The 2024 NIC Fall Conference is highlighting pressing topics for the industry and Lisa McCracken, Head of Research and Analytics at NIC, is here to share some of those insights. From middle market to active adult and capital market trends, the Fall Conference in Washington D.C. is where thought leaders will be in September. 

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Register by August 1, 2024 for early bird rates here.

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00:00

Lisa McCracken

The board a few years ago adopted a strategic plan that has five focus areas, and among those five are inclusive of age tech, active adult, middle market, partner for health and capital for operations. So you're going to see them embedded into our agendas and really our intentional programing throughout the year.

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00:20

Welcome to season seven 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, NIC MAP Vision, ProCare HR, Sage, Hamilton CapTel, Service Master, The Bridge Group Construction and Solinity. And produced by Solinity Marketing.

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00:44

Josh Crisp

Welcome to Bridge the Gap podcast. I'm your host, Josh, and I'm so glad to be with you. We have an amazing show this morning. We have with us Lisa McCracken and Head of Research and Analytics at NIC. Thank you for joining us.

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00:59

Lisa McCracken

Yeah, thanks for having me. Glad to be here with you.

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01:02

Josh Crisp

Well, I know our audience is going to be in for a treat. We love having you on the show, and it is hard to believe, it feels like we were just together. This year is flying by, but we are talking today a little bit about the NIC conference. The fall conference this September 23rd through the 25th. We are going back to Washington, DC.

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What a treat. Lisa, thanks for joining us and I can't wait to hear some little bit of teaser information of what all of us and our audience is going to be in for in Washington.

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01:38

Lisa McCracken

Well, it's an interesting year to be in DC for our fall conference, that is for sure. And, you know, we are going to be touching on all the hot topics. We've got some pretty great keynotes in terms of the outlook for our sector, the political implications. We've got Chuck Todd and Mike Leavitt who are going to be giving a bit of their insights into the political landscape, and then clearly a bit of a perspective in terms of what does this mean, potentially for the healthcare environment, our senior living environment?

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So we're excited to dive into that with DC as our backdrop. The economy is front and center for everyone. So we're definitely going to be talking about what does that look like. September is going to be interesting because September is also a month that people are looking at potentially for some Fed activity and movement on the rate side of things.

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We got Diane Swonk, who's the chief economist at KPMG, who's going to be giving her outlook for the rest of the year. And so we're going to be hitting all of those and it's going to be a really good time of the year to, I think, dive into that and see what the rest of 2024 looks like.

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And then we've got some exciting, I would say, senior housing and care specific topics, continuing the conversation around technology, the middle market, active adult. So we've got both mainstage sessions. We've got innovation labs for people that love that smaller, interactive type of experience. So we're really excited about the programing. And then as you know, Josh, there's a lot of meetings that happen. There's a lot of dealmaking. And there is certainly plenty of time scheduled for that. So we're really excited to be back in DC in September.

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03:18 

Josh Crisp

Well, it's such an exciting time, and it is great for our listeners and those that plan to attend, especially if you're a first time attender, to do some pre-planning, and because it can be a whirlwind, because the who's who of the senior living industry is everyone is there developers, owners, operators meeting with the capital markets. So networking like none other. Me and Lucas always love that time. But if you're not careful, the days can get away with you because there is so much going on and such valuable information on that main stage as we referred to, as well as in the innovation labs.

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So, Lisa, for some of our listeners that may not be familiar with how that format works. Can you explain kind of the difference between the main stage and really the purpose of the innovation labs, as well as maybe some of those deep dive topics we're going to get into?

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04:15

Lisa McCracken

I'm glad that you mentioned the first time attendees, because it can be pretty overwhelming. You know, we generally have around 3,000 individuals that are there, and it can be fast moving. For those individuals in particular, we have a first time attendee networking session. So that's going to be on the first day. So I would definitely encourage, you know, those of you who are with us for the first time to to come to that, get a low down of and some tips and advice of how to navigate things.

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I would definitely encourage whether you're a first time attendee or a repeat attendee, go to our website. We have the full agenda there, whether it's the education sessions, whether it's intentional networking time, receptions. So absolutely, that's going to help you plan your day. But as it relates to that, that information gathering, that educational component, you know there are the main stage sessions.

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So those are the Chuck Todds and the Mike Levitts, of the world. And we're going to sit and listen to those thought leaders. But that's a big environment. You may have hundreds of people, very well have hundreds of people in those sessions. These innovation labs were something we actually started at, at our spring conference, and we have gotten rave feedback about them. So now we're integrating them into the fall as well. So, we specifically have four innovation labs, one around affinity communities. So, you know, if you want to look at some unique developments in senior living communities out there, great opportunity to do that. 

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And those that want a little more information, interaction around those topics such as how do I provide more for the middle market? I'm exploring active adult and I want to scale it potentially and grow it. How do I do that? And what are the most innovative technologies where I can get the greatest ROI out there? So those are the topics that, again, for those folks that really prefer that type of interactive, smaller experience, we've got that too. 

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So we really are confident in that. We've got a little bit for everybody, regardless of what you want. And so you can sort of pick and choose how to use your time and we’re doing our best not to have too much overlap. And again, that intentional networking time and then the education time with plenty of breaks in between.

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06:25

Josh Crisp

You mentioned all of the great resources for first time attendees, that it may feel a little bit uncertain or even intimidating, but I can speak from experience. I've been going to NIC, for as long as I've been in the industry for a long time, and even for myself, when we come, you all do such a great job with all the different concierges and help desk. So there's plenty of places to ask for help. The staff is so great to direct. So, you have to make sure also, especially if you're a first time attender, but for anyone, we all are wanting to be as conscious as possible. You guys actually are approaching the early bird deadline, if I'm not mistaken, by is it August 1st? Is that correct?

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07:14

Lisa McCracken

Yeah, we always have this early bird incentive, if you will. And I will tell you it's a significant cost saving. So yeah, August 1st did the line in the sand this year. So I would encourage folks to definitely if you're planning to register or do so before them because it, you know, whether again, you're a first time attendee or you've been coming for years, it can result into some significant cost savings, particularly even if you're bringing a team.

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There are many groups that have, you know, we've got some that have upwards of 20 individuals that they bring that certainly adds up. So we encourage you, we'll take on site registrations. We do that every year as well. But August 1st is the early bird deadline.

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07:50

Josh Crisp

Well, and the theme this year Navigating the Crossroads, Insights for Strategic Choices. What a better time to bring us all together in Washington, DC to do that. So I've heard the topic of active adult. That is a hot one. Everyone's talking about that all throughout the industry. What I'm so excited about that you guys have done as we've been talking about this, that it's coming, but we haven't had a lot of information or data until just recently.

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It seems that NIC, through your partnerships are really leading the way on that, on middle market and then technology that impacts all of that. So, how did you all arrive at those topics? Has this just been demand from the consumers and NIC attendees, or what was your strategy for bringing these topics to the surface?

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08:40

Lisa McCracken

Yeah, there's really multiple drivers with it. So I would say, first of all, we've got a great conference program committee that helps us drive some of these topics. So those are insights from operators, from developers, from capital partners, from vendors that help us be ears to the ground, and stay on top of those hot topics. So they certainly have fed us some of that information. I would also say, too, that a lot of this is behind the NIC commitment is driven by our strategic plan. So there's, you know, the core business of what NIC has always been. But then in addition to that, the board a few years ago adopted a strategic plan that has five focus areas, and among those five are inclusive of age tech, active adult, middle market, partner for health and capital for operations.

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So you're going to see them embedded into our agendas and really our intentional programing throughout the year. On the active adult piece, we've been really focused on that in terms of research data information. We've got some fantastic case studies. We've got a committee of some of the leaders in active adult throughout the country. So we're really excited to really start to lead the way and provide more information and insights to the market on that, because there is some that that have been doing it and doing it very, very well for a number of years.Others that are saying, we need to learn about this and educate ourselves and and educate the customer, and how do we get into that? 

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So we're pretty confident with with the information that we're going to be bringing forth in September, that it's going to really provide some solid tools and insights for those attending those sessions, in particular to really, I think, walk away a little smarter on the active adult side of things, as well as those other topics.

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10:21

Josh Crisp

There's going to be a wealth of information as there always is at the Fall NIC Conference. So for our attendees that are out there that are going right now to register so they get that early bird discount, which is significant. Lisa, explain, If they're really thinking, oh my gosh, there's so many topics, so many things. I want to absorb everything and I need to meet as many people as possible. What are some pro-tips and what are the resources that you would recommend for someone that is registering and wants to be able to see the schedule. To be able to even see who attendees are going to be and start to set up their meetings because it is not too early to be thinking about that. They need to get on that right away. What would your recommendation be?

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11:05

Lisa McCracken

So as we sit here today, definitely the website's going to be your primary source of information. So you can see, you know, the schedule, the sessions, the networking times. You can see who is speaking in sessions. You can also see who our partners and strategic sponsors are. Those organizations are very engaged and involved, and often they are hosting meetings and strategic conversations as well. Once we get closer to the conference, you will have access to the app, the conference app. That is a really good way to know who is there. You can reach out to other attendees to set up meetings. So, some of those connections, if they're not made via you knowing somebody is going to be there and, hey, let's meet up at the NIC. Some of that outreach and communications is really done through the app as well. That's a good vehicle to help that.

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11:56

Josh Crisp

It’s going to be an exciting NIC conference. Active adult, middle market and technology are big themes and pillars of information that we're going to be talking about, hearing about from some heavy hitters, some keynotes on the main stage, and then get in those deep dives in the innovation labs. I couldn't be more excited. Our listeners are going to have an opportunity to also get amazing content.

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NIC does the best job at bringing together the who's who in the industry, and we're so blessed to actually have a partnership for year after year with NIC. Our studio is going to be there. It's always fun to meet people that we don't always get to see every week. And we always look forward to reuniting at the conferences.

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But our studio will be set up as well, and we're going to be interviewing some of the thought leaders that are there, so our audience can be looking forward to the content that's coming. And in our show notes, for those that are listening, we're going to be dropping all of this information as well as those registration links, because again, earlybird ends on August 1st. You're going to want to go ahead, as you're listening. Go ahead and register. You're going to want to save that money, and then you're going to want to plan because the wealth of information that's going to be packed into these few days is going to be like none other that you've experienced in senior housing. Lisa, what else do we need to know today about the upcoming event and what resources that NIC provides to our industry?

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13:24

Lisa McCracken

I would just encourage people to go on the website, check out, see the speakers, see the topics. I think we're hitting the nail on the head with all the points of interest. You know, we're starting with, political outlook, economic outlook, research overview. We've got the book end of the Capital Markets Outlook. We know that that's been, you know, freezing some of the transaction activity and development activity. So know what are folks foreseeing in terms of some of that access to capital and then the cost of it. So you know we're certainly excited. Check out the website. Find out who's attending and start making some of your meetings. And we promise it will be an action packed couple of days.

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14:08

Josh Crisp

Lisa McCracken, head of research and analytics at NIC, it is such a pleasure to have you with us today. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to share with our audience all that's in store, and appreciate you joining.

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14:20

Lisa McCracken

Well, hey, thanks for your partnership, and we're excited to have you on site with us in September.

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14:25

Josh Crisp

listeners, make sure that you get to our website, get to NIC’s website if you need help navigating to those sites and all this information. It is in our show notes right here. Click on all that information. Go register before the deadline. We want to see you in Washington, DC, September 23rd to 25th at the NIC Fall Conference. You want to be there. Thank you again for another great episode of Bridge the Gap. We'll see you later.

14:57

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.

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