The IAFF’s Strive for Excellence Summit arrives in Las Vegas this March – bringing together our union’s best education under a single roof. Created by delegate action at the 57th Convention, the summit will be the IAFF’s premier training event, and the first designed for the entire membership.
“It will be real-world training, led by people with real-world skills and experience,” General President Edward Kelly said. “Both our rank-and-file members and our affiliate leaders will leave the summit with the tools to succeed, whether that’s on the fire ground or at the bargaining table.”
Beginning March 29, 2026, the week-long event will offer 100 new workshops across 19 focused topics, including sessions offering CEUs and critical fire-industry accreditation. Members can build a custom schedule from a range of areas, including operations, EMS, bargaining, union leadership, health and safety, communications, research, peak human performance, and union administration.
The summit features five full days of new, hands-on training at the Carpenters International Training Center, providing members with scenario-based instruction rooted in the realities of today’s fire service. Strive for Excellence will also include an IAFF Olympics, inviting members from both nations to compete in a fire-centric test of physical ability.
The summit combines past IAFF events, including ALTS, the “Buddy” Maas Conference, and the Redmond Health and Safety Symposium/Barbera EMS Conference, into one.
Registration is now open. Explore the full schedule at IAFF.org/Strive.
