A sold-out group of 475 members, vendors and prospects attended a physically distanced version of Nexstar Network’s annual Super Meeting, held  Oct. 6-8, at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix. Super Meeting is a three-day event filled with programming and content designed specifically for those connected to Nexstar — it offers a chance for participants to meet, learn, work together to tackle business challenges and network. But this year held something new: Super Meeting 2020 offered participants the option of attending either in-person or virtually. The pandemic was the driving force behind the online, virtual attendance option, but it turned out that virtual attendance was a huge success — more than 1,500 members and employees attended virtually, bringing the grand total of attendees to nearly 2,000 people.

“I want to thank the hotel staff, and the Nexstar staff, for following the safety protocols in place for us to hold this event in person," said Nexstar President and CEO Julian Scadden. "Most importantly, I want to thank the attendees, from our Strategic Partners to our members, that embodied the actions and behaviors that enabled us to be the model of how to congregate safely, while maximizing education and sharing, which are at the core of the Nexstar membership.”

The theme of the event this year was "The Shift: Seeing Possibility." Nexstar invited several keynote speakers to speak around this theme, making Super Meeting 2020 an exciting, educational, and entertaining event. John Warrillow, best-selling author of "Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You," explained how to build a company that investors would fight for. New York Times best-selling co-author of "Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win and The Dichotomy of Leadership," Jocko Willink, spoke about his concept of leaders and team members taking responsibility for the success of their missions. New York Times best-selling author and motivational speaker, John Maxwell, discussed his book and concept, Leadershift, which he defines as the ability to move quickly and have a plan. Pat Lencioni, New York Times best-selling author of "The Motive: Why Leaders Abdicate Their Most Important Responsibilities," addressed the group on the five things a leader must do.

There was a tribute to Nexstar’s former CEO and President, Jack Tester, for his decade of service in his position. Tester is now a leadership coach with Nexstar, having completed a successful succession Scadden. Additionally, Super Meeting participants enjoyed a physically distanced marketing breakout session, trade show and networking reception. Virtual attendees moved seamlessly through the events on a custom-built digital platform.