Don’t miss out on the opportunity to attend the 2023 NIC Fall Conference! COO of NIC, Chuck Harry, gives a sneak peek into the event and shares what to expect from the upcoming 2023 NIC Data & Analytics Conference.

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Welcome to season six of Bridge The Gap, a podcast dedicated to informing, educating, and influencing the future of housing and services for seniors. Powered by sponsors Accushield, Aline, Hamilton CapTel, Service Master, Patriot Angels, The Bridge Group Construction and Solinity. And produced by Solinity Marketing.

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Lucas 00:42

Welcome to Bridge The Gap podcast, this senior living podcast with Josh and Lucas. We have an exciting episode today. This is a bit of a NIC Fall conference preview with a great friend of ours. We want to welcome back to the show Chuck Harry, he's the COO at the NIC Organization. Welcome back.

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Chuck 1:00

Thank you for having me. Great to be here. And those who may be less familiar with our organization, we regularly go by NIC or N.I.C., which stands for the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care.

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Lucas 1:12

That's right. Lovingly referred to as NIC. “The NIC,” right?

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Chuck 1:16

That reference to "the NIC" is really this event that we're about to talk about, the fall conference. The origins of this organization is actually in this event. It first started as an event back in 1991, so we've been at this for a few years, but the entity itself, what we now refer to as simply, NIC, wasn't actually incorporated until 1993 as an entity.

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Lucas 1:41

Amazing. So a ton of history and many of our listeners have attended so many years of the N.I.C conference, the NIC Conference, Josh and I, I think 10 years at least, going to these events. And that said, there are a lot of newcomers to the industry that have not attended before or maybe have only attended one or two times. It's great to see the NIC fall conference back in Chicago. I think that this is going to be a very well attended, very exciting event. Chuck, what can people expect this fall?

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Chuck 2:19

Registration is still open. There's plenty of time to register, but the numbers are tracking ahead of what we've seen in recent years. So we may in fact see record attendance at this event, which is saying something particularly as a country, we're still coming out of a pandemic. So you're right, we're back in Chicago. We're back to the property or hotel that many really consider the home of this event. And that's Sheraton Grand, which they now branded as Sheraton Grand Chicago River Walk. So it's situated there right in the heart of Chicago. It's a property that we've been at more than any other property for our fall conference. Truth is as our numbers continue to grow in terms of number of attendees we have been very creative in reimagining the space to maximize all the square footage within the property itself.

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Chuck 3:18

I think for those who have been attending for a number of years, they'll notice yet more space allocated to networking as that's really the value proposition for many of our attendees. The ability to connect with other decision makers in the space. We do a great job, as regular attendees know, at creating an environment that's very conducive to true business meetings. Connecting with the other players in the space. Not only is there more square footage for networking as they've seen in more recent events, but for the first time at the Sheraton Grand in Chicago, we have our NIC Cafe concept, which allows attendees to stay fueled the entire time of the event. So you can access refreshments, coffee, which is always important. The NIC Cafe is going to be situated on the lobby level for easy access between the various floors. If you remember there, a lot of the common area space, the Chicago Grand is stacked between four floors with the ballroom area up on the fourth floor, and that's where you'll see a new networking lounge pretty much in the space where we've had concurrent sessions previously. We'll also have the main stage sessions up there and then heading down to the first floor. The spacing out on the river itself is where the larger networking lounge will be. And that's also where you'll find our strategic alliance partner, that being NIC MAP Vision they'll have their space set up there for meetings specific to NIC MAP vision.

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Josh 5:01

Wow. So Lucas, I got lost in snacks and networking. You may never leave, right? You give Lucas snacks and networking and that guy's going to cut loose. So this is gonna be an amazing NIC. We always have a great time.

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Chuck 5:16

I failed to mention the opening and second reception. So both that Monday evening and that Tuesday evening, we've got receptions for everyone to connect before many disperse around town for the various parties that are being hosted by not only NIC's partners, but the various sponsors of the event. Plenty of opportunity not just to eat, but to connect with the other attendees in attendance. And we can expect probably in the ballpark of 3000 attendees at this year's NIC, if not more, based on the rate of registration so far.

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Josh 5:54

Well, most people listening to our show, our no Stranger to the NIC Events, and we have been going for years, it's if not our favorite, definitely one of the favorite events of the industry and it's hard to imagine for those that haven't, that may be listening, if you can at all get a chance to experience 3000 passionate people about our industry, sharing, collaborating, networking, getting some education, and now we've even got more fuel through the cafe to keep us going for the days that we're there. Lucas, this is gonna be really cool and Bridge The Gap is going to be there just like we always are. It's a really exciting week for us.

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Lucas 6:40

We have been recording podcast episodes at the NIC conference really since our inception. It's really fun to partner with such a great organization. We set up our studios there. We're able to grab some of these great thought leaders in our industry. I'm recalling so many great conversations and so many episodes. One in particular, we were able to get Bob Cramer on live and in person a number of years back. He's such a great passionate leader in this space and so the Bridge The Gap studios will be there, set up recording these great live episodes of the thought leaders and decision makers in the industry talking about the things that are important right now today. And so that'll be exciting. Chuck, you also have another event coming up for data analytics. Remind us of the dates and tell us what to expect there.

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Chuck 7:33

If I could, because Josh mentioned, not everyone's been to a NIC conference before and I know we talk about these numbers. People have perceptions of what the event's all about but haven't partaken of it. We understand how at times intimidating that could be if you haven't attended before. So I would encourage you to register. We go out of our way to make sure that the first time attendees are prepared for the event. We host a first time attendee webinar, tips of the week that come out, help as ahead of the event, helping you prepare so you can make the most of your experience. And the one pointer there is because people do spend so much of their time in the meetings many of those meetings are scheduled ahead of time. If you do register and if there's particular individuals you want to make sure you connect with, it's best to reach out well ahead of the event, get a time on their schedule.

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Chuck 8:33

I'm sorry, Lucas, you were asking about yet another event. And this is the inaugural data and analytics conference. It's going to be taking place at the end of September, September 27th and 28th in Minneapolis. This is an event that I feel aligns incredibly well with NIC's brand in that it's focused on data and the analytics and as we were talking about for the fall conference, you get a lot of the thought leaders, the decision makers in the space. This is an event that is geared to a somewhat different demographic. Also, Josh, as you were mentioning, people who are passionate about the sector but those who are more focused on the data in the space and the analytics. I think NIC has been a pioneer in generating more data and different metrics. And this is an opportunity for those who are the practitioners using the data to come together and actually share some best practices and frankly maybe help pioneer either new analyses or better analyses and then identify if there's other metrics out there as the residents of these properties continue to evolve a lot of the data we have is about the bricks and mortar or the supply in the space. Sometimes we don't have as well a handle on the demand in the space. And so I think there's opportunity as we put our heads together to identify if there are other metrics that we need to be tracking, particularly as the resident base continues to grow older and in many cases with higher acuity levels. How do we best serve the residents of all these communities, whether it's senior housing communities or skilled nursing communities. During this event we'll also be addressing this emerging market, active adult rental properties. I think there's a little bit for everyone and certainly there's synergies that, well, yes, these are different and distinct sectors. There's certainly synergies between those in terms of the sort of analysis or analytics that we as a sector should be conducting. And at the end of the day, it's about serving the residents and the communities.

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Josh 10:49

Well, I think it's going to be a really great event and I'm so glad this is being offered not only for the pros that are actually already in the industry to share information, but there's so many new and emerging groups and investors and potential stakeholders from other industry verticals that are trying to understand a lot of the data around the senior living industry to become more educated. So I think I would suspect at this event there's also going to be a lot of newcomers that are just trying to learn through learning more about the data that's being collected. And I think you guys have always done an amazing job, Chuck, is that in September?

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Chuck 11:32

Yes. So it starts the evening of the 27th of September with an opening reception. The event itself is maybe a little more focused on the educational aspects. We want to make sure we're affording those attendees who may not be going to as many conferences as some of our other conference attendees the opportunity to network. So it'll start with a reception that evening. That's going to actually, Josh, be on the heels of a senior housing bootcamp that will take place at the beginning of the 27th. If you want to roll up your sleeves and really learn how to underwrite a property through a case study example I encourage you to look into maybe joining us for that senior housing bootcamp. But then it's the 28th is the bulk, the better part of that day will be spent through various sessions with a number of thought leaders in the space, and particularly those related to data and analytics across the sectors.

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Josh 12:37

Well, I know our listeners will want to get in on that and also still time to register. It's not too late. And so get on board with both of these events for the newcomers. I'll also say, Lucas, it's always so refreshing when we are set up in our studios in these events to meet people that may have heard us that we haven't got to meet in person. So we would love to meet any of you that are coming to these events, stop by and say hello. And you never know who's hanging around the podcast studio. And it's a great way to meet new faces and new people and get connected in our industry.

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Chuck 13:14

I love the camaraderie that you feel at these events. We all share this common passion and in many cases, actually competitors with each other, but we're all coming together for this common cause and frankly, one that's bigger than any one of us. So hopefully collectively we're making a difference.

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Lucas 13:32

So well said and a great note to end another great conversation on. We are very excited about this upcoming fall conference. We can't wait to be there. Some of the best relationships of our careers have been made at the NIC Conference and we are looking forward to continuing those relationships and making more here coming up in Chicago. Thank you so much, Chuck, for spending time with us today. It's a great conversation. And for our listeners, we're going to connect you to register for this event in the fall. Check out the show notes and you can also go to btgvoice.com. You can listen to this podcast and many more. Download our content, engage with us. Linkedin is a great spot. I'm sure that you can engage with the NIC organization there as well. All of these links will be in the notes and we look forward to seeing you in the fall. Thanks for listening to another great episode of Bridge The Gap.

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14:24

Thanks for listening to Bridge the Gap podcast with Josh and Lucas. Connect with the BTG network team and use your voice to influence the industry by connecting with us at btgvoice.com.