Call for speakers.
FOC27 is April 16 and 17, 2027, on the working floor at P&M Apparel in Polk City, Iowa. Seventy five decorators, two tracks, no stage and no ballroom. Proposals close November 13, 2026.
Not a trade show. A working shop floor.
Everything happens on the floor at P&M Apparel: 8,220 square feet of active screen printing, embroidery, heat transfer, art and fulfillment. Presses run. Machines are open. There is no stage, no green room and no ballroom. If you say “come over here, I will show you,” you can walk fifteen feet and show them.
Traditional conference
Stand at the front and present to the industry.
Flyover Con
Stand at the machine and show people how to do the thing.
Who you would be teaching.
These are working shop owners and operators, mostly small to mid size, who make the buying and process decisions themselves. They do not routinely travel to Long Beach or Atlantic City. For many of them this was the only industry education they attended all year, so they show up ready to use what they hear on Monday.
Arrivals · Where 2026 attendees came from
It is also a technical room that already owns most of the tools on the market. If something you say does not track with how their shop actually runs, they will tell you in the moment, and that conversation is usually the best part of the session.
Teach a task, not a product.
This is the only rule we are strict about. This room is technical and already uses most of the tools on the market. They want to watch you do the thing and take the steps home. If your session has a product in it, that is fine, put it to work in front of them. Just do not spend forty minutes on a capabilities deck.
Session
The core format. Two tracks run at once, so you are teaching roughly half the room and they chose you over the other option.
Live Demo
Run it on our presses, embroidery machines, heat presses or art stations. Best format we have, and the one attendees ask for most.
Panel Seat
You bring a point of view and take live questions. Good fit if you have the experience but do not want to build a full session.
What lands
- One narrow problem, taken all the way to the end
- Real numbers from your own shop, including the ugly ones
- Walking the room to a machine mid session
- Handouts, checklists or files people leave with
- Saying “here is what we got wrong first”
What does not
- Company history and capabilities overviews
- Broad trend talks with no steps attached
- Slides read start to finish with questions held to the end
- Anything that assumes a 30 person staff
- Pricing your product from the front of the room
Being able to talk to others, walk around the shop and ask questions. Learn from a larger shop as to how they go about their production and work flows.
Hussain Ali
Impressive Promotional Products
I learned valuable resources to utilize that I had not heard of before with credible sources and vendors without feeling too sales-y or pushy.
Emily Hassing
Sparkling Image
I have been to Long Beach and Print Hustlers and I feel almost intimidated with so many people. This was perfect.
Peter Hoff
A&P Graphics
Where your session fits.
The 2026 schedule, for reference. Two tracks run at once, Gate A and Gate B, so attendees build the day they want. Gold rows are the speaking slots.
Day One
Day Two
Sixteen sessions and nineteen speakers ran in 2026. The 2027 grid is still being built and will shift. Day two is being front loaded so it ends earlier for the people driving four hours home, which means the strongest Saturday content moves up, not down.
Speakers stay for the whole event, not just their slot. That is the deal and it is the reason the hallway conversations work. You will be asked questions at breakfast, at lunch and next to a press, and those conversations do more for you than the session does.
Tell us what you want to teach.
We read everything and we answer everyone by December 11, 2026. If the idea is close but not there yet, we will tell you what would get it over the line. First time speakers are genuinely welcome.
- November 13, 2026Proposals close
- December 11, 2026Speakers notified and the program locks
- February 12, 2027Titles, descriptions and bios due for the public agenda
- April 16 and 17, 2027Flyover Con 2027
Three or four sentences is plenty. This is the part we actually read first.
Press, embroidery machine, heat press, art station, none of it.
A video, a podcast or a past session is plenty. Not required.
Speaking at Flyover Con is not a sponsorship and does not require one. If you would rather talk it through first, email ryan@flyovercon.ink or call (515) 984-7740.
Proposal received.
We read every one. You will hear back by December 11, 2026 either way, and if the idea needs a tweak we will tell you what would get it over the line.