BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — In the fast-paced, high-demand world of home services, business owners are notoriously prone to getting bogged down in the day-to-day grind—dispatching technicians, troubleshooting supply chain hiccups, managing customer disputes, and keeping fleet vehicles on the road. But for four days this past September, hundreds of residential plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical contractors paused the daily fire drill to look up, look out, and look ahead.
Gathering at the sprawling JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, attendees converged for the Nexstar Network 2026 Super Meeting. Guided by the overarching theme "Design What’s Next," the conference challenged members, industry partners, and home services leaders to step back from the immediate pressures of daily operations and deliberately architect the long-term decisions, systems, and leadership paradigms that will define the next generation of their businesses.
As one of the premier annual gatherings in the skilled trades, the event delivered a potent mix of high-level keynote presentations, interactive design labs, peer-to-peer accountability roundtables, and high-energy networking.
Main Facts: The 2026 Super Meeting at a Glance
- Dates & Location: Mid-September; JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, San Antonio, Texas.
- Organizer: Nexstar Network, a member-owned organization serving the home services and skilled trades industries.
- Core Theme: "Design What’s Next" — emphasizing intentional, proactive business design over reactive management.
- Key Speakers & Authors: John C. Maxwell, Jesse Cole, Mike Michalowicz, Danielle Mulvey, Jason Hewlett, and Michael Feuz.
- Key Focus Areas: Strategic financial planning, corporate culture, emerging artificial intelligence (AI) applications, talent acquisition, leadership development, and profitability models.
- Special Highlights: The Women of Nexstar Moxie Lounge, an expansive Strategic Partner Tradeshow, a Texas-themed ranch reception at Knibbe Ranch, and the Explore The Trades "Future in Focus" fundraising reception and panel.
Chronology: A Four-Day Journey of Transformation
The structure of the 2026 Super Meeting was intentionally designed to take attendees on a developmental journey—moving from high-level vision and macroeconomic perspective down to tactical, boots-on-the-ground implementation strategies.
Day One: Setting the Vision and Stepping Back
The conference kicked off with an opening general session that immediately challenged the cultural status quo of contracting businesses. Rather than focusing merely on closing more service agreements or raising ticket averages, leadership speakers pressed attendees to evaluate why they are in business and what kind of enterprise they are building.
Julian Scadden, president and CEO of Nexstar, formally introduced the concept of "future-design-first" thinking. He emphasized that as a member-owned organization, Nexstar’s mandate is entirely tied to the long-term success, equity, and operational health of its members. The day set a high intellectual bar, urging owners to transition from operators working in their business to visionaries working on it.
Day Two: Financial Acumen, Talent, and Culture
The second day drilled down into the mechanical drivers of business durability: finance, human resources, and organizational culture. Bestselling author and entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz (Profit First) challenged conventional accounting practices, while hiring expert Danielle Mulvey presented modern recruitment methodologies designed to attract and retain top-tier talent in an ultra-competitive labor market.
Breakout sessions and design labs allowed members to choose tracks tailored to their specific operational maturity. Financial performance workshops gave owners granular tools to track key performance indicators (KPIs), while separate sessions explored the practical, ethical, and efficiency-driving applications of artificial intelligence in customer service and dispatching.
Day Three: Innovation, Connection, and Celebration
Midway through the conference, the focus shifted toward collaboration, market differentiation, and scaling leadership. The morning featured insights from Savannah Bananas founder Jesse Cole on radical audience engagement and out-of-the-box marketing, followed by leadership lessons from renowned author John C. Maxwell.
The afternoon transitioned into the highly anticipated Connecting for Solutions forum—a structured, collaborative session where peers, coaches, and trainers rolled up their sleeves to dissect real-world operational bottlenecks. Simultaneously, the expo floor buzzed with activity during the Strategic Partner Tradeshow, where attendees vetted cutting-edge software, hardware, and supply chain solutions.
As the sun set, the entire delegation was transported to the historic Knibbe Ranch for a quintessential Texas-themed evening complete with regional cuisine, a live rodeo showcase, networking under the stars, and a grand finale fireworks display.
Day Four: Looking Forward and Cementing Takeaways
The final morning of the Super Meeting served as an integration phase. Attendees synthesized four days of heavy learning into actionable ninety-day execution plans. The closing sessions encouraged owners to take the accountability frameworks back to their home offices, ensuring that the insights gathered in San Antonio would translate directly into measurable growth, improved workplace cultures, and healthier profit margins.
Supporting Data, Education, and Programming
The intellectual core of the Super Meeting was anchored by a roster of world-class thought leaders and industry practitioners.
The Keynote Faculty
- John C. Maxwell: The renowned leadership expert and bestselling author unpacked the foundational laws of leadership, challenging owners to develop influence rather than merely relying on title-based authority.
- Jesse Cole: Known for transforming baseball entertainment, Cole shared unconventional strategies for marketing, customer delight, and making a brand unforgettable in a crowded marketplace.
- Mike Michalowicz: The entrepreneur behind Profit First delivered hard-hitting financial advice, teaching contractors how to bake profitability into their business models from the first dollar earned rather than treating profit as an afterthought.
- Danielle Mulvey: The talent acquisition specialist provided modern blueprints for sourcing A-players and building scalable, drama-free work cultures.
- Jason Hewlett: The speaker and entertainer blended music, comedy, and message to remind leaders of the power of authenticity and personal legacy.
- Michael Feuz: The economist provided a comprehensive look at macroeconomic trends, interest rates, labor markets, and what home services contractors can expect from the broader economic landscape in the years ahead.
Interactive Formats and Specialized Hubs
Beyond traditional lecture formats, the 2026 Super Meeting emphasized experiential and micro-community learning:
- Design Labs & Breakout Sessions: Led by Nexstar’s internal bench of coaches and trainers, these hands-on workshops targeted specific pillars of business: financial accountability, advanced marketing, operational flow, and tech integration.
- The Women of Nexstar Moxie Lounge: A dedicated networking and mentorship hub celebrating and empowering women leaders, executives, and owners within the traditionally male-dominated skilled trades.
- Walk to Connect & Speed Networking: Structured physical and conversational mixers designed to break down geographical barriers, allowing contractors from non-competing markets to forge lifelong peer advisory bonds.
Philanthropy and the Future of the Trades
A poignant highlight of the event was the intersection of business growth and workforce development. Explore The Trades, a prominent nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring students, parents, and educators about careers in plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical work, hosted its annual Future in Focus fundraising reception.
Furthermore, the nonprofit sponsored Leading the Trades, a high-impact panel discussion featuring John C. Maxwell and other industry advocates. The panel addressed the ongoing skilled labor shortage head-on, discussing actionable community outreach programs and educational partnerships necessary to secure the pipeline of future technicians and business owners.
Official Responses and Member Perspectives
The true measure of any industry conference lies in the feedback and sentiment of its attendees. For the 2026 Super Meeting, the response from the Nexstar membership was overwhelmingly positive, validating the organization’s member-first philosophy.
"As a member-owned organization, Nexstar maintains its focus on delivering value to our membership," stated Julian Scadden, president and CEO of Nexstar Network. "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. 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."
This sentiment was echoed by Liz Wilts, vice president of operations at Nexstar, who emphasized the psychological shift the conference aimed to provoke.
"What makes this community special is that our members are always looking for ways to get better," said Wilts. "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."
For first-time attendees and seasoned veterans alike, the conference delivered tangible professional value.
- Megan Ohlmann, marketing director at Action Air Plumbing & Septic in Lubbock, Texas, shared her enthusiasm: "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, echoed the praise: "This knocked it out of the park. Great social interaction with awesome networking."
- Craig Parks of Rainaldi Home Services in Orlando, Florida, summarized the collective mood of the delegation: "It really exceeded my expectations and was the best Super Meeting event I’ve had the opportunity to attend."
Implications: What "Designing What’s Next" Means for the Skilled Trades
The concepts explored at the 2026 Super Meeting arrive at a critical inflection point for the home services industry. As technological disruption accelerates—exemplified by the growing adoption of artificial intelligence in customer relationship management, dispatch optimization, and predictive maintenance—contracting businesses face a stark choice: adapt proactively or fall behind reactively.
Furthermore, economic headwinds, shifting consumer expectations, and an evolving workforce demand a departure from legacy management styles. By anchoring the San Antonio meeting around intentional design, Nexstar Network has provided its members with a strategic roadmap for the future.
Key Takeaways for Industry Evolution:
- Systemic Intentionality: Sustainable growth cannot rely solely on the tireless hustle of the owner; it requires documented systems, data-driven financial controls, and scalable organizational charts.
- Culture as a Competitive Advantage: In an era of labor scarcity, companies that prioritize employee development, intentional recruitment, and cultural health through spaces like the Moxie Lounge will consistently win the talent war.
- Technological Integration: Embracing AI and advanced software is no longer optional for forward-thinking trades businesses; it is becoming the baseline expectation for efficient operations and superior customer experience.
- Community and Collective Wisdom: The isolation often felt by independent business owners is best cured through robust peer networks, where shared vulnerabilities and collaborative problem-solving yield immediate operational breakthroughs.
As the attendees packed their bags and returned to their respective markets across North America, they carried back more than just promotional swag or notebook scribbles. They carried a renewed mandate: to stop reacting to the immediate demands of today, and start deliberately designing the industry giants of tomorrow.
