 Welcome to the RF Elements Unlust Podcast. I'm Caleb Muir. This is Tossos Papadopoulos. What's going on man? What's happening Caleb? How are you doing good living the dream? Yeah, I hear you. I hear you I like I like my new last name. I kind of like Papadopoulos. That sounds kind of cool It's a very kind of cool vibe to you know, so I want to write out of names here quickly. I may have to start looking it up on wiki But we'll see how long we can keep this going. This is a there's a long long line of Greek last names that you can You could probably use in all future episodes. Yeah, that my hillbilly self can pronounce. We'll see we'll see What you been up to man? Ah, you know same old same old man keeping busy. Just the daily grind the daily grind Very cool. Yeah, I've been doing the same enjoying our false fall bitching that last time But we had a one really beautiful weekend a fake fall here. So it looks like we've got another one on deck I am super excited my favorite time of the year. So yeah, it's it's starting here too as well I mean, we were like in the high 60s in the morning, which is good because we've been in the kind of mid Upper 70s every morning. So it's starting to come and actually I was watching the news today You know, I saw it this morning like oh, it's you're gonna be you know in the 60s today And I I thought about you I thought about this is this is the Texas, you know false You know fall coming and stuff like that. So I'm excited to I didn't need my hoodie this weekend But I did wash it. I'm like, let me just get this thing ready for ready for action here. So you got a prep. You got a prep That's funny. So y'all we're gonna cut to the chase and get to the main heart of the episode here We have a very exciting episode. We have our first guest. So Assuming we're not totally botched this up. So intending to have our first guest. So Joining us here is Claude Aitken who is the president and CEO of whisper and we thought it'd be a really good opportunity To talk to him with wisdom Palooza coming up the big Vega show that you know We was spending a ton of work planning. Everybody knows this come and everyone's pumped So we thought be a good opportunity to bring him on and talk about what the show means for the industry for whisper And him in particular. So with that said, let's bring him in. All right, Claude. What's going on man? What's happening? You know what? We're we're staying busy. Lots of things going on at whisper, but Most one of the things that's taken up a lot of time these days is prepping for whisper Palooza, which is coming up So I'm very excited about that That it is definitely the the biggest show of the year in our industry by far gets bigger every year How many how many folks do you think are signed up for this show this year? Gosh, it's it's always hard to tell because Our our folks tend to sign up a little bit later Don't know why that is And and I think it's gotten worse because of the pandemic, but I mean 2019 we had about 2,500 people So we're hoping for something something around that, you know COVID always kind of throws a little bit of a wrench into things, but that's that's what we're shooting for at least Okay. Well before we get too deep in the conversation talking about whisper Palooza and the whisper shows in general For those of you who don't know Claude this is an excellent opportunity for him to introduce himself and if you would kind of give us some history of Your sort of work with whisper kind of what whispers doing and then from there We can just sort of lean on to lean into what these shows mean for the industry and whisper in itself Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So I think if you're if you're a wisp particularly a wisp in the United States You hopefully at least know who whisper is We're the association That was started by wisp represents the fixed wireless industry But I think as as our industry continues to grow and evolve I think we're we're so I think the way we kind of frame ourselves now is is we represent entrepreneurs and Innovators in in the broadband space. We've been around since about 2004 It's when we first got started The shows started happening a few years after that I was brought on board kind of mid 2018 after about a decade at the FCC to kind of really amp up our Advocacy and public affairs work at that whisper and I think I'm really proud to say that I think we've done a Not to to do our own horn, but I think we've done a pretty pretty good job We were doing some calculations last year and Just last year alone in terms of some of the advocacy victories we're able to have on behalf of whist We've generated over a billion dollars worth of value for for the industry in terms of government affairs wins so for a Relatively small player in in DC. I mean we're kind of we kind of are are the industry that we represent We were nimble. We're small. We're low budget But we get the job done at the end of the day So that's that's kind of a little bit who whisp is and then a little bit about about who I am and Where we are right now That's great I mean the advocacy efforts that you guys are doing are just fantastic and we're so much more effective than what we've been able to Do over the years and it's been super important with all the developments with things like CBRS And then the move to six gig when that eventually goes through fingers crossed You know soon soon soon that we keep hearing right so but you know those Sorry go ahead the I was actually just gonna jump in there It sounds like the FCC is gonna be taking up some stuff on six gig Next month so fingers crossed that that's good and we're engaging on that already very nice. No Fantastic, so you know and those are the big wins But there's so much other sort of smaller things in the background a lot of people don't really recognize or see a lot of That so I think it's important to share with your constituency You know these efforts and folks know, you know where their money is going for and where their efforts are going for So and of course whisper Palooza are either where the whisper shows are a great opportunity to do so so Good stuff. So these shows, you know, we're talking in this episode about these trade shows So, you know from a summary perspective, what do they mean for you? And what do they mean for whisper in terms of you know the the value that it brings to the industry the value that it Brings to whisper itself and then you personally, you know What are some of the highlights that you think are a big thing to point out here? Especially for those who haven't been to one of these shows. We've had a lot of new users We've talked to you recently With that are working with us and you know, there's gonna be a lot of first-time people Especially with it not being able to be in person last year. There's gonna be a lot of new faces So what would what would they expect to see on their first big whisper show? Yeah, so I think I'll take it a little bit in in reverse order and kind of the way that you mentioned it you know coming from The government background that that I did the folks that I tended to hear the most from and and I did hear from whisper a little bit But you tend to think of the the broadband industry as as the Comcasts the AT&T's the Verizon's like those are the broadband players They've been around for Since time immemorial And and they're huge but I showed up at it at a whisper show and and You go to the session that we usually have every single show which is like wisp one-on-one like how do you start a broadband business and and they're like 40 people in the room who have either just started an ISP or Or maybe like a year or two in and feel like they need to get some more education on On all of the nuts and bolts of being in the business and that was just amazing for me to see And to be able to get into that session and be like hey, this is what you need to know from from a government perspective From a business perspective from marketing We try to cover just about everything and that's just one of the hundreds of sessions that that we have I mean at the end of the day whispers a nonprofit and so that means we're we're mission-driven to to advance this industry and to do the best that we can to advocate for and educate This industry and a big way that we do that is through our two big trade shows whispers America in the spring And then the bigger one whisper Palooza in in the fall And the goal there is just to try to bring Everyone in the industry together to learn as much as they can within a short period of time about every single aspect of What it means to be running an ISP Whether it's from the latest developments in spectrum policy in DC to how do you manage HR to? How do you market your services? We try to cover a little bit of everything so And the best feedback that we get at the end of the day It is from new folks in the industry or even folks who've been in the industry for a while who we're like Oh my gosh, my head hurts after At a whisper show and it's not just because they've had a good time and stayed out a little bit too late But because they come back with so much knowledge about that they're looking to apply to their ISP to grow To do a better job serving their customers And that's just the education side We also try to bring bring along folks like yourselves here at RF elements have a big trade show floor So they can see the latest and greatest in gear And and just be able to see what kind of cutting-edge Services and equipment that they can put into to their business to make it better But I mean because at the end of the day, I think my goal for the organization is to help our members Make their lives a little bit easier and their businesses a little bit better And that's at the end of the day what we what we try to accomplish Regardless of what it is and we try to do a lot of that through the trade shows Well, that's I mean, that's definitely, you know, some of the big value of it for sure So and especially the sessions the sessions are so beneficial Especially when you're new and it's kind of funny I saw someone post the other day They're like, uh, I need to be in three places at one time Don't you pick up all these sessions are so much to learn and they're like I'll just bring bring more staff and he was like, but it's only me. So there's There's a lot of people in that position But it is great to see like, you know over the years I've been coming to these for a shoot However long they've been I've been, you know, wearing one hat or the other and it's been great to see where you know Used to be one guy and then over the years It's two or the next thing, you know, they walk up with a team They've got eight or ten folks there because they've grown and they're bringing everyone they can so, you know It's been great to watch not only the industry grows a whole but the individual companies and the friends that you've made over the years for sure So yeah, that's definitely a very exciting part for myself as well. Just like Caleb, you know, I've been to every whisper palooza I've may have worn different hats in attending there not always with RF elements But you're for sure to see the growth that, you know, whisper has had and more in detail in the actual Wisps themselves, right? You can see some of these small companies who have become much larger companies and just to watch all the growth Organically for a lot of this stuff is really exciting really exciting to see. Yeah, it really is and like I said I've been at this a lot less long than than either of y'all have in the space But it is really it's so exciting to see this and to see how Gosh, I think I just saw on Facebook the the other day someone was posting pictures from a whisper show ten years ago and The hair color looks a little bit different And so that was cool to see, you know That was like a single room event with a couple of table tops outside from some of the vendors Some of whom are still still around some of whom who aren't But then to come in and see a show that's several thousand strong With like a hundred vendors in booze on the show floor Just it is a testament to the fantastic work that this industry has done in Connecting the unconnected right because like you like you were saying it's it's because of the success of Whispers members and and the attendees at at the shows That that we are where we are are today and I mean the shows do drive a lot of revenue for Whisper which then gets plugged back into helping the industry further, but It's just awesome to see how far folks have come in in such a relatively short period of time in counting in ISP years, right? I think Caleb Caleb and I have started like dating ourselves pre or post POE, right? So where were you in the industry before POE was even around or after you know? Now we is everything right absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, we're like at some point We're just gonna be sitting on our rocking chairs on the porch just shaking our fish kids don't know anything so But um, yeah, that's great So when I think about these shows, you know, I've always been on the exhibit side of things But you know, that's that's my big view and the adventure that is but you know, I think obviously from a Beneficial perspective, you know, you've got the sessions which you've talked about which are really important The exhibit hall is always a good time. A lot of folks don't realize that the exhibit hall doesn't really hard close in that middle session So if they're not in sessions, that's always a good opportunity where things kind of die down a little bit and come talk to us So, you know from a manufacturing perspective, the exhibit hall is great because you get to meet a lot of people Face-to-face and put names of faces and it's just so much easier to communicate, you know Two people talking versus online or over a video chat or something There's lots of opportunities sort of flex on the competition, you know, a little friendly flexing every now and then is good Do a little sneaking around do a little poking around Product launches, you know, in most weeks people normally do their product launches this time of year So we may have a little something something to show the the the folks out there, which will be fun. So and You know, the variety was really struck me over the last several shows is the variety of vendors that have come in so You know, like those old pictures you showed it used to just be, you know A handful of manufacturers and the distributors small setups and that's grown a lot but I think one of the big benefits of the exhibit hall floor that I've seen is the influx of accessory manufacturers and things like that and they're able to not only see how big You know that we are and take the industry as a whole a lot more serious But it's also an opportunity to reach people that they don't have good even reaches for so, you know things like Cable manufacturers jumper manufacturers things like cold shrink, you know a few years ago No one knew what cold shrink was in our industry and now everybody does because they came to a show and everyone's like this is super cool stuff even even services providers and stuff like that VoIP providers and You know network management providers and all these other Different types of software support services for running wisps as something you really didn't see Except for maybe just like the one management software that you know was kind of running the mill back in the day And now it's it's really exploded. It's really exploded Yeah, and I mean I have to really give a shout out to to Gary Hellmer's on on our staff because You know, it's not organic that all these folks show up and we try to think of I mean so for some of y'all I mean RF elements. You're there every time so fantastic. Love you. Thank you for showing up but we also try to say okay, what do we think would be the most beneficial to attendees to to show up or where are we lacking and Then try to say, hey, let's let's fill a niche there with like, oh my gosh VoIP is becoming a really big deal. Let's try to get some VoIP folks in in with booze so that our members and attendees can can talk to those folks so It takes a lot of work to put this all together And hopefully it doesn't look like a lot of work once folks are folks are there But yeah, big shout out to the wisp of staff for all the all the work that they do and putting these things together Yeah Definitely. Definitely. That's you know, like some of the I think the behind-the-scenes secret sauce stuff that you guys do is very You know important and people would really like to know about like, you know, I had no idea that that's what Gary did and and and you guys You know as whisper actually, you know Put time and effort into trying to bring in these different types of you know Sources and and different types of providers and what have you what other kind of things that you know Whisper does kind of behind-the-scenes that maybe you know, the industry doesn't know know about well, you know, I think And again, I said I came back from a from a background that didn't necessarily have large-scale events in it So just the amount of effort that goes into putting on one of these and the staff time that it takes to to answer questions and to just put together the the event website to negotiate with the venues to To do things like that. It's an incredible amount of work to just make this Happen and you know, I hear some from some folks like man, it's that's expensive And it's like well, that's because we have to pay for a lot of stuff on on our end as well And we try to keep our pricing pretty On the lower end of what we see other folks doing because we recognize look our our industry is are the entrepreneurs the innovators the bootstrapers We want to make sure it's cost-effective for folks to to attend but At at the end of the day It's all about trying to put together like I said that The inexperience for folks that's going to be beneficial to their business across the board Whether you're talking the sessions, whether you're talking about the after-hours stuff where you're talking about the exhibit hall and then also using it to To showcase the the best of our industry to folks who might not otherwise be familiar like Intentionally trying to bring in folks from government to see this because I mean that was talking to to an FCC commissioner that we had come in to one of the shows and And their comment was like wow, I never knew how big this industry was Because I mean kind of going back to what I was saying earlier like they hear from from the big guys all the time because they have the You know the 50 person lobbying shops that can hit hit those folks every single day of the week Whereas, you know, especially when I started it was just me just Running around trying to the only whisper staffer to try to meet with these folks. I know what that's like, but but just trying to that kind of exposure and saying like these These ISPs these vendors this is a big deal and these are the folks who are connecting The folks who you are most worried about connecting and providing competition in areas where you're most worried about having competition It just it's a multifaceted thing that we were trying to accomplish with with these shows both from Education and then as well as a public affairs standpoint, too Yeah, a lot of stuff going on that people don't realize and I think you're right I mean a lot of people seem to think that it's just some cookie cutter thing that you flip a switch pay some money and All this all these people come together and all these things happen and it's really not the case It takes it takes a lot of money a lot of time and a lot of energy and you guys have done a fantastic job of pulling it off What seems like practically flawless every time I'm not trying to you know, you know It seemed like love or anything like that. I mean, but honestly, it's it's a huge thing I have a very small understanding of what it's like to put these little things together And what you guys do is just it's incredible. It's incredible that it works every year so far Yeah, and again, I just have to say hats off to the WISPA staff and all of our contractors and everything Who come together to make this happen. It's a big part of what we do Just to try to help advance our industry. I know we changed our booth layout about three different times So sorry Gary But it's all that stuff, you know, you've got however many manufacturers and of course, you know They all think they're the biggest and baddest and need all this stuff So I mean, it's it's a lot of cats to wrangle for sure for sure. So One of the other things I want to talk about here is the training vendor training So there's a lot of good opportunity and you know, I think when folks are new to this They don't realize that there's a lot going on, you know the weekend before they just look look at the official hours Okay, Tuesday through Thursday or whatever it may be But don't realize that there are so many other opportunities for the vendor trainings and stuff. So What's your input on that? Yeah, I think that's that's a really good point Caleb and then it's one of the things that I think we Honestly could do a better job communicating because we advertise the trade show And those are the dates. This is the this is the room block. This is when you need to come But to your point, there's all these other folks Distributors manufacturers service providers who who provide Training and other things around the show in the days before the days after the evenings during And trying to keep track of that can can be It's own challenge in and of itself You know, I just saw saw a notice today about one of our distributors who is who is doing training on on Monday and you know That kind of is is interesting because we also have sessions there, but you know, that's Putting that aside there. There is a lot of that that that goes on and it changes Changes from show to show. There's some folks who show up there regularly And do it a lot of the distributors have some fantastic Very technical training stuff to the compliments some of the higher level stuff that we do At the show some of it's for a fee some of it's free But I would just encourage folks to who who are thinking of going to reach out to there The people they do business with be like, hey, have you got anything going on during during whisper blues? Because there there really is a lot and And like I said, it's it's it's before during and after And it it's great to see the the show grow to the point where We have all of this ancillary stuff that's going on Outside of it too. Again, it's just an indication of how how this industry has grown and gotten larger For sure for sure. So Yeah, the and I've done several sessions and everything and it's just a wonderful opportunity to be able to gather You know a big part of your customer base, which is typically spread very thin across the whole nation when they're in one City, it's like, hey, everybody. Come here. Let's let's jump on top of this. So But that sort of leads in too so You know a lot of times when people are new and they're like, well, what's what's the real benefits and you know Yeah, you've got the training. Yeah, you've got the sessions, which are super important Come to the exhibitors and stuff But I think if I had to summarize the the one most important thing that people can gain from the shows Honestly, it's the networking side of things, you know Being able to meet people that are in your same position Have lived your same pains and can I kind of understand where you're coming from and What I would say is commiserate and celebrate, right? So, you know The set of problems that a lot of these folks are relatively unique And they probably don't really have a lot of they can share with in their peer group Whether it be a side job or their family or church or something like that. So Um, I think it's a really good opportunity for people to meet and learn from each other And that's that's so important. Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree and that's In addition to some of the other things that's the official programming That's some of the value that that we really see folks Talk about Over and over is is just the ability to sit down with somebody and say like, hey, this is my problem and Then it's like no way I solved that problem just a year ago Here's how I did it That's one of the things that's really cool about This segment of the industry that I've found is not necessarily the same across other telecom sectors is just the willingness to share information And knowledge and to just help each other out. I mean you see that In times of the natural disasters where you'll see wisps in an area come and help help a fellow wisp rebuild their network that kind of that same ethos come comes across in in the events as well where People are so willing to share. Hey You want to learn how to do a little bit of fiber? This is how I got into it. This is what you need to buy this is Don't do the drop this way do it this way Or from and then that's just one example But just the the networking the the knowledge gathering at the bar after the sessions are over Is just a huge compliment to To what we see going on in the official side of of the show as well Yeah, I think that's something that's really kind of underrated and and not really Thought about when people consider, you know, what do I get out of wispo? Why should I join and for me that the social networking and Putting a you know a face to a voice or an email That's one of the the greatest things about these shows that that I really enjoy And like you said you you actually create a kind of a brotherhood and sisterhood of wisps and people who are willing to work And you know, it wasn't too long ago that the the wisp industry was somewhat fragmented in that case and Every wisps or every other wisp as you know their competitor and blah blah blah and now I think the industry is starting to realize that you know, we're much stronger together And uh, you know, again if we can kind of come in and and work together You know, we really have let's say another, you know, enemy You know that that we really have to we have to to work together in order to you know Bridge set divide and and and really put up a united front and yeah, you know The disaster recovery stuff the way wisps just you know selflessly go in there and and donate their time their employees Their equipment and all these other things to try and help out a wisp that you know might be in a whole other state Never mind, you know one county over or something like that is it's quite amazing And and I've I've you know, I've never seen anything like that either and you certainly don't see that In the in the binker companies that are out there So yeah, it's very unique and something that's extremely valuable to I think anybody who's considering joining wispa that alone is Speaks, you know mounds for you know, what you get out of it. Yeah, I and I agree I mean, that's one of the messages that I always try to Uh get across to folks in the industry who are saying well to your point to us It's like well, why why should I join wispa? It's it's the community. It's a whole host of other benefits I mean one of the big ones that folks like to use a lot is the discounts on the events But we're also standing up a lot of other stuff in terms of education outside of the events Uh regulatory guidance documents technical reports on spectrum Health insurance discount programs all sorts of things that you get access to Uh, but I think that at the heart it's it's the community, right? It's I hear sometimes from from wisps who who are kind of on the outside looking in and say well, you know, I would really join wispa if if you did this and You know, I understand that and and it's always good feedback for me when we're trying to think of Okay, well, what's the next big thing that that we can do as an organization to better support the the entirety of the industry But at the end of the day, we're we're stronger together. Uh, and if you end up joining That gives us more resources and and more know-how to be able to do the next big thing because I hear sometimes from folks who say well, you know, we we would like wispa to do this But at the end of the day, we all are wispa Wispa it is not just the wispa staff. It is every single member And every single employee at all of those members and all the things that they bring to the table and If we're able to leverage all of that collectively as as an industry All those resources on all of that know-how Man, uh, what what we can accomplish and we're start and we're seeing that right like it's a lot of these volunteers who have a great idea and and and the willingness to get it done Uh, I think of like the folks who volunteer for our agenda committee kind of coming back to the shows It's it's a group of operators that come up with the sessions in in consultation with the the wispa staff, but it it really is The quality of the content at the shows is driven by Wispa members themselves. So the the more people we get in The stronger we are as a whole industry. It's very well put, you know, you you keep up explaining things like that Someone might actually let you run the place for a bit. So fingers crossed You're like, oh, no, no So no, that's great info. So I think the last couple things here, um Those that maybe went to the show in dallas earlier this year the wispa america Um, and haven't been to the wispa palooza show in vegas What would you summarize as being the major differences between those two shows? Sure. So the wispa america one tends has historically tended to be a little bit more Uh, technical a little bit more focused on the nuts and bolts of of running a network Uh, and and wispa palooza has just a little bit more well-rounded contents that that goes beyond just purely uh, you know What what radios and antennas should you use what what's the difference between uh using poe and not using poe for To go back to our earlier conversation um And wispa palooza is just generally larger, right? So Uh, wispa america is about half the size in terms of attendees and exhibitors as wispa palooza. So It wispa america is a little bit more of a boutique feel. It's a little bit smaller show maybe a little bit better opportunity to To spend a little bit more quality time with with a couple of your friends wispa palooza is just It's huge By by comparisons about two two three times the size of of wispa america So and we also have a couple of additional pieces of programming We have like a co roundtable for chief executives at all of the at all of the isPs that attend to talk about their Problems what they're seeing coming down the pike As well as a like a cto roundtable as well So there's like a couple different pieces of programming that we offer at wispa palooza just by virtue of having More space and more time Uh, but it's definitely the what the bigger of the two shows and and that means there's there's a lot more to see And do and as you also mentioned that where a lot of the manufacturers will tend to time some of their product launches to to also get that out there to to the bigger audience So those are a couple of the couple of differences between the two events Yeah, that's that's very well put, you know the vega shows You know, I think are a little bit more fun from a socialization and networking perspective But that's always been sort of the side that we're on you know, providing our business and there's a lot of uh distractions In vegas, I'm just leaving it at that. So, you know, if just a few a few flashing lights and things like that. So um, it is good for the If you're bringing a bigger group, you know, sometimes it's a lot easier to maybe get the brass but hey You know, why don't you guys come out? Let's go out here as a group and then they can focus on having a good time You can focus on the business side or whatever that is So, you know, I always try to tell people if you can make it to both certainly do Uh, it is flexible with the spring show because it does move around a different location Whereas this one's always in the vegas show is always the vegas show. So, uh, we are in a new venue this year though So that's exciting. We are We are For the for the small number of folks who were able to show up in in 2020 You got a little bit of a preview. Oh, yeah toss this was there But it's it's at the paris and valleys this year. So on the strip, uh, new new premier location Uh, which we're super excited about it's uh Yeah, it's it's it's gonna be it's gonna be fun. Uh, we got a lot more space and The the digs are a little bit better than at the rio. So looking forward to that as well No comment. No comment. So yeah, moving on next next subject. Let's go So now as always it seems like every vegas trade show no matter whether this industry or the others That the hotel room is always about seven or eight thousand feet away from where the exhibit hall is So, I don't know if that's the case this time or not. You know, it's it's actually a little bit closer Uh, the We actually our event staff went and walked it out and it's closer than it was at the at the rio So you can depending on whether that's a good or bad thing from your perspective If you're trying to get exercise Sorry, you might have to do a little bit of a workout on on the other side But if you're if you're trying to if you're going for ease of uh of getting to where you need to go This is this is where you need to be Yeah, I guess I'll be less people renting those little rascals and stuff that they always see at the shows Little motorized carts to drive around this year Yep. Yep. Yes indeed. It was always the fun planning. All right. We're gonna go to dinner. Well, I gotta go change shirts for quick I'll be right back and you're like, well, that's a 45 minute journey. So Oh Good times good times so And then I think of course, you know coming up to wrap this up The whole cova situation is obviously you know a big question in everyone's mind You know, and we know it's an extremely dynamic scenario, you know, it's changing constantly But you know, I think we're we're really lucky that we were able to have the show in person this year at all I'm really looking forward to that Is there anything you want to speak to in terms of some of the precautions or do ease people's concerns? They may have Sure. So yeah, I mean it is absolutely something that we have spent a lot of extra cycles Thinking through dealing with Uh, it is a little bit challenging because some the situation tends to change on a pretty regular basis so I mean we've put in place a pretty significant laundry list of precautions that we're taking from copious hand sanitizer to some Some cleaning methods that we're asking the event staff to use to Trying to give folks a little bit more space than they may have in the past and then on top of that We're following all of the All of the state's local venue guidelines which Will will hopefully set some folks at ease but uh We're we're committed to having an in-person event For all the reasons that that we we talked about right, it's the I think we've all found out over the course of the past year and a half that nothing really beats in person networking chatting Sharing of of information and I think a lot of us have been At least some of the folks on the more extroverted side of things have felt felt a little bit Left out there if you're just happy at sitting at your computer pounding away all day long then Maybe you've been doing really well, but for folks like myself and For some of the folks on the sales staff at some of our our vendors. I know it's been pretty hard But at the end of the day, we're committed to having a fun and safe events We we're likely going to to see We're we're going to send out a No before you go kind of email a little bit closer to Just because so many of these Requirements tend to be in flux To kind of give people an expectation of what to expect I mean currently the the gaming commission is requiring venues to have have masks for in-person event That's likely going to hold that could change But that's that's where we are right now There's a lot of stuff that's still still in flux, but we're we're committed to Communicating as much as we know when we know it's And and trying to have a Fantastically fun event but also a safe one and thankfully we've we've had experience doing this right so we had a small event in October of last year No known COVID transmission through that one same thing for a spring event there So whatever we've been doing so far seems to have have been working Which gives us a lot of confidence going into this this event in the fall that we'll be able to Pull off something that everybody can feel comfortable with But also can folks can have a lot of fun Oh, that's great. So I will say the Based on how the crowd was feeling the wisp of America like there was a lot of people that were very excited to be out I think there's going to be a lot more of that this year So I think the the energy is going to be there and we've got some new folks that look like they're gonna be coming out with This this time So we're like, you know, you might want to prepare like hydrate get some vitamins because it's People are excited. So that's that's always a good thing. Definitely Well, that sort of fills out my little list of bullet points that, you know, main topics we wanted to hit Claude, is there anything else that you want to cover or bring up or anything like that? No, this has been fantastic Thank you all for both both for having me on and chatting about the the events and what what wisp it does and I try to be as accessible as possible for for all of our members So I share my phone number and email address pretty regularly So if you have thoughts or want to reach out about just about anything, give me a shout All right, man. Well, we really appreciate your time, especially It's kind of gamble for you. This is a relatively new setup for us So maybe not real sure what you're rocking into but uh, we'll we'll send you a copy of this before we post it So you can check it out and make sure that we just don't totally just botch everything. So Judging by the intro graphics. I mean, I think y'all are Clearly a very slick and professional operation here. So Well A production is great. There's two yapping fools in the middle that we're still working on but We'll see what we can do about that So, all right, we'll appreciate it and uh, have a good one Claude. All right. Have a good one y'all. Thanks for having me Thanks Claude. Bye Bye All right. Well, that was great conversation. Claude's always, you know, good to talk to you're really informed and Really, you know lives for what wispa is and what these shows are and everything else So it was great that we were able to talk to him. So pump. Yeah. Yeah, definitely definitely. He's a really cool dude I mean, uh, you know, maybe some people, you know, can't see that And they you know, briefly see him at wispa and doing his thing and stuff like that And never really get to spend some time with him like we have ourselves recently And in past shows and stuff. So it's really really cool. I think for the User base out there and all the wisps to kind of, you know, just get a feel for himself, you know Yeah, and he really is approachable like he said, you know during the conversation, you know He'll throw throw his contact info out there and you know, we've always had great experience So so good times. Good times. Well, yeah, definitely Let's look at wrapping this up. You got anything you're looking forward to this weekend. Anything get you pumped up No, no, like I said, you know, just kind of this cool weather. I'm just waiting. I'm kind of like in limbo right now You know, uh, I I really want this cool to get here where we're at actually our peak Which I really shouldn't complain because you know, Texas is usually like a month and a half of a 100 plus degrees and stuff like that And we have like today tomorrow and the next day. I think to like Monday. We're in the hundreds again For a very brief period and I think the cooldowns coming after that. So so really I'm kind of in limbo I rather just like sit in the ac and wait for summer to be over and then Start thinking about you know weekends outside and stuff like that Very cool. Very cool. Yep. So It'll be really nice here this weekend and you still have like a decent amount of sunlight Which is really cool. So like I said, favorite time of year for sure. So All right guys, well, it's time to go. So if you would please download listen Like and subscribe to the podcast and more importantly, let us know what you think we need your feedback So we know where to take this thing So any sort of feedback is greatly appreciated for super easy to find you can find us on our rf elements user groups We're all over the whist forums Uh, also kaleb at rf elements.com toss us at rf elements.com super easy to track us down. So Until then toss you got anything else you want to say? No, that's it man. Stay horny everybody All right, stay horny y'all