Pulling Together: Resources, Partners & You

DIRECTIONS – Dawn Brehm

The pandemic hasn’t stopped our mission, our vision or our resolve.

We’re living through some trying times right now. And while I’m writing this column several weeks before you’re able to read it – the reality of a print production process – I’m confident making a futurist-like prediction: Humans are strong and we’ll get through this, especially if we work together.

Here at LTEN, that was our first and most important rallying point. The pandemic may have forced us to rethink how our 49th LTEN Annual Conference was delivered, it may have forced us to hurriedly roll out new offerings, it even may have forced some of us to make difficult career decisions. But it hasn’t stopped our mission, our vision or our resolve.

The LTEN organization, much like the U.S. Postal Service, delivers no matter what the weather, regardless of the situation. While we may cherish the face-to-face interaction we get at the conference or the mixers, when the times call for a different delivery, LTEN answers.

The first stage of our response was identifying the sudden need for virtual training.  While virtual has been growing for years, the pandemic forced a long leap ahead, and such urgent changes are always accompanied by a training need.

So, in response to your need to enhance your virtual course design and delivery, LTEN produced an enhanced webinar calendar with an increased emphasis on virtual offerings. If you missed any webinars, you can find them in the LTEN Self-Directed  Learning library at www.L-TEN.org/Self-Directed_Learning.

Webinars were just the start, a way to connect with you on your virtual needs. But wait, as they say on the infomercials, there’s more.

LTEN reached out to members and industry leaders to gather resources to share.  Our members and partners provided articles, white papers and tip sheets. The repository can be found at www.L-TEN.org/virtual_training.

While our in-person programs had to be postponed, our workshop facilitators responded quickly. We were able to convert our 6Ds workshop into virtual programs, and others will no doubt follow. We even added a two-part workshop, Designing & Delivering Virtual Training, which kicked off successfully in April. Keep an eye on our events calendar at www.L-TEN.org/events for more.

And, that leads us to the obvious: our LTEN supplier/partner community. LTEN members and their companies have a long history of seeking support from our industry partners when needs arise. Well, a need arose, and even while focused on protecting their own people, the supplier community kept a caring eye on those it might help. Check out our Supplier Directory at www.L-TEN.org/partners, and when  all this dust settles, remember who was there for you.

Your voice was also part of our disaster planning. LTEN created a dedicated virtual training forum on the LTEN On-the-Go app, for members to discuss the challenge of the current environment and share solutions. I encourage you to utilize the app as a tool to stay connected to your peers. Join the chat by downloading the app and clicking on Forums.

Speaking for the LTEN board, leadership and staff, no matter what happens with our in-person events, we’ll be your virtual partner as we work through all of this. And, regardless, we’ll look forward to greeting our friends in person again.

Be well everyone. And remember you’re not in this alone.

Dawn Brehm is executive director of LTEN. Email Dawn at dbrehm@L-TEN.org.