National Nurses United Global Conference – San Francisco, CA
At large, high-stakes events, connection is everything. Not just the technical kind, but the human kind; the magic is in the collaboration between production partners, technicians, and clients who all share a commitment to keep the message flowing.
When the Global Nurses United Union Conference convened in San Francisco, Talon AV served as the connectivity and technical-production partner, supporting streaming, interpretation, digital signage and attendee Wi-Fi across multiple hotel properties. Our role was to make sure every delegate could see, hear, and be heard, no matter where they were or what language they spoke.
Preparation Pays Off
In the weeks leading up to the conference, our team worked closely with Metro Media Productions who served as both the AV vendor and the General Services Contractor, 4Wall Entertainment, and the Venue IT staff across 3 different venues to map out connectivity for the general session, evening events, and multiple breakout rooms. We built layered redundancy into the plan from the start: bonded-cellular hardware on standby, dedicated subnets for production, and failover options ready to deploy.
We also supported the interpretation partner, Tiller Language Services, whose interpreters used the RSI X platform to deliver live multilingual audio streams. Because interpretation is especially sensitive to latency and dropouts, we designed a separate, monitored network segment just for them. Our goal: to make their experience seamless and predictable, even if the venue’s attendee network fluctuated.
The Challenge
Mid-conference, one of the hotel’s core routers failed. For the client, that router wasn’t just a box of blinking lights, it was the bridge between the stage and 1300 attendees listening to simultaneous interpretation on their personal devices.
The hotel had alternative systems on site, but restoring service would take time. Rather than wait, we pivoted immediately to protect the show. Our goal was simple: lightning-fast recovery and confidence for the client that there were multiple backup paths in place should any system falter again.
The Response
Because Talon AV had pre-positioned cellular systems on site, we were able to activate backup connections for uplink and interpretation ingest systems in moments, and continued to expand coverage quickly. Working through the night, our technicians and partners increased the penetration of cellular backups throughout the general-session and breakout spaces, deploying additional attendee-facing backups on top of the existing production backup systems.
The solution combined rental phones provisioned with fresh data plans, Peplink bonded-cellular routers, and a LiveU uplink, each adding a layer of redundancy. The approach was flexible, modular, and above all, fast. A mix of carriers and data plan options, plus key carrier and data provider relationships meant activating over 40 new lines of cellular data overnight was easy, and by morning, critical interpretation and streaming channels were restored, hotel network issues were mitigated, and we had backups upon backups to reassure the client we could keep the connections alive through our multiple independent network paths.
Partnership in Action
Moments like this underscore the strength of relationships. Talon AV’s onsite crew worked shoulder-to-shoulder with IATSE Local 16 technicians, whose professionalism and flexibility were invaluable throughout the show. Union stewards at each property coordinated late-night staffing adjustments so we could reposition resources without delay. It was a perfect example of how production partnerships, union and non-union alike, come together to serve the common goal of keeping the show online.
The collaboration extended beyond labor. Metro Media and 4Wall provided Audio, Video, and Lighting gear and personnel support, while the hotel’s engineering and IT teams stayed engaged and communicative even as we implemented our own layered contingency plan. Everyone understood the mission: keep the connection alive.
The Outcome
By the start of the second-day General Session, all critical systems were stable, and the client was confident moving forward. The interpreters reported feeling supported and informed, attendees reconnected smoothly, and the remainder of the event ran without incident.
What could have been a show-stopping technical issue became a quiet success story; a moment where preparation, calm leadership, and trust in our partners turned a potential failure into proof of resilience.
Looking Back
This project demonstrated what Talon AV values most: connection through collaboration. Every successful recovery begins long before show day, in how we plan redundancies, empower our teams, and build relationships strong enough to weather surprises.
It also marked a turning point in our own growth.
On the drive home, I found myself reflecting on how far we’ve come, and how different it feels to lead a company that clients now recognize not just by my name, but by our team’s reputation.
For many years, people hired me to solve problems. Now, they hire Talon AV to lead solutions. During this project, a client’s IT manager greeted us by name - not mine, but the company’s - and mentioned our team members before I could introduce them. That moment said it all: Talon has become more than one person’s effort.
I’m so proud of our crew, grateful for our partners at Metro Media Productions, 4Wall, Tiller Language Services / RSI X, and IATSE Local 16, and honored to have earned the trust of a client who knew we would always find a way forward.
Events don’t always go exactly as planned, but when the people behind them stay connected - to each other and to a shared purpose - the message always gets through.
Because at Talon AV, that’s what we do. Talon Connects.
