Radio folks… let’s talk for a minute.
If you’ve been around this crazy, wonderful business for any length of time, chances are you’ve heard someone say two words that carry a whole lot of meaning in our industry:
The Conclave.
For decades, Minneapolis has been the place where radio people gathered. Not just to sit in panels and listen to speakers, but to learn from each other, laugh with each other, and sometimes debate the future of the business over coffee… or something stronger later in the evening.
The Conclave wasn’t just another conference. It was one of those rare places where a brand-new air talent could sit next to a legendary programmer, where students could shake hands with people they’d only heard about, and where the conversations in the hallway were sometimes more valuable than the sessions themselves.
A lot of that legacy traces back to Tom Kay, who helped guide The Conclave for many years and turn it into one of the most respected learning gatherings in broadcasting.
Later on, Lori Lewis stepped in during the mid-2010s and helped keep the spirit of the conference alive during a time when radio — and media in general — was changing faster than most of us could keep up with.
Then came COVID.
And like so many industry traditions, the microphones went quiet. Travel stopped. Gatherings disappeared. For a while, it looked like The Conclave might have signed off for good.
But radio people don’t quit that easily.
Now, under the leadership of current Conclave Chairman Bob Goff, the team is stepping up to the plate one more time.
They’re calling it “The Last Conclave.”
And that name says it all.
One final gathering.
One final chance for the radio community to come together in Minneapolis and celebrate the friendships, the ideas, and the careers that have been shaped by this event for nearly fifty years.
This isn’t just another conference. This is the curtain call.
It’s the moment where the industry gets to look around the room and remember that radio has always been about people — passionate, creative, sometimes a little stubborn people — who believe in the magic of a microphone and a transmitter.
If you’ve ever worked in radio…
If you’ve ever dreamed about working in radio…
Or if you simply love the craft of broadcasting…
This is the one you should probably be at.
You can register right now at:
www.thelastconclave.com
And when you sign up, make sure you tell them On The Dial referred you.
Because gatherings like this don’t come around forever.
And if this really is the last Conclave, it deserves one more room full of radio people swapping stories, sharing ideas, and reminding each other why we fell in love with this business in the first place.
Minneapolis… we’ll see you there.
One more time. www.thelastconclave.com
-Just Plain Steve