Annual Meeting attendees gather for the Welcome Cocktail Party, the first official event of the 2016 get-together.
We dove into the 2016 Caribbean Show!
The 33rd Annual Meeting of the Caribbean Cable & Telecommunications Association, held in dynamic San Juan, Puerto Rico, was a fun-filled three days for the 319 individuals who attended. Luckily, very few individuals were negatively affected by blizzard Jonas and the storm's impact on travel arrangements in the eastern United States. The mood of the Caribbean Show was upbeat, friendly and decidedly warm. The Caribbean Salsa Party brought out the "moves" of many attendees, who danced to the very last strains of live music at the evening event.
Individuals came from around the world to attend the 2016 Annual Meeting. Participants represented 146 different companies or organizations from 28 distinct nations or jurisdictions in North America, South America, Europe and the Caribbean. The Exhibit Hall featured 73 companies demonstrating products, services and programming. A complete list of the 319 attendees to the 2016 Caribbean Show can be obtained by contacting CCTA Executive Director Andrea Martin at info@cctanet.com.
With an emphasis on "Exploring the Depths of Cable and Telecommunications in the Caribbean", speakers and sessions followed this theme. A rapt audience listened intently to the discussion on "Merchandising Consumer Content Across Multiple Platforms in the Digital Age". Led by moderator Jeff Kreger, international experts Shahid Butt from Broadshark, Raelene Rydzik from Cable & Wireless Communications, and Jeremy Simon from TELUS discussed marketing and selling video content across numerous digital platforms.
The four other on-target educational sessions also contributed to the success of the Annual Meeting. Aaron Wesley Means of ACTIVATE Business Solutions drew a packed crowd for his presentation on "Super-Charging your Marketing in 2016 with the Newest Trends in Email, Social, and Mobile". The very relevant technical topic "Find and Stop Revenue Losses From Fraud and System Management" was discussed by Stephane Bourque of Incognito. Michael Carrosquilla of Patriot Media brought his unique perspective on "Maintaining Profitability in an Ever-Changing Cable World". Scott Helms of ZCorum reviewed the "Current Challenges and Upcoming Advancements in In-Home Wi-Fi Troubleshooting".
All four presentations can be found on the CCTA website on page 3, under “Training”.
Many of the highlights of the 2016 Annual Meeting were captured in photographs which will be featured by Broadband Library in its Spring edition. Here is a preview of the page dedicated to the Caribbean Show.
From left to right, back row: Zaira Rivera of Liberty Cablevision of PR, Rollin Nathan (volunteer) and Andrea Martin, CCTA Executive Director. Front row: Angie Rivero of SETAR (Aruba), Chiquita Bowleg of Cable Bahama, and Tita Sambolin and Joanie Romero of Liberty Cablevision of PR.
A Very Big THANK YOU to our 2016 Sponsors and Donors
The CCTA would like to express its appreciation to the companies that sponsored events or provided items for the 2016 Annual Meeting. These generous corporate friends are:
Platinum Sponsors:
Liberty Cablevision of PR
Cable Bahamas
Gold Sponsors:
A+E Networks
LORAC Communications
NBCUniversal
Viacom Media Networks
HBO
Silver Sponsors:
Caribbean Cable Cooperative Ltd.
GulfCom
REVOLT TV
BBC World News
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP
AMC Networks
Fox Networks
Bronze Sponsors:
Spectrum Engineering Corporation
TVC Communications
CommScope
Toner Cable Equipment, Inc.
Congratulations to the New Board of Directors
Congratulations to the new Board of Directors, who were elected during the meeting: Chair David Burrows of Cable Bahamas; Vice Chair and Chair Elect Andrew Greene of Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (Barbados); Director and Treasurer Beulah Jonis of St. Maarten Cable TV; Director Veronique Leander of TV Distribution Systems (Curacao); Director Gabriel Palerm of Liberty Cablevision of PR; Director Raul Ponson of SETAR N.V. (Aruba); Director Alan Smith of Bermuda CableVision/Logic; and Associate Director Patrick Harrell of Align Broadcasting. The second Associate Director position remains unfilled after the resignation of John T. Kurpinski, Sr. of Tarpon Communications, who announced his retirement during the meeting.
John has been a staunch supporter of the CCTA for a number of years and has organized the annual Technical Training and arranged for Annual Meeting speakers. He will be sorely missed for his knowledge, dedication and wit!
Mark your Calendars Now for the 2017 Annual Meeting!
Mark your Calendars Now for the 2017 Annual Meeting!
Next year’s Annual Meeting will be held at the Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas from January 22 to 24. Needless to say, the CCTA has negotiated a very favorable hotel rate with the Atlantis, one of the premiere resorts in the world. Further details of the Annual Meeting will be released in future issues of the Wavelengths newsletters, so stay tuned.