Chris Kelly (Creighton University, HETMA Advisory Board Chair) reports from HETMA’s third annual Golf Classic, held September 28 at Colorado National Golf Club near Denver and drawing about 70 golfers, volunteers, and sponsors including CDW, Extron, and Yealink. Proceeds from the scramble-format fundraiser support the Prism Scholarship, which helps underrepresented professionals enter the higher ed AV field, and this year’s event added a vendor expo alongside the usual contests and awards. Kelly, attending for the first time, highlights the networking value of the relaxed format over the golf itself.

HETMA cofounder Joe Way (Executive Director of Digital Spaces, UCLA) uses 3D printing as a metaphor for building durable AV support operations, arguing that layer-by-layer planning, documentation, and standardization matter as much as the underlying technology. He flags common failure points - knowledge concentrated in a few staff, support budgets that lag capital investment, and custom systems approved without weighing their long-term support burden.

On this week's Higher Ed AV Podcast, host Joe Way talks with Chris Harshfield, Classroom Technology Support Manager at The Ohio State University, about the classroom support program he's built over 15 years. Harshfield details daily operations - overnight ticket review, weekly room checks, technician follow-up - and how his team balances standardized systems with departmental requests while tracking the long-term cost of custom installations. He also previews an upcoming trip to InfoComm America Latina in Mexico City, where he and Way hope to connect with the region's growing higher ed AV community.

This Tech Manager Spotlight profiles Cass Hall, Senior Director of Academic Technology at California State University, Chico, and President of the Educational Technology Collaborative. Hall oversees three units covering roughly 300 classrooms and 100 meeting spaces, Canvas and training-platform administration, and instructional design support for faculty, and describes a leadership approach centered on empowering staff and sharing knowledge across teams. She credits HETMA and AVIXA with giving her a professional network as she moved from K-12 into higher ed technology leadership.