< PreviousWelcome to CinemaCon! As someone who used to play sports competitively, this week is now what I like to consider my professional Super Bowl. Seasoned CinemaCon veterans and rookies alike have trained all year, practicing our handshakes and our elevator pitches, studying schedules and Caesars Palace maps, strengthening our ability to stay up late and wake up early, and sharpening our listening skills for the various presentations and seminars. And finally, here we are: the biggest and best gathering of movie theater owners, studio representatives, and vendor partners from around the world. A winning Super Bowl team is never just one or two people. An NFL team can have a roster of up to 55 people who work together to get to that very special Sunday. Within NATO and CinemaCon, this week wouldn’t be possible without a full roster, including our very own NATO member volunteers. In addition to nimble and diligent NATO and CinemaCon staff members, NATO is lucky to have a roster of almost 3,000 individuals who are a part of our association, who work tirelessly all year lobbying in grassroots campaigns, managing NATO committee priorities, and participating in NATO and Cinema Foundation surveys and events. They do all of this on top of offering their guests extraordinary cinema experiences every day. NATO’s strength as an association comes from our members around the country and the world. Without our members, we would not be able to get any meaningful work done. NATO has always been a member-driven organization, and we get across the CinemaCon goal line each year thanks to the work of our members. As John Fithian mentioned in his earlier piece, NATO has never had such an active volunteer base. In 2022, NATO instituted a new committee application process in order to ensure more members can get involved with matters they feel passionate about. I want to take a moment to thank all who have applied and taken on new responsibilities in addition to your busy jobs, along with those who were already involved. I am inspired by your dedication and innovation, and constantly motivated to work harder for this NATO team because of you. And to NATO members who are interested in getting more involved, I strongly encourage you to do so. NATO will always benefit from new, diverse ideas and perspectives, and I know there are future MVVs (Most Valuable Volunteers) out there, still waiting to make their NATO team debut. Reach out to me at evh@natoca.com to learn more about how to get started. I can’t promise anyone that there’s an enormous trophy or ring to win at the end of this week, but the stereotypical millennial in me says we should all feel like winners, to be able to spend several days together, celebrating the moviegoing experience as a literal part of our jobs. Getting to work in the exhibition industry, with our roster of all-star NATO members, is a prize that I cherish, especially during CinemaCon, and I hope you all feel similarly about the work you get to be involved with here at CinemaCon and with NATO throughout the year! So, good luck out there on the CinemaCon field this week! I hope you all score a lot of metaphorical business touchdowns. Don’t be afraid to celebrate by dumping a large cooler of Coca-Cola on yourselves at the end! NATO is grateful to have you on our team, at CinemaCon and all year long. ERIN VON HOETZENDORFF Director of Membership and Global Affairs, NATO Three Cheers for NATO VolunteersThe Best Choose the Best Screen of choice for CinemaCon for the 9 th successive year. Clarus XC - See it performing live in the Colosseum throughout the show. See us at CinemaCon 2023 - Booth #2103A (Augustus Ballroom) www.harkness-screens.comICE IMMERSIVE ® TECHNOLOGY I IMMERSIVE AUDIO VIP SEAT I 4K RGB LASER PROJECTION THE WORLD’S MOST IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE COME MEET US BOOTH #2113Afind it. watch it. moviefone.com Copyright © 2023 Moviefone Media All Rights ReservedNext >