The Atlanta Consortium (known as TATL) gathered at the Atlanta Ballet for a one-day mini-conference on Monday, February 19.

TATLCON, as they dubbed the event, brought together approximately 40 people from six different organizations for a full day of learning and networking. EB Hooyer of the Aurora Theatre and Mary French of the Atlanta Ballet organized the event, which featured nine total presenters over the course of the day.

EB Hooyer welcomed the group before kicking off the first general session, which featured presentations on managing duplicate data and business continuity planning.

With so many attendees in varying job roles, the conference offered concurrent sessions. For the late morning sessions, participants could choose between a session on data analytics and another on dynamic pricing and Tessitura’s Pricing Rules feature.

To facilitate networking, an important component of the event, both breakfast and lunch included activities designed to connect users.

The afternoon offered choices in both fundraising and ticketing, with sessions on Plans (Tessitura’s moves management functionality) and a round of Tips & Tricks for Ticketing Fast. The closing general session offered a chance to sum up the day and discuss plans for the future. From there, attendees joined up with Atlanta’s broader Tessitura Regional User Group for continued networking.

Co-organizer EB Hooyer noted that this was the first event of its kind for the Atlanta Consortium, and they hope to build on its success. “Just do it,” she said to potential organizers. “It may seem like a lot of work, but it’s worth it. You may not know where to start, but you will figure it out, and the payback is incredible. We are ready to host another one!”

Fellow co-organizer Mary French noted, “The goals for TATLCON were simple — have more users in TATL involved in a training and networking event.  Too many times people rely on the ‘Super Power Users’ when there are others who have the answers.” 

One attendee commented afterward, “I appreciated the speakers’ and attendees’ willingness to problem-solve each other’s real-world Tess issues.” Many in the consortium are now looking for more educational opportunities and are excited to continue building on the relationships that were formed at TATLCON.

Andrew Recinos, President of Tessitura Network, said: “The Tessitura Atlanta consortium, TATL, demonstrates the art of the possible. Everyone involved embraced the needs of their organizations and created an event in direct response to those needs. With TATLCON, the resourceful TATL team are providing a potent example of what makes the Tessitura community such a powerful force in the arts and culture world.”