From RMEL Executive Director Rick Putnicki

Believe it or not, 2023 is already a quarter of the way over – and time sure is flying by as RMEL continues to prepare for the upcoming 2023 Spring Management, Operations, and Engineering Conference! We are very much looking forward to our event that brings together folks from all the RMEL education areas – Safety, Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Vital Issues. As we continue to build the program with plenty of opportunities to enhance your professional development and network, we’re pleased to share a few updates, including the announcement of our keynote speakers and the introduction of the NextGeneration Power Pioneer Committee Pre-Conference Workshop. Read on and learn more below!

Registration for RMEL’s 2023 Spring Conference is Open – Join us May 22-24 in Kansas City, MO!
Register and Book Your Discounted Hotel Room in RMEL’s block (hotel booking deadline is April 30th, 2023).

Spring is in the air and RMEL is excited to share that registration is OPEN for the 2023 Spring Conference! Taking place Monday, May 22nd through Wednesday, May 24th at the InterContinental Kansas City at the Plaza Hotel, we are all ready to enjoy knowledge sharing, professional development, education and networking opportunities, camaraderie, and of course: famous Kansas City BBQ!

Take advantage of timely and relevant content in the 25+ technical sessions that tie together trends, technology, operations, engineering, leadership, and culture to build toward the electric energy future. We will share more details about the program soon, but in the meantime, visit the 2023 Spring Conference event page for the most up to date information.

If you are managing people or projects, engineering, planning or operating systems in the electric utility industry, this conference is for you. The Spring Conference has been a tradition since RMEL’s early beginnings. Known for providing outstanding continuing education and networking opportunities, this conference covers generation, transmission, distribution, and management topics. The topics and breakout structure of the conference allow attendees to customize their education experience to focus on presentations and resources that align with their needs. Ample time is also provided to network with industry peers including the golf outing, networking breaks and meals, and evening receptions.

Spring Conference Keynote Speakers Announced!

RMEL is also thrilled to share both 2023 Spring Conference keynote speakers have been announced! Read more about the keynote speakers and how their expertise and experiences embody the theme and spirit of the Spring Conference of building and managing strong organizational teams and cultures to execute at a high level.

Day 1 Keynote Speaker (Tuesday, May 23rd): Greg "Boss" Wooldridge, Former Commanding Officer of the Blue Angels

Greg Wooldridge is the only commanding officer to lead the Blue Angels for three separate tours. First selected because of his demonstrated ability to build teams where communication, trust, and teamwork took precedence over rank and status, Greg's heart-drive approach proved a perfect match for the Blue Angel's culture of excellence, and he was called back to lead two more teams through times of difficult transition. Since his success with the Blues, Greg has been inspired to share his methods in order to empower individuals and teams on their journey toward High Performance.

Day 2 Keynote Speaker (Wednesday, May 24th): Dr. Brian Brim, Senior Subject Matter Expert, Author, Executive Coach – Gallup

Dr. Brim brings extensive expertise as a key partner to top executives and organizations as they focus on improving culture through forward thinking research, analytics, advice, and consulting in key areas across the employee lifecycle. These areas include attracting and recruiting, selection, onboarding, performance management, team diagnostics and effectiveness, succession planning, organizational development and learning, strengths-based programs, and employee and customer engagement efforts. His insights have helped companies optimize their organizational potential to impact key business issues and outcomes and increase performance by leveraging their culture, talent and human capital strategies.

NEW! The NextGeneration Power Pioneer Pre-Conference Workshop 

Established by the RMEL Board of Directors in 2023, the NextGeneration Power Pioneer Committee is excited to announce a Pre-Conference Workshop, hosted on Monday, May 22nd, prior to the start of the 2023 RMEL Spring Conference, for the electric energy industry's next generation. Join us for the opportunity to develop both supervisor and individual contributor leadership skills and network with others in the industry. See the Pre-Conference Workshop agenda at-a-glance below. Learn more about the event and register on the Pre-Conference Workshop event webpage. Professional Development Hour (PDHs) certificates will be awarded after completion of the workshop.

Monday, May 22nd, 2023 | 2:00-5:30 pm CDT | InterContinental Kansas City on the Plaza Hotel

2:00-3:00pm - Interactive Workshop: Leadership Skills Development - Presented by Katie Werner, Vice President & Executive Business Manager for the Energy & Process Industries sector, Black & Veatch

3:15-4:15pm - Panel: Leadership Growth & Challenges Faced - Panelists: Ale de la Fuente, Sr. Manager of Human Resources, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association; Patrick Hanrahan, General Manager of Retail Services, Nebraska Public Power District; and Chris Raider, Resource Operations Director - Transmission & Distribution Group, Burns & McDonnell

4:30-5:30pm - Roundtable: The Future of the Energy Industry & the Next Generation's Role in it - Moderated by the RMEL NextGeneration Power Pioneer Committee

Book Your Hotel Room for the Spring Conference at a Discounted Rate

In the meantime, book your room at the InterContinental Kansas City at the Plaza Hotel and receive the special RMEL room block discounted rate of $194. To reserve your room, click the "Book a Room" link above to open the hotel's website where you will click 'book now'. Enter the dates of your stay within the block dates (May 21 - May 24) and click 'Search' to receive the RMEL Spring Conference group rates and room availability.

We hope to see you in Kansas City!

Spring Conference Sponsorship Opportunities Available!

Reach a diverse electric utility audience and enhance your organization's visibility at the 2023 RMEL Spring Conference through Tabletop Sponsorships. Reserve your spot quickly as we have sold out in the past! View the Tabletop Sponsorship Brochure and Sign Up for a spot today. If you have questions or would like to discuss a customized opportunity, please contact us at info@rmel.org or 303-865-5544.

RMEL's Version of "March Madness"

On top of seeing some great college basketball from both the men's and women's brackets, RMEL was doing its own version of "March Madness"! A huge "Thank You" to all the presenters that made our educational events a success these past four weeks, starting with the Basic Utility Workshop, then followed by the RMEL Safety Conference hosted by SRP, the Transmission & Substation Renewables Conference hosted by Tri-State, and this week’s Distribution Engineers Workshop hosted by Evergy! Props to the RMEL Education Committees who put together these timely and relevant topics for these events!   

RMEL's Upcoming Educational Conferences & Workshops

We will continue to offer additional events in the months leading up to the 2023 Spring Conference. Please visit the RMEL Events and Education Calendar webpage for the most up-to-date list of offerings, and reference the below Upcoming Event List in this newsletter to learn more and register. Our Committees, made up of RMEL Members, strives to organize timely, important, and thoughtful educational and networking events, and we are looking forward to a full year of these opportunities curated by our members, for our members. We hope to see you soon at an upcoming event!   

RMEL as your Resource

As always, please consider RMEL a resource to you and your organization. Please share those development opportunities with your peers, workgroups, and your professional network! Also, do not hesitate to reach out to us with topics or workshops you would deem beneficial to our industry. 

Thank you and enjoy the start of the Spring season!