With all of the disruption and uncertainty brought on by this administration, it feels a little surreal to be knee-deep in planning for our summer Community Media Conference & 50th Anniversary Celebration in Salt Lake City. And yet, the thought of being in community IN PERSON with fellow community radio leaders, movers, and shakers is electrifying. If there was ever a time to meet, convene, share stories, drop nuggets of wisdom and support in our ever-changing and hyper-important industry…that time is now.

NFCB conferences occupy a unique little niche in the landscape of public media gatherings across the country. Our conference is one of few in the nation that offers sessions related to the full breadth of issues affecting community radio stations today: from underwriting and development to the volunteer culture and your airchain, and everything in between. And on top of it all, most of these sessions are led by peer experts. In this way we flatten the hierarchy, decrease barriers to access, and increase meaningful networking.

And yet, despite all the planning, coordination, design, and writing that our small staff does to produce the best conference we possibly can, the feedback we receive most often from attendees is that downtime = quality time. Those unstructured moments, the hallway chats that turn into life stories, the post-session contact sharing, laughing together at group meals… These are some of the moments that carry the most impact in keeping us rooted in our work and feeling supported in our industry. With that in mind, we’ve made sure to design-in plenty of space and time for those connections! Stay tuned for our Early Bird Registration announcement that will include some details about our keynote speakers and pre-conference workshops.

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This year’s conference artwork was illustrated and hand cut from linoleum blocks by Moab artist Riley Lubich. Riley’s work beautifully captures the wonders of the state of Utah with a sweet inclusion of the NFCB “broadcasting dandelion.” You’ll see this artwork on various press materials and some really cool swag, which will be unveiled soon.

Delicate Arch, the Wasatch Range, Prickly Pear (opuntia) cactus, Sego Lily (Calochortus nuttallii), sagebrush (Artemesia Tridentata) the Turkey Vulture (cathartes aura) and more blend together to provide a tapestry of the beauty of Utah.