Three full days of lighting design, home theater and wellness education (to name a few) is coming to CEDIA Expo 2021 thanks to the Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) buying group. This includes Industry Education Day, a full day of education on September 1 at the trade show open to all attendees with registration required.
Named for Tom Doherty, a co-founder of CEDIA and 2001 Lifetime Achievement recipient, Tommapalooza will offer a range of training as part of a yearlong series of HTSA’s educational initiatives. As the Director, New Technology Initiatives for HTSA, Doherty has continued to see a need for training initiatives around specialty market segments like lighting design and fixture sales and the newer areas of health and wellness, and “Tommapalooza” has been his answer.
3 Full Days of Training at Tommapalooza
The first two days of Tommapalooza will be for HTSA members only, taking place Monday, August 30 and Tuesday, August 31. The agenda has three separate tracks focused on multiple topics, but centrally on lighting design and creating a comprehensive lighting fixture/design business model.
These courses will be taught by prominent lighting designer and educator Peter Romaniello, who owns Conceptual Lighting, an award-winning lighting design company, and is a full professional member of the International Association of Lighting Designers.
HTSA will also be offering three additional tracks of content for its members that will include: Keith Esterly’s Relationship Science course, Cleerline SSF Basic Certification course, Large Project Success with Richard Millson, and several vendor showcases.
Industry Education Day — Sept. 1
On Wednesday, September 1, Tommapalooza will shift to Industry Education Day, which will offer training to any CEDIA Expo 2021 attendee as HTSA’s way of giving back to the overall custom integration community, helping all to access their latest training on lighting and Relationship Science.
HTSA will also offer a full schedule of three tracks of content running from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1 with educators including Romaniello, Keith Esterly, and Doherty sharing their expert knowledge and answering attendee questions.
“All year long, HTSA’s education team develops programs for HTSA members to drive their success in the technology business,” says Doherty. “CEDIA Expo is an event that occurs only once a year, and we are excited to be able to give something back to the greater industry. Let’s all learn together.”
Other topics featured during the Industry Education Day segment will include:
- HDR10 Ecosystem Workshop
- Elevating Your Home Theater into Screening Rooms
- Winning Over Architects
- Health and Wellness Sales Strategies
- Lighting and Integration: Where and How Do I Start?
- Successfully Selling Lighting
- Delivering Lighting Design to Your Clients – 3 Approaches
- Lighting Fixture Supply strategies with Custom Home Builders
Tommapalooza Keynoter Is 12 Years Old
One other exciting portion of Industry Education Day will be a keynote by Mike Wimmer. Wimmer is a child genius who recently graduated from both high school and college in the same week—all as a 12-year old. His work in artificial intelligence and machine learning has already gained the attention of the military and, to date, he has completed six contracts with the United States Special Operations Command, receiving numerous awards for his efforts.
His keynote, “Changing Perceptions and Leveraging Advanced Technologies in Preparation for a More Autonomous Tomorrow,” is sponsored by Crestron Electronics and will take place Tuesday, August 31 at 4:30 pm in the Sagamore Ballroom in the Indiana Convention Center.
Doherty explains how there is another element to Wimmer’s keynote for which integrators should take note… how to recruit young college-level talent.
“Our industry does not do a good job of pointing out career opportunities. In fact, there is not a lot of college talent recruited for the custom electronics industry. There also is not a strong mentorship program in the industry. There is a lot we can learn from youth, including innovation and creativity from another point of view,” adds Doherty.
Open to All Attendees; Registration Required
All CEDIA Expo attendees are welcome to take part in the “Tommapalooza 2021” Industry Education Day events. Registration is required. Click here to read more about the event and view the upcoming schedule for Tommapalooza 2021.
Another version of this article previously appeared in CE Pro.
