CEDIA Expo announced a programming partnership with Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA), bringing its biggest “Tommapalooza” Industry Education Day to the show. Named for Tom Doherty, a co-founder of CEDIA and 2001 Lifetime Achievement recipient, Tom is the creator of the “learning festival” and produced by the HTSA’s education team. This event is part of a yearlong series of HTSA’s educational initiatives. As the director of New Technology Initiatives for HTSA, Tom has continued to see a need for training initiatives around specialty market segments like lighting design and fixture sales and the newer areas of health and wellness. “Tommapalooza” curated learning festival is an ideal solution.

“We are very excited to host Tommapalooza 2021 at this year’s CEDIA EXPO,” shares Jason McGraw, Emerald Group vice president CEDIA Expo/KBIS. “We wanted to create a significant lighting educational opportunity at the upcoming CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis. By partnering with HTSA, we’re expanding the value of the show with HTSA’s remarkable lighting and business content for all CEDIA Expo attendees.”

“All year long, HTSA’s education team develops programs for HTSA members to drive their success in the technology business,” said Tom Doherty, HTSA director of New Technology Initiatives. “CEDIA Expo is an event that occurs only once a year, and we are excited to be able to give something back to the greater industry. Let’s all learn together.”

Tommapalooza 2021 will host an Industry Education Day including lighting design training delivered by Peter Romaniello, IALD, as well as offering a keynote speaker to kick off the day  with “Changing Perceptions and Leveraging Advanced Technologies in Preparation for a More Autonomous Tomorrow.” The event will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, at the Indiana Convention Center in Meeting Rooms 204, 205, 206 and 207. The event is open to all industry attendees.

Topics include:

• HDR10 Ecosystem Workshop
• Elevating Your Home Theater into Screening Rooms
• Winning Over Architects
• Health and Wellness Sales Strategies
• Lighting and Integration: Where and How Do I Start?
• Successfully Selling Lighting
• Delivering Lighting Design to Your Clients – 3 Approaches
• Lighting Fixture Supply strategies with Custom Home Builders

The Industry Education Event will be headlined by speaker Mike Wimmer. He recently made worldwide news when he graduated from both high school and college in the same week at just 12 years old.  His work in artificial intelligence and machine learning has already gained the military’s attention. To date, he has completed six contracts with the United States Special Operations Command, receiving numerous awards for his efforts. His keynote, “Changing Perceptions and Leveraging Advanced Technologies in Preparation for a More Autonomous Tomorrow,” is sponsored by Crestron Electronics. The presentation will take place Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. in the Sagamore Ballroom in the Indiana Convention Center.

“We are extremely proud to partner with Emerald to dramatically expand our educational program offerings at CEDIA Expo 2021,” said Jon Robbins, executive director of Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA). “When two great organizations like Emerald and HTSA combine their resources to deliver great content, all show attendees, and the industry overall, benefit.”