For Toledo Opera, a regional opera company celebrating over 70 years of bringing world-class performances to the area, board meetings are the backbone of strategic planning and fundraising for the organization. But with 23 board members spread across the region, getting everyone together in one room had become increasingly difficult.
"We were always struggling with hybrid meetings," says James Norman, General Director of Toledo Opera since 2012.
"When in-person attendees used our laptop cameras, remote participants could only see one person at a time. There was a lot of cross-talk and interrupting because people couldn't tell when others were going to speak."
The challenge was especially felt by Toledo Opera's endowment committee meetings. This separate committee manages nearly $5 million in assets and requires careful coordination between members who aren't always able to attend in person. Without a proper meeting room camera, remote participants struggled to follow conversations and engage meaningfully.
The Meeting Owl was first suggested in early 2025 by a board member who also serves on the endowment committee. After experiencing the Meeting Owl at another organization, they introduced the technology to Toledo Opera.
"When I saw it, I was amazed," Norman recalls.
For an organization that stages elaborate opera productions — from sold-out performances of South Pacific to upcoming runs of Carmen — Toledo Opera knows the importance of seamless technical execution, and the Meeting Owl delivered.
"Setup was smooth and so easy," Norman says. "It moves between PC and Mac and does great on both."
Toledo Opera also leveraged a custom-built Meeting Owl carrying case to meet their unique needs. Beyond board meetings at their offices, they hold committee meetings at local libraries throughout the community — in some of the same venues where they perform free “Opera ‘Round Town” concerts.
Toledo Opera's marketing, communications, and development officers have also adopted the Meeting Owl for their hybrid meetings, extending its value across the organization.
The Meeting Owl’s 360-degree camera and intelligent auto focus have transformed Toledo Opera's hybrid meetings.
The impact has been especially meaningful for remote board members who struggled with the previous setup. The panoramic view allows remote participants to see the entire room, while the Meeting Owl's automatic speaker focus ensures they can follow who's speaking — eliminating the confusion and interruptions that could derail earlier hybrid meetings.
The Meeting Owl’s sound has been equally impressive. "The sound quality is amazing," Norman notes, a significant endorsement from a company that puts on opera productions year-round.
With two mainstage productions per year, four performances per production, 60 “Opera on Wheels” performances reaching 22,000 K-6 students, and countless “Opera ‘Round Town” community concerts, Toledo Opera's six full-time employees and 100 contractors are constantly coordinating complex logistics.