"I'm goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City, Here I Come!"
That is what I said on Wednesday morning as I prepared to take a three-day, eleven-hundred mile round-trip journey, with seven other people. Two vehicles of four-each made the trip - safely, I might add thankfully. Our two drivers were skillful, especially so when navigating complicated interstate highway exchanges in larger cities along the way. Even driving in the greater KC metro and suburban areas was non-eventful for these two drivers.
Upon arrival at our hotel, we checked in and checked out our digs for the two-night stay. I was assigned to a room with two other women and it had been years since I shared a room with anyone other than immediate family members. "This,", thought I to myself, "will be quite the adventure!" The rooming adventure turned to be quite the non-event, as we spent very little time in our respective rooms and when we did, my two "room-mates" read with their Nooks and I played with my phone. Never once did we turn on either one of two televisions.
The conference we attended was held at the largest Methodist church in the United States. Quite a distinction and the building(s!) and grounds were impressive, if in nothing else other than the scope of the property. (Over seven-thousand people worship there each week. They have three other campuses.) This congregation holds this leadership conference each year and the level of organization, preparation and execution was impressive, to say the least. It was staffed by maybe hundreds of volunteers, all armed with the necessary information and a genuine smile, to boot! And if I thought the volunteers were helpful and people-oriented, the staff was even more so. Each break-out session I attended was closed by words from the staff member leading it, with something to the effect - "You have my email and phone number. Do not hesitate to call or email me. I can give you more materials if you need them or can explain in more detail if you desire."
I came away with more good ideas than I can ever implement in my lifetime so my challenge will be to filter through what I gleaned and get to the imminently germane ideas that I might want to implement. I left feeling somewhat inadequate after witnessing great skill levels in areas that I will never be skilled in. This feeling was not unexpected as this is the way I have always felt after leaving professional conferences. There is always so much more to learn.
To quote my favorite line from the movie, "Smokey and the Bandit",
"We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there......"
I'd better get started!
Ancora imparo
