After a missed year of collaboration due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Tri-Association Conference (Tri-Con) was back this year, and the first day could not have gone any better! If you were not already familiar with Tri-Con, it is a conference that brings together professionals in the water industry from across the Chesapeake region. The goal is to get attendees to learn, network, and share information on how we can all keep the waters flowing safe and clean.
On September 1, 2021, the official start of Tri-Con, all the booths were open for attendees to stop by to gather information and share ideas. It was a great turnout with over 1,000 attendees at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center. There were many different fun activities, presentations, and even competitions occurring within the Convention Center. The conference started with an early 5K Fun-Run benefit in support of the World Food Program. By 7:30 AM, all the exhibitors had their booths ready to go, including PEER, of course! At our booth, we had a variety of PEER-branded products, such as stainless-steel straws, hand sanitizers, golf balls, pens, and mints. The stainless-steel straws were a big hit since more people are choosing more sustainable options for straws, rather than using plastic or paper.
By 9 AM, the Silent Auction Benefiting Engineers Without Borders (EWB) had already begun. PEER is also supporting EWB; we included a bowl at our booth with a sign that read: “Drop your business card; for every card, PEER will donate $1 to Engineers Without Borders.” We are thankful to the attendees who dropped their cards in the bowl.
At 5 PM, there was a Women’s Networking Event, in which our very own President and CEO, Dr. Lilia Abron, participated as a panelist. Dr. Abron gave a very raw and authentic speech detailing her experience of how she started PEER from the ground up, all while having children and taking care of her family. Overall, the Women’s Networking Event was a success; it provided guidance and solutions to women in the water infrastructure industry.
The evening ended off with a “Fun Night” where the Tri-Con attendees had another opportunity to network in a more casual and fun setting. There were live performances by the engineers who were also exhibitors at the conference, which was an enjoyable sight.
The next day was much more relaxed, with the attendees getting their last chances to visit the booths. By noon, it was time for all the exhibitors to pack up and say their goodbyes to the Exhibit Hall. The last day of Tri-Con ended off with an evening celebratory awards program. The attendees enjoyed some refreshments as they had their final opportunities to network and form connections for prospective projects, events, and endeavors.
All in all, Tri-Con 2021 was a huge success! PEER was able to rekindle connections with other engineering firms, while also establishing new ones. PEER will participate in next year's Tri-Con as an exhibitor again, and we hope to see you there…until next time at Tri-Con 2022!
