March 26-28, 2025
Embassy Suites,
Franklin
Agenda
Click on the + to see brief description.
Wednesday March 26, 2025
Utility Locator Skills Enhancement Workshop | 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Instructor: Bob Nighswonger, Utility Training Academy
Damage Investigation Workshop | 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Instructor: Roger Cox, ACTS Now
Summit Golf Outing | 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Towhee Club
Tennessee 811 Reception | 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Located in the Exhibit Hall, with networking, food and drinks for all.
Thursday March 27, 2025
Welcome & Opening Remarks | 7:45 AM - 8:00 AM
Winning the War For Talent | 8:00 AM - 8:50 AM
Speaker: Chris Czarnik, Keynote Speaker
Companies across America will struggle with recruiting and retaining talent within the next 5 years. Chris Czarnik has been helping companies across the nation change the way they recruit talent with a unique process that is proven to retain them. As one of the most accomplished career coaches in the country, Chris can teach you how to solve your talent issues once and for all. Let him teach you how to transform your workforce.
Tennessee 811 Update & Annual Meeting | 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM
This session is TN811’s annual meeting and includes a general overview of programs for 2024. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend this session.
(Members may attend just this meeting only)
No More Excuses: How the Digital Revolution Is Solving the Abandoned Line Challenge | 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Speaker: Chris Stovall, Line-Scape
This session will cover a case study in how the digital revolution helped one of the largest pipeline companies in the U.S. solve their challenges with abandoned lines and a look forward to the digital future of our industry.
Positive Response Codes - TN Focused | 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
Facilitator: Bill Turner, Tennessee 811
Panel Discussion
Positive response codes were designed to play a crucial role in clear and specific communication between the excavator and the utility (locator). Both excavators and locators alike have expressed displeasure with the codes not being specific enough. Is it time to revisit this issue? Have current positive response codes contributed to a lack of clarity in the excavator process? Should there be universal codes that cross state lines to provide greater clarity and confidence in the system? Should the process begin with asking excavators and locators to sit down together with the 811 centers to identify their specific concerns?
Lunch | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Networking with Exhibitors | 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM
Rethinking Trench Safety: Misinterpretations, Inaccuracies, and False Knowledge Clarified | 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Speaker: Bruce Magee, United Rentals
Working underground is extremely hazardous. Rules for such work are in place, and protective systems exist that should keep workers safe. So why are 30-45 people dying every year in trenches and excavation? It could be that many people think they know the rules, but really don’t. It has also been found that many people have been taught the wrong thing. Or they modify systems without proper approval from a registered professional engineer. This session will clarify misinterpretations, inaccuracies and false knowledge surrounding trench safety.
Finding the Highest and Best Use of Tennessee’s Dig Law, Part 1 | 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Speaker: Bill Turner, Tennessee 811
Attend this unique session where you are the panelist and the expert. What is working well and needs to be left alone, what is just not working as well as it was intended to be? This session is the first of two back to back sessions designed to take into account current law, potential legislative changes and the need to better understand how to match the law with stakeholder practices in the field.
Accurately Map Your Utility While You Locate… How Does That Work? | 3:30 PM - 4:20 PM
Speaker: Matt Manning – Vivax-Metrotech
Description: Locating your underground utility lines and creating accurate GIS maps at the same time always has made sense. This is a technology that locating manufacturers have been working on for years and finally there is a breakthrough. Attend this session to learn how it works and the features that are available now.
Finding the Highest and Best Use of Tennessee’s Dig Law, Part 2 | 3:30 PM - 4:20 PM
Continued discussion to better define making the current dig law work for the stakeholders getting the work done.
Tennessee 811 Reception | 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Friday March 28, 2025
Damage Prevention & Effective Enforcement | 8:00 AM - 8:50 AM
Speaker: Tiffany Baker, PHMSA
This information will focus on reminding stakeholders that excavation work/behaviors is governed by a related law, regulation, or best practice. Everyone needs to be held accountable to safe excavation practices, and that accountability is done, in part, by way of “effective enforcement.” We will also evaluate damage and enforcement data, and identify opportunities for damage prevention stakeholders to advance the safe excavation mission.
Cybersecurity Starts with You | 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM
Speaker: Brian Bennett, Davenport Group
Explore the fundamental principles of cybersecurity and learn how it is everyone’s responsibility. Davenport Group’s cybersecurity expert Brian Bennett will present about essential practices to safeguard your digital footprint. From recognizing phishing attempts to implementing strong passwords, attendees will walk away with practical tips to enhance their cyber hygiene and protect themselves and their organizations from cyber threats.
ACTS Expansion into Global | 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM
Speaker: Roger Cox, ACTS, ACTS Now, Inc.
What would happen if we gave new ideas a chance to be heard? Attend this session to learn more about a new concept in damage prevention. Learn about programs designed to inspire rather than inform. We already have enough information to be better than we are, so what is holding us back? Just maybe we need to try something differently.
Enforcement Update Through Case Studies | 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Speaker: Slayde Warren, TPUC
Attend this session to learn about Tennessee’s enforcement through actual case studies.
Broadband’s Unique Challenges and Unique Solutions | 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
Facilitator: Craig Ingram, Tennessee 811
Panel Discussion
Panel discussion with surrounding states about legislative initiatives and differences in state laws. GA, AL, MS, KY, TN, AR, MO, NC, and VA.