Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2021 - 10

January 2021

n k b a

THE LEAP TO TOMORROW

" C

hange is the law of life. And those who look only on the past or the
present are certain to miss the future. "
President John F. Kennedy said these words in 1963. Nearly six decades later, they still ring true, and they will continue for eons to come
- because change is the only constant. KBIS Virtual 2021 will be a
completely transformed event, unlike what most of us have ever experienced.
Then again, 2020 was unlike what most of us have ever experienced - and
going forward, at least in the short term, things are unlikely to return to the
way they were. So we have to evolve. And our trade show is evolving as well.
But, let's face it. Things shouldn't go back to " the way they were. " That
would mean stagnation, regression, boredom. And these are the enemies of
creativity, ingenuity, progress, success.
The pandemic might have accelerated things, but in reality, the exponential
growth in communications technology that keeps us all connected has been
nudging the whole world toward virtual experiences, meeting and networking - and at NKBA, we are making sure that KBIS and our industry are
on the leading edge. We started this journey about five years ago, when we
began transforming our website to a state-of-the-art, mobile-first platform.
Today, that seems almost primitive, considering the way the tech - and our
website - have advanced in just a short time. But it was the necessary step
that allowed us to take the leap to tomorrow.
The programming, content and delivery method we're developing for this
edition of KBIS is extraordinary. It wasn't widely available a few years ago,
and what was available certainly was not at the level of sophistication that it
is today. So, had this global health crisis occurred 10 or even five years ago,
chances are slim that we would even be able to bring you the full-throttle
KBIS experience that's coming your way.

n o t e

From virtual product tours and 24-7 access to
terrific webinars in the Voices from the Industry
Conference, to interactive, immersive activities
that invite lots of audience participation, you will
discover, learn, meet and network in groundbreaking ways.
We are confident that the innovations we experience will be of such a high caliber that we'll
continue to incorporate the best elements in years
to come - and push the envelope as the combination of technology and creativity advance.
We're planning a fantastic KBIS Opening Celebration on Monday, Feb. 8, that will provide a
walk-through of the Virtual KBIS platform, as
well as some surprise guests. And, it wouldn't be
KBIS without our annual Kitchen & Bath Design
+ Industry Awards, where we'll honor the winners
of our professional and student design competitions and pay tribute to some of our industry's
stars. We'll have some special events for chapters
as well.
We've long characterized NKBA as " KBIS 365 "
- a way to extend the experience and maintain the
spirit of discovery and community the whole year
through. This is just one of the things that makes
NKBA proud as a trade association and, we believe, very valuable to our membership.The virtual
component will allow us to extend in an even more
meaningful way. We'll have the potential to reach
more people in more places, some of whom might
not have been able to participate in a live event.
And we're making content and booths available
on the virtual platform through March 31.
We know it's not business as usual, and 2020,
as we've said many times in the past nine months,
has been a game-changer.
The struggles we go through in life make us stronger,smarter and teach us to make different decisions.
They push us to become better - and sometimes,
they are just the necessary impetus we need to take
us on the path where we need to go.


BILL DARCY
CEO
National Kitchen + Bath
Association
BDarcy@nkba.org
Twitter: @NKBA_CEO

/ JANUARY 2021 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of NKBA (NKBA.org) and KBIS (KBIS.com)

http://www.twitter.com/NKBA_CEO http://www.KBBONLINE.COM http://www.NKBA.org http://www.KBIS.com

Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2021