What IS a Round Table Seminar, anyway?
On Thursday, August 20, 2009, the FASNY Training and Education Committee has arranged for a “Meet the Experts” Round Table seminar during the 2009 FASNY Annual Convention in Niagara Falls, NY. The featured presenters during the Round Table are Chief Al Brunacini, Fire Investigator J. Gordon Routley, and Deputy Fire Coordinator Tiger Schmittendorf, each a considered expert in the firefighting industry.
So what IS a Round Table seminar? Well, I tell you what it’s not…it has nothing to do with King Arthur, or Spamalot, or Monty Python. There’s no singing or swordfights either (although that might be interesting…). In broad terms, a round table presentation is a less formal, less “chalk-and-talk” style of disseminating information to the attendees, usually in a Q & A format. The hoped-for result is a conversation that gets into the nuts and bolts of what really interests the audience.
My call to action for the attendees at this conversation is this; think about the areas of expertise amongst the presenters (Chief Brunacini—“Boss Behavior” and interdepartmental relations; J. Gordon Routley—fire investigation, scene size up and risk management; Tiger Schmittendorf—all things Recruitment and Retention), formulate the questions you think might be germane, and email them to me here at the FASNY office (training@fasny.com). Who knows? You might get your 15 minutes of fame and have your question highlighted during the seminar!