RCC’s annual user conference reaches 25-year milestone

A group shot of attendees at the 2023 RCC user seminar. (Photo courtesy of RCC)

More than 200 people attended Rural Computer Consultants’ (RCC) 25th annual customer seminar in June.

RCC held the three-day conference at the Radisson Blu Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the state where RCC is headquartered. The event has previously been held in Savannah, Georgia; New Orleans; Omaha, Nebraska; Reno, Nevada; Atlanta; and the Cayman Islands.

Nancy Mathison and Freddie Ridler. (Photo courtesy of RCC)

For the past five years, Freddie Ridler and Nancy Mathison have planned and emceed the event.

“It’s the attendees’ energy that keeps me doing this year after year,” Ridler says. “The minute the seminar starts, it’s showtime. There is a reason our customers attend year after year.”

The event includes entertainment as well as educational opportunities that cover the RCC software program, reviews of forecasting, and procedures.

“We like to promote networking because customers gain friendships from the event,” Ridler explains.

This year’s event included four keynote presenters, including Jacob Peterson, director of state advocacy and affairs for the National Propane Gas Association, who discussed the importance of industry involvement.

The other three were:

• Steve Gasser, CEO, Vivid Image Inc.
• Brian and Tim Follick, Consulting Psychologists Inc.
• David Lowe, sales and advisory consultant, Pro Image Communications

Nancy Mathison and Freddie Ridler stand on either side of Tony Smith from FRF Productions, who livestreams the event. (Photo courtesy of RCC)

“Marketers said the keynote presentations at this year’s event were a great addition,” Ridler says. “We will be including those again next year.”

It also included two panel discussions with the company’s developers and the technical team.

“We put two of our RCC teams in the hot seat,” Ridler says. “Not only are customers learning about RCC, but we get to learn about the marketers as well.”

Mathison agrees, “We continue to run out of time to cover all the items and show how the software can help serve our customers in their day-to-day businesses. This carved-out time of each year we can directly engage with our customers is truly precious.”

During 2020, the company shifted to a virtual-only conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the event has been hybrid with a livestreaming option with the help of FRF Productions.

RCC is in the early-planning stages for its 2024 conference. The company CEO, Susie Peterson, will be retiring next year, prompting plans for a big party, according to Ridler.

“It was an awesome event this year,” Ridler says. “And we are going to continue to raise the bar next year – along with the entertainment.”

Ridler says RCC plans to include more vendor partners at the 2024 conference.