BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — In the fast-paced, high-demand world of home services, business owners and contractors are rarely afforded the luxury of pausing. The daily realities of dispatching trucks, managing customer service queues, dealing with supply chain hiccups, and retaining skilled technicians usually consume every waking hour.
However, in mid-September, hundreds of the nation’s top home services professionals chose to press pause. They gathered at the luxurious JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, for the highly anticipated Nexstar Network 2026 Super Meeting.
Centered around the provocative theme "Design What’s Next," the four-day conference challenged attendees to step away from operational firefighting and focus entirely on the strategic decisions, scalable systems, and transformative leadership practices necessary to future-proof their enterprises. Drawing Nexstar members, industry partners, and prominent trade leaders from across North America, the event served as a masterclass in modern business stewardship, striking a delicate balance between high-level macro strategy and actionable, boots-on-the-ground tactics.
Main Facts
- Event: Nexstar Network 2026 Super Meeting
- Dates & Location: Mid-September; JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, San Antonio, Texas.
- Core Theme: "Design What’s Next" — emphasizing intentional, proactive business design over reactive day-to-day management.
- Key Attendees: Hundreds of Nexstar members, home services industry leaders, leading corporate partners, and skilled trades advocates.
- Headline Speakers: Bestselling leadership author John C. Maxwell; Savannah Bananas founder Jesse Cole; Profit First author Mike Michalowicz; hiring expert Danielle Mulvey; entertainer and speaker Jason Hewlett; and economist Michael Feuz.
- Key Focus Areas: Leadership development, financial strategy, talent acquisition and retention, workplace culture, emerging technology (including artificial intelligence), and economic forecasting.
Chronology: A Four-Day Journey of Transformation
The structure of the 2026 Super Meeting was intentionally designed to guide attendees through a progressive journey of self-reflection, strategic alignment, and tactical implementation.
Day 1: Grounding and Vision Setting
The conference kicked off with a welcome reception that immediately established a sense of community among first-time attendees and seasoned veterans alike. Leadership set the tone early: to survive and thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace, business owners must stop working in their businesses and start working on them. The opening sessions encouraged contractors to evaluate their current operational bottlenecks and dare to imagine a streamlined, highly profitable future.
Day 2: Strategic Alignment and Keynotes
The second day marked the deep dive into the conference’s core themes. Attendees rotated through high-impact keynote presentations and specialized breakout sessions. Economic insights from Michael Feuz provided a clear picture of macro trends affecting the home services sector, while speakers like John C. Maxwell and Mike Michalowicz challenged traditional mentalities regarding organizational growth and cash-flow management. The evening brought networking opportunities, including the lively Women of Nexstar Moxie Lounge and structured speed-networking sessions designed to foster cross-market collaboration.
Day 3: Innovation, AI, and Execution
Day three bridged high-level theory with modern application. Dedicated design labs and workshops walked members through practical applications for artificial intelligence in dispatching, marketing, and customer service. Concurrently, the bustling Strategic Partner Tradeshow opened its doors, showcasing cutting-edge software, hardware, and supply chain solutions tailored specifically to plumbing, HVAC, and electrical contractors. The evening transitioned into an unforgettable Texas-themed cultural experience at the historic Knibbe Ranch, featuring authentic regional cuisine, live entertainment, a rodeo showcase, and a closing fireworks display.
Day 4: Looking Forward and Giving Back
The final day of the conference focused on sustainability, legacy, and community impact. Explore The Trades hosted its pivotal Future in Focus fundraising reception alongside the "Leading the Trades" panel discussion, uniting industry advocates to address the ongoing labor shortage. The conference officially drew to a close with final peer networking sessions, leaving attendees charged with renewed purpose as they prepared to return to their respective markets.
Supporting Data and Educational Programming
The educational curriculum at the 2026 Super Meeting was exhaustive, data-driven, and meticulously structured to address the multifaceted challenges facing modern plumbing, HVAC, and electrical contractors.
Keynote Insights and Thought Leadership
Nexstar curated a powerhouse lineup of external experts to push attendees out of their comfort zones:
- John C. Maxwell: The legendary leadership expert focused on the relational dynamics of scaling a business, reminding owners that sustainable growth is entirely dependent on developing the people around them.
- Jesse Cole: The visionary founder of the Savannah Bananas shared radical marketing and customer-experience frameworks, encouraging contractors to rethink how they delight consumers and differentiate their brands in mundane markets.
- Mike Michalowicz: The entrepreneur and author of Profit First delivered a masterclass on financial discipline, urging business owners to prioritize profitability from the very first dollar earned rather than treating profit as an afterthought.
- Danielle Mulvey: The talent acquisition expert tackled the ongoing labor crisis, offering proven recruitment methodologies designed to attract top-tier talent and build unbreakable company cultures.
- Jason Hewlett: Blending humor with powerful messaging, Hewlett focused on personal accountability and leaving a lasting legacy.
- Michael Feuz: Provided critical economic forecasting, helping business owners navigate inflationary pressures, labor market shifts, and consumer spending habits.
Specialized Learning Labs and Interactive Forums
Beyond the primary stages, attendees engaged in hands-on learning through specialized tracks:
- Design Labs & Workshops: Led by internal Nexstar coaches and trainers, these sessions provided granular training on financial performance metrics, scaling accountability structures, and integrating artificial intelligence tools into daily workflows.
- Connecting for Solutions: A collaborative peer-to-peer forum where contractors broke into small groups to dissect real-world operational challenges—ranging from supply chain delays to technician retention—and brainstorm immediate, field-tested solutions.
- The Strategic Partner Tradeshow: A curated exhibition floor featuring industry-leading vendors, giving contractors direct access to innovative products, software ecosystems, and business services explicitly designed to optimize home services operations.
Community and Special Interest Groups
The Super Meeting also nurtured specialized segments of the Nexstar community:
- Women of Nexstar Moxie Lounge: A dedicated space empowering female leaders, owners, and managers within the skilled trades to connect, share experiences, and mentor one another.
- Walk to Connect: An active networking initiative encouraging early-morning wellness and organic relationship-building.
- Explore The Trades Integration: The nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging the labor gap hosted high-profile fundraising and panel events, emphasizing the critical mission of inspiring the next generation of trade professionals.
Official Responses and Perspectives
The success of the 2026 Super Meeting was best captured through the reflections of the leadership team and the heartfelt testimonials of attending members.
Julian Scadden, president and CEO of Nexstar Network, emphasized the foundational philosophy that drives the organization:
"As a member-owned organization, Nexstar maintains its focus on delivering value to our membership. The events we create for members to connect, the programs and coaching we offer, and the partners we invite to this and other events are all member-focused," Scadden stated. "Nexstar is member-owned by design, and this year we presented the rollout of future-design-first thinking in every area, from customer experience to financial acumen, leadership, and beyond. We’re grateful to serve the world’s best tradespeople."
Liz Wilts, Nexstar’s vice president of operations, highlighted the psychological shift the conference aimed to instill in attendees:
"What makes this community special is that our members are always looking for ways to get better," Wilts noted. "We challenged them to step away from the day-to-day, think intentionally about the businesses they’re trying to build, and learn from one another as they design the path to get there."
Members echoed these sentiments, expressing overwhelming satisfaction with the caliber of education, networking, and overall execution:
- Megan Ohlmann, marketing director at Action Air Plumbing & Septic in Lubbock, Texas, shared: "I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s our first Super Meeting and the bar is set high!"
- John Caruthers, founder and CEO of Best Virginia Heating and Cooling in Hurricane, West Virginia, added: "This knocked it out of the park. Great social interaction with awesome networking."
- Craig Parks of Rainaldi Home Services in Orlando, Florida, concluded: "It really exceeded my expectations and was the best Super Meeting event I’ve had the opportunity to attend."
Implications for the Home Services Industry
The overarching message of the Nexstar Network 2026 Super Meeting carries profound implications for the broader plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical sectors.
For decades, the home services industry has operated primarily on a reactive model: phones ring, trucks roll, and problems are fixed as they arise. However, macroeconomic pressures, rapidly evolving consumer expectations, and technological disruptions—such as artificial intelligence and advanced automation—are rendering reactive business models obsolete.
By focusing the Super Meeting on intentional design, proactive leadership, and rigorous financial management, Nexstar Network is actively signaling where the industry must go. Contractors who embrace data-driven decision-making, invest heavily in corporate culture, and leverage modern technological tools are positioning themselves to dominate their local markets. Conversely, businesses that cling to outdated, status-quo operations risk falling behind.
Furthermore, by integrating workforce development initiatives like Explore The Trades directly into the fabric of the event, Nexstar is ensuring that the industry addresses its most critical long-term bottleneck: talent. Strengthening the pipeline of skilled labor is no longer a secondary objective; it is an existential requirement for sustainable growth.
As attendees packed their bags and departed San Antonio for home markets across the United States and Canada, they carried more than just notes and promotional swag. They carried blueprints. Armed with a renewed mindset of intentionality and the backing of a powerful peer network, these home services leaders are well-equipped to design what’s next—not just for their individual companies, but for the entire skilled trades industry.
