, but there's nothing from the external side of things.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 31:48

And question for Eileen How mad were you that Coleman left you to put the signs up by yourself this year?

SPEAKER_01 31:56

Coleman, I can't confirm or deny that there was a therapy session entirely devoted to so for anybody listening in, if you've not put up an expo booth or any type of like banner signs for your organization or an industry association, there's nothing that has ever made me so feel so unintelligent as a human, as the banner.

Denver Host Perks And Vibes

SPEAKER_01 32:20

So so last year or this this year, Coleman bailed on me. So I was left to my own devices, which was very rough. And I want to give a special shout out to our uh recent award winner, Mr. Mike, who uh stepped up and filled Coleman's shoes.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 32:36

So Coleman with Revit Nova in case since we just broke it. He definitely like won an award and then helped us put take the banner in.

SPEAKER_01 32:44

And carry the signs.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 32:46

And carry the signs, which community, I tell you.

SPEAKER_05 32:50

Yeah, Coleman. I also oh go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 32:52

No, I was gonna say, don't think that just because you're MCing, now you're out of the uh structuring of the uh signs, you're back in.

SPEAKER_05 33:02

Oh yeah, oh yeah, I am happy to help, but I also don't want to steal Mike's thunder. It sounded like he filled in admirably. So he does still want to be involved. Please feel free.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 33:12

And I they both know like I I have PTSD from one time I sliced my finger at a TMSA show, right open. Um, so I can't touch signs. I will go into a corner and cry. Um, so signage, this is you can tell we're sales and marketing people because I feel like every single person listening to the beauty has their own story. Feel free to let us know. We want to hear about them. But one thing that's super exciting about Elevate for Coleman is we are in Denver for 2026, which is where you live. So, how does it feel? Like we've been in the hot, hot south for years, and now we're coming up to Denver and you get to, you know, MC in your hometown. How do you feel about that?

SPEAKER_05 33:54

Yeah, it's gonna be amazing, right? Like it's still gonna be hot here at this time, it's not gonna be anything like some of the other places that we have been. But I'm excited to find though, which is exciting about very much so go outside, experience some of the stuff that's around. And I would love to be uh people's not only MC but host in the city. So if we want to go do some fun stuff downtown, I'm happy for recommendations to take people there, maybe introduce some people to the local food and scene. So Rocky Mountain Oysters, if anybody's familiar with those, um, but a couple of other things too. But I'm also just excited to see people at high elevation, like one of the highest elevated cities here, and to see how it's affected some people. Um, but it's it's gonna be a blast. Like I'm I'm really just I I I would consider it, yes, an MC, but I really want to be a host for everybody, welcoming not only to the city that I live in, show hims a good time, but also make sure they're having a blast uh at elevated.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 34:44

And I am most excited that as MC, that means I get to hang out with your wife again.

SPEAKER_05 34:49

Yes. Everybody says that. Everybody that's ever met my wife, she's like, hey, Coleman, you're cool, but your wife is way cooler than you are. So yeah, so hopefully she doesn't steal too much of my thunder this time around.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 35:01

She will. Um, but excited to have you back. And speaking of having people back at Elevate, we are bringing in our last guest of today, which is Kyle McNott. He's been sitting so nicely in the back room. Kyle is, oh, let me get your little thing up. Um, is business development avian video content producer at Five Tool Productions. So um, Five Tool is our official A V and video partner now for a second year in a row. This is Kyle's fourth elevate. I was thinking of that when I was doing the show notes. It seems crazy. Um welcome back. How are you feeling? Thank you all for wearing your beer.

SPEAKER_00 35:44

Uh first of all, uh this MC over here immediately is offering Rocky Mountain Oysters. Like, I don't know what kind of host you think you are, like what you're trying to do to the people. Like, trying to.

SPEAKER_05 35:57

Like it's a rite of passage. And then it's horrible.

SPEAKER_00 36:01

That's also bad about Chicago and stuff. No one should do any of that crap. Uh yeah, I'm excited. Very excited that we're not in a hot area. So when I'm

AV As Invisible Backbone

SPEAKER_00 36:10

lugging all that stuff around, all the AV gear, I'm not gonna be a sweaty mess like I normally am for Elevate. Uh so fantastic for this. Uh, excited to be in the higher altitude, because according to Coleman, that's something different. Um, can't wait to see what happens when we're there. But yeah, it's gonna be fun. Uh also, Eileen, I helped you set up the banners. How come I don't get a shout out? I was the one who was a good one.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

I was just dogging on Coleman.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 36:34

Yeah, but you didn't you didn't win an award and then do it. So what happened there? Because I was running the award show. Yeah, I know. But so, Kyle, you've been to many, many shows, both in the industry and out of the industry. This is your fourth elevate. I'm curious, your perspective, what makes us different than other conferences?

SPEAKER_00 36:55

I mean, you guys are a party, you guys are a blast. It is it is it's fascinating of like seeing how everyone kind of comes together and like it is seeing old friends. Like we do a decent amount of AV, we go around. Uh, most of the time, especially in conferences, like people have their motivations, what they're trying to do and stuff. But this one, Elevate always feels like it's people coming together to see their friends and talk and kind of learn together. Like I told you when we first started, like, I was I worked as a director of marketing and logistics. I was that one person team, like with running the company store, not understanding what was happening, and didn't feel like I was getting developed, felt like I was living on my own little world. I went back into video world, but then I met Eugen and we went into Levate. I was like, if I would have known about this, I probably still would have been in logistics. Like, it's what really makes me.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 37:43

It took you four years to say that on camera for me. I finally wanted to do it when he did his first on the move appearance, but here we are again.

SPEAKER_00 37:52

I'm behind the camera for a reason. I'm not, I don't have cold teeth, I don't have I leave dog. I'm just gonna stay behind the camera, make sure it all works. I love that you guys were chatting me of who broke the uh whose camera was wrong with you two. Uh during who was it?

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 38:07

Whose camera was wrong?

SPEAKER_00 38:08

Was it yeah? It was you, buddy.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 38:12

It's okay, because I was like, the audio was fine.

SPEAKER_00 38:18

But yeah. Your outfit was on point. That's why that's what happened.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 38:23

Probably we've been talking about how going to conferences so much, yes, we are a community, but there's learning and engagement that's important too. So, how do you think I personally, which Kyle knows because he hears endlessly when I work with other people, my opinions, but how do you feel A B and video that experience contributes to the learning and the experience for conference attendees?

SPEAKER_00 38:51

Oh, it it's it it's vital. I mean, again, the conference is the conference, the the the culture, the vibe, all that stuff of what you're creating. But A V should play a role in helping everyone get to experience it. It shouldn't be something that you're kind of paying attention to, especially when there's bad A V, uh, when mics don't work and stuff like that. It really is distracting and it has a hard time for people to feel involved, um, especially when you're kind of sitting there. I I what's really cool about Elevate is everyone kind of comes together and stuff, but like if it's your first time, you still also want to be able to hear and see and everything. Um, it's fun uh because the MCs and like all the speakers kind of buy into it and kind of keeps the energy going. But again, A V should be something that you know it's there, but it shouldn't distract. Uh so that's kind of where we try to make that work. But the other cool thing is how you're thinking about it, Jen, of like, how do we make this where this isn't just a two day conference, it's 365 days a year. So, how are we creating the content here? How do we keep the stories going? How do we keep the uh education going? And that's sort of one of the cool things that we're doing, uh coming up for at least the Denver one, uh, for sure.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 39:55

And um, you have been able to take that A B knowledge and accept. Even further because you actually started serving on the TMSA education committee after being ass told nicely. Um, but I think it's really cool because you're able to then share a different um perspective and point of views, but also it's nice because like sometimes the education community will be like, let's do all this stuff, and I'm like, that is not at

Partnership, Trust, And Show Flow

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 40:20

a price point that we can afford. So it's nice having that. But like, how do you think then we're talking about these track developments, how we're gonna make it work? Like you said, A B should be there to support the show. How do you think we're able to execute on this big of a change of what we're doing for next year?

SPEAKER_00 40:36

Um, because you have the best in the biz. Uh, no big deal. Kind of don't miss. Uh honestly, it's it's the fact that we're a partnership. I think that's kind of we all know, like, that's kind of the best case scenario when it comes to like business. You want a partner, you don't want a service, you're not just like trying to do this. Like, you and I talk constantly of like how do we work this agenda? How do we put things in there? We were going through the education committee and you like showed us the calendar. I was like, hey, we might want to think about not making that networking thing the day after the party, just because people might not immediately show up for that. And if I was wanting to network, I'd be a little mad. But like, that's the cool stuff that we have of like because you and I and like the education committee all comes together, we're able to talk it through. It's not just like making a guess, like, that's one of the hardest things. I always feel bad for you because you are the executive director, Jen. Coleman, never feel bad for uh I lean always feel bad. Uh, but uh like you have all these things you have to juggle. So like I feel horrible because you're like, man, I gotta like try to remember all this stuff. But like when we talking, you're just like, hey, I came up with this idea for what we could do for the conference. I'm gonna use Chat GPT when I can, but I also have like it's all my thoughts up. We get to bounce those ideas back and forth. So I think that's gonna be some of the cool stuff, especially with these tracks of how how much thought there is put into this. It's not just a usual, like, here's the breakout rooms, and like we don't really think about it. There's a lot of intention uh that you've kind of put into this, and what we're gonna be doing AB wise is gonna be fun. Uh, couple me running around with my head cut off. Uh, Conference Kyle might be making an appearance.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 42:06

I know you hate to see Conference Kyle, but well, you got to see Conference Jen at her best in Austin.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

So yes, I felt very bad for the hotel staff uh when Jen came out of the elevator. Uh my jaw dropped. I was like, oh, this is not.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 42:21

I was in the middle of curling my hair and they weren't putting tables where they said they would go. So I just looked crazier than I probably needed to, but I was trying to curl my hair. The good news is I invested in curlers instead of a curling iron. So if I come down next year, it's gonna be curlers, even better.

SPEAKER_00 42:41

That's awesome. Yeah, uh that I felt so sad for the hotel staff. She she just had a kid. I was like, oh no, ma'am, you need to run, like you are not safe right now. Like, but we solved it. That was sort of like what we worked out. I knew what you were looking for.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 42:55

Yes, I didn't like it. And that's like to your point with the partnership, like, so yes, I it was probably of all of the four years of the eight events or whatever I posted, it is the one time I feel like I went a slightly feral, but it was really because yeah, they were they were saying that they couldn't put the tables where they said that we could, and I tried to call the hotel contact, she didn't answer. But speaking to the partnership of Kyle, Kyle then was in the group chats because I was trying to avoid coming downstairs with my hair half done. Okay. And then I came down and the elevator doors open, and Kyle was standing there, and he goes, Go back upstairs, I have it covered. I will get the tables where they need to go. And I said, Okay, and I turned around, and so then no one else besides Kyle got to experience the original reader, which was great. But um, I do think that that is part of the partnership and like understanding what it is we're looking for, and you knew what was going on and why we needed to fix it. And that space just was not big enough to put those tables. I feel like they should have just said that at the beginning, but disregard. Um, so you've now done, you know, this will be four elevates. What are and one thing I want to know, and maybe people don't know, um, at TMSA, when we do this stuff, so yes, like Five Tool is our partner, but they are also a partner member. Like we really try to engage with our community as much as we can. So as a partner, uh video partner, but as a partner member, like what are you most excited about heading into 2026?

SPEAKER_00 44:22

Oh, I the tracks, I mean, the what what you're doing and how we're making this kind of work out. Like, I've always found elevat your TMSA in general to be like this amazing kind of like sandbox, right? Like, you get to learn, you can you have these ideas of like, hey, I have to do this type of content, or I'm doing this in my marketing role, in my logistics company or my sales role. The fact that like you get to kind of learn from leaders and stuff like that if you're kind of more of a practitioner, but the way now you're kind of like creating like almost like a like an institution, right? It's like, oh yeah, everyone's gonna be walking around, all the marketers and sales and talk about like, yeah, I'm part of TMSA, like this is how I got to it. I'm gonna continue to further my career, but it's also like your friends and stuff. So it's gonna like such a cool way that you're going about this. Uh, and again, it it the attention to detail, what you're trying to do when it comes to these tracks is really cool. And I'm excited. Uh just because I do see it. I go to a decent amount of conferences, we help all this stuff. Like, you're absolutely doing something that's different than I've ever seen.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 45:18

Well, exciting. Looking forward to it. Hopefully, not too tall in order, but no. Um, we're really excited, and and yes, it is very thoughtful um in the approach and how we're doing

Building A Year-Round Learning Engine

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 45:30

it. And it's for me, it's most exciting to start seeing the pieces come out of my brain and into reality, which is great. Um, and I think anyone that's watching this can tell that like the four of us are friends in in real life. Um, and I feel like that helps with that too. But Coleman and Kyle, um from your perspective, because you've worked together, what makes it so like MCAV partnership live event? Does it need to be cohesive or can it fall apart? Like, how important is it to the quality of my show for the two of you to get along publicly?

SPEAKER_05 46:04

Kyle's already talked enough, so I'll I'll take this one and then he can add add color where necessary. Uh, it's everything. Now, I'm gonna take it one step further. I mean, you were just talking about it. We are all friends, I would like to consider on this, and I think that the foundation of all of that is trust. Like, I think that if things were to ever go wrong, I have the trust there that between us four, we're gonna get it figured out. And Kyle said it perfectly earlier from an A B standpoint. It's one of those things that's absolutely necessary in a show, but everybody takes it for granted unless things go wrong. If things go wrong, they're like, oh man, this guy really screwed this up or whatever it is. But when things go perfectly smooth, that's when people don't even consider it. So I think that there's that trust there that if and when things go wrong or things fall short, we're all here to work together to make sure that we're gonna overcome it. Again, some of the stories that you were sharing before. Um, so all that being said, Jen, to answer your question, at the the foundation of it is really that trust. And again, us all being friends, we work very well together. Um, so we need to have that in order to make a great show, not only for yourself, but everybody else.

SPEAKER_00 47:10

We work well together, we dance well together.

SPEAKER_02 47:12

Coleman and I like So before we got on this, I was actually thinking about how much the four of us love to dance and how once it is like I was like of all the people I've danced the hardest with and out and about.

SPEAKER_05 47:28

Yeah. Yeah. So if I trust you guys with my dance moves, then yes, you know that there is actual trust there, that's for sure.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 47:38

And then on the flip side, so um Eileen is in charge of the the speaker, so as program director, and then Kyle obviously is in charge of the A B standpoint, and there's so much um collaboration that I don't think people outside of event management would really understand how much you guys have to work together. Um, and trust that you will give the right information at the right time, and like that we're giving that even like Eileen prepares the whole master file, gives it to Kyle, but then if there's a typo, Kyle can fix it on the spot so that no one knows about it. Like that kind of trust is really important. And so, well, from my perspective, but I would love to hear your guys' thoughts on it.

SPEAKER_00 48:18

Oh, yeah. I mean, it's like working together as a team, like it's awesome. Uh, it's super fun, especially for me from the A V side, because like it is working with friends, like I do get to kind of work together. Like, Eileen and I went through it. We were like, remember the uh Sunday before in Austin where we're walking through the schedule, we're like making sure all the slides we missed a typo. I missed it. Uh, but like we walk through all that stuff, made sure it all looked right. I mean, those are the types of things that we kind of work together with, and like it's all the three of us combined, right? Like, we come together to make this all smooth as possible. So, like, Coleman needs to know everything that, like, what he needs to know, so he can also set the tone. He's on stage. Eileen and I get to hide behind the stage, uh, but we're also there to make sure Coleman

Registration, Gratitude, And A Surprise Question

SPEAKER_00 49:00

can kind of do everything he needs.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 49:01

Public faces on stage, yeah. People behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_01 49:07

Um, so I love that, Kyle. And I could not agree more. So, so I think one of the misses that many associations and and conferences miss, is connecting all the pieces together, right? Most things live in isolation. You know, we all obviously clearly trust each other. I would trust the people on this call uh with my life, definitely with my dance skills. For sure. But but I think, you know, aside from the trust, it's that shared intention. I think what sets us apart, and that's of all of us on this call, is we understand the why behind it, right? If if the first domino falls and we we mess up the timing on one thing, it affects literally everything after that. If we don't set a speaker up for success, it affects kind of everything after it. We get kind of one shot, especially next year. We're getting one shot in person uh to really showcase this tracks, launch this tracks, and create a valuable experience for members. So I get to focus on building speakers up, but I can do that with confidence because Kyle's equipped me to know what I need to tell them, right? And then I know that Coleman is gonna pick up the pieces as an MC, understand the speakers' vibe, understand the timing, right? And then Jen's gonna hurt all of us because that's what she does, right? Um but Kyle, Kyle and I align on everything from like pacing, timing, formats, transitions, room layouts, like I can't tell you how much details matter. Um, and and we just see each other and like no, okay, like wrap it the F up, right? Or move it along and and kind of so I couldn't be more thankful. Um, I think the thing about AV partners is you have they are gonna make or break your show. And there's lots of things that I'm involved with that I sort of like kumbaya prayers, right? Cross your fingers before I don't, that is not an issue here. Five tool has been phenomenal. Um, and I think more specifically working with Kyle now uh for so many years in a row. Like I'm not worried about this. We gotta be worried about it.

SPEAKER_05 51:16

Yeah, we don't want to we don't want to pump Kyle's tires too much, but I wholeheartedly agree with everything Eileen just said. Like it is absolutely insane with, I mean, especially between us three, how many shows we've been a part of or experienced where Amy or technical goes wrong, and then nobody's there to fix it. So I don't want your head to get too big, Kyle, but y'all do a pretty darn good job.

SPEAKER_00 51:36

Oh, thank you guys.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 51:37

I agree. And like as I mentioned at the beginning of this part, like if I'm whether I'm at a conference or if there is a conference that we didn't perder fully with Five Tools in the past, like Kyle, from the beginning of the conference to the end of the conference, I tell him everything that went wrong and ask him how we would fix it if it happened. Like when he says we talk often to make things go correctly, like he's not kidding, he has to deal with me all actually, all three of them have to deal with me in different ways all the time. Um, but like I feel like that's really important because things do go wrong. And I agree, like, if there's an audio or visual problem, that's what people remember. If everything goes perfectly, they're not gonna say, Oh, the A B was stellar, but they should. And so, but um, we we really do work hard to uh get things where they need to go, and it is exciting part of why I wanted an official like A V partner was so that Kyle did come in five tool came with me year to year because as the event planner, having to re-explain every single conference what I'm looking for, like even something silly, like the wellness room. Like, this is the vibe we're going for here. No one got it until Kyle showed up and was like, boom, soundbar, lights, got it. And I was like, perfect. I didn't think this was a hard thing to explain, but no one got it. So I think that those things are important. So um, I appreciate all three of you. Very excited for Elevate. You can register early bird registration at events.tmsa today.org. Early bird registration is now through the end of January. So go ahead and get those best prices that you're looking for if you want to hang out with the four of us and all of your other friends that will be at TMSA. Um, I want to also just give a thank you to all of our members, all of our listeners. Um, more people come up to me and be like, Oh, I love your podcast. I really appreciate that. I started my career in journalism. So, this is one of my favorite parts of my job is getting to sit with our members and our community members and get to talk with them. It's um highlight. And I appreciate everyone. Do you guys have anything else that you want to add before we sign out for on the move 2024?

SPEAKER_01 53:48

Yeah, so so Jen, you normally ask people on the podcast a question, but we have all already been on the podcast, so we're canceling that. And instead, we're not gonna ask you your question, we're gonna ask you something very random that you're not prepared for.

SPEAKER_05 54:03

Yeah, and it keeps it more interesting, right? Um, so the question that we have is if you were to pick three people dead or alive that you're gonna have a group dinner with, I feel like Kyle's like we did not agree that this was the question. We didn't agree with this. I had no idea this thing was happening. Remember, circle of trust. You guys trust me. It's gonna be a good question, don't worry. Okay, three people dead or alive that you're gonna have a group dinner with. Who are those three people?

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 54:31

Okay, so the first person I would pick is my grandma Carol, because she don't say she dead, so that sounds awful. She is deceased, but she was one of my favorite people ever, and she um was a guiding light. Um, I want to believe that if you know me, you would think I have an empathetic heart that will listen to everyone and hopefully make everyone feel included. And that is what I think is one of the best parts of me, and that 100% came from my grandma.

SPEAKER_05 55:01

One of many good things. Thank you. Thank you.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 55:04

Um, the second person would then be my son, Monroe, um, because I would want him to be able to meet my grandma and because he's awesome. Um, fun fact my son nicknames all of my industry friends. So you have Dino friend over here, um, coolites Coleman down here, and the the I can't, which Kyle hates because he doesn't think that Coleman earns the title, and the greatest AV video man in the world, Kyle. Um this is how he refers to them exclusively um at home. And there's other ones that he has too, which is just really funny. But I always wanted him to be able to meet my grandma. She was gone before he um existed, and then the third one that's the tricky one.

SPEAKER_05 55:50

Um there's gotta be a celebrity in there at some point, right? That makes me sound terrible because none of mine would be in my family tree. Now I'm like, oh, I'm not a very

Closing Thanks And 2026 Invite

SPEAKER_05 56:00

empathetic person. This is terrible.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 56:01

Oh, yeah. No, mine would come from the heart. I would feel like some type of ancestor that I've never heard of, that I would want them to be able to tell me something that they wish people remembered about them. Because that like that saying that like you die twice, once when you die, and once when the last person on earth remembers you, like I hang into that for a while. So I would pick a carpis or Sileo, that's my mother's maiden name, um, which I shouldn't say publicly because people search me, but but I would have some type of ancestor that would tell me something about our family line that does isn't known anymore, so that I could carry it on to them.

SPEAKER_05 56:41

That's awesome. That's a great answer. Great answer. Yeah. And on the spot too.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 56:49

Yeah, I know. I was like, okay, I had no idea where you were gonna go when you said it. And then watching Eileen and Kyle's face while Cohen was asking may have been my favorite part of the show. So to recap, I had to ask a question since I get to ask the questions all the time. That was fun and impromptu. Thank you to all of our members and everyone in the TMSA community. And a special thank you for these three people that deal with me every day, which is just clearly uh the best part of their days. Um, we hope to see you all next year in uh Denver for TMSA Elevate. You can go ahead and register for that. And if you want to know more about TMSA, me and Eileen are here to answer your questions at any time. You can go to tmsa today.org and you can get in touch with us. We're also on LinkedIn and ready to chat all the time. So this will be the last on the move of 2025. So happy holidays, happy new year to everybody, and we'll see you in twenty twenty-six.

SPEAKER_01 57:50

Christmas tree, come on.