Global tells stories of innovation at ICMA 2022
Global tells stories of innovation at ICMA 2022
Photo: Outside of GCCC. Mike Parker (Left), Caroline Cooper (Right, Global Sensor Systems.
This September Global attended the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Conference in Columbus, Ohio. The ICMA is one of the largest gatherings of municipal and regional decision makers and solutions providers in all North America and acts as one of the biggest networking events connecting public servants and businesses each year. This year marked the 108th annual ICMA conference! 2022 was several important firsts for ICMA. This year was the first in-person ICMA event since the beginning of the ongoing pandemic, and besides increased precautions and sanitary measures. Another exciting first, this marked a shift in the ICMA host-opportunity to a mid-western region and saw some of the broadest range in attendance to date, with representatives present from all 52 states.
Photo: Greater Columbus Convention Center, Source: www.columbusconventions.com, Copyright © 2022 Greater Columbus Convention Center
The event was held in the Greater Columbus Convention Center and ran between September 17th-21st. The focus of the event was to equip city/county management with the tools to make their communities a better place to live, work, and play. Global Sensor System’s attendance helped spark conversations about the completeness of fleet safety solutions, and the actions municipal governments and county authorities make to safeguard their constituents and how to prevent accidents. During our time we managed top speak to some of the over 500+ speakers who were in attendance and pick their brain about what they thought the future of waste management looked like in a changing world.
Photo: Soledad O’Brien, Media Release, Global Sensor Systems, Inc., 2022.
This year ICMA hosted award-winning keynote speaker Soledad O’Brien, one of the most recognized names in American broadcasting. Soledad discussed some of the most pressing social issues present affecting city/county management today, and how to disrupt within organizations for positive change as a decision maker.
Learn more about Soledad:
(https://icma.org/articles/article/2022-icma-annual-conference-keynote-spotlight-soledad-obrien)
Photo: Lee Jourdan, Media Release, Global Sensor Systems, Inc., 2022.
Another exciting development was the last-minute addition of Lee Jourdan as general session keynote speaker. Lee is a former Chief of Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Chevron, one of the worlds largest petroleum and Petro-chemical companies. Lee spoke about the challenges that organizations can face with diversity and inclusion, and how we might move towards more inclusive towns and cities.
Learn more about Lee:
(https://icma.org/articles/article/2022-icma-annual-conference-keynote-spotlight-lee-jourdan)
On The Show Floor
Photo: ICMA Exhibit Floor, Booth Pictures, Global sensor Systems, Inc., 2022.
ICMA was a great chance for Global to connect with industry leaders and city managers from across the United States, and we took the opportunity to move the conversation forward on safety! Throughout the event our eye-catching Search-Eye demo unit drew in curious onlookers and passersby, simply walk by the front of our booth and we would have your attention instantly with a rapid and automatic activation of our indicator light and audio warning system!
Caroline and Mike were on the scene showcasing our innovative product and handing out free swag! A big theme and major selling point for a lot of solutions attending ICMA this year was cost savings and the pursuit of better budgets following the pandemic, and Global came prepared with an offering of our own. Many conversations steered towards the numerous benefits that an automatic or touchless system provide, one of which happens to be the insurance savings and the risks you avoid when your equipment requires absolutely no intervention from drivers.
After 3 Days of great conversations, informative keynote sessions, and private meetings, we finally wrapped up and prepared to head back. But we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a few snaps of the team!
We had a blast at ICMA 2022 and look forward to catching up in the future with some of the great businesses and officials that are working hard to make safety more affordable and more common place in America!
Photo: Caroline Cooper (Left), Gordon Cooper (Center), Mike Parker (Right). Entering the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Global Sensor Systems, Inc., 2022.
Looking Back on ICMA
Photo: “My first ICMA”, Caroline Cooper, LinkedIn 2022.
ICMA was a great experience for everyone from the Global team, Caroline recounted on LinkedIn to her followers about her time at ICMA:
“For starters, this part of Columbus, Ohio was charming. It is full of history and original buildings; the city was founded in 1812. I love old homes… details...
But I wasn't here for the city's history, I was here to demonstrate the automatic reverse braking system and meet #city officials who want to #makeadifference and stop backing accidents.
Everyone who stopped by our booth was so enthusiastic about our product, ‘Why isn't this on every vehicle?’ They would say. Or ‘We recently had a backing accident; this would be great to have!’
Every trade show we attend, I am exposed to more and more heartbreaking stories about #backingaccidents and #backovers. They are difficult to hear but encourage me to #workharder.
It was a successful show, I'm glad we went. I met a lot of great people wanting to take the #initiative to make their city safer. My favourite part, however, was seeing how many people put their pronouns on their name tags. I am often the only one at trade shows doing this, so it was nice to be surrounded by so much #inclusiveleadership”
See more from Caroline:
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-cooper-569a68142/)
Sources (Links)
Caroline Cooper, (2022). Profile. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-cooper-569a68142/.
Greater Columbus Convention Center, (2022). Main Site. www.columbusconventions.com, Copyright © 2022 Greater Columbus Convention Center.
International Community/Town Management Association, (2022). Keynote Speakers – Soledad O’Brien. https://icma.org/articles/article/2022-icma-annual-conference-keynote-spotlight-soledad-obrien.
International Community/Town Management Association, (2022). Keynote Speakers – Lee Jourdan.
https://icma.org/articles/article/2022-icma-annual-conference-keynote-spotlight-lee-jourdan