A Perfect Storm

Hi there.

Okay- the Conference Update.


Last week I came back from our regional conference and have been on the Conference Catch-Up since.

During regional conference, a long time friend and colleague (who also sits on the board) told me that I was "the perfect storm of organization and improvisation." I loved that. In my position, organization is everything... but you also need to be able to go with the flow and respond in the moment. That was the best compliment.

ANyhow, this conference was exciting and important for me in a couple of ways:

1. It was my first conference in my position on the regional board. I am responsible for the quality of programming and continuing education opportunities offered at conference. Everything went really well. Everything ran smoothly. There were a couple of instances where we had to improvise to fill in some last minute holes or glitches. But because they happened, I know what to do if they happen again. I was pretty nervous about making sure I had the right documentation and that the systems we put in place were going to work. They did. Yay!
We got positive feedback on the pacing and schedule.
AND there were several people who told me (or other board members) that every session was worth their time. The presenters were effective and engaging. That's the best feedback ever.

2. My friend/colleague and I gave our presentation on examining the strengths/weaknesses and intersections of two opposing views in music therapy. It was standing room only -  about 33% of conference attendance gathered in our room. We had amazing discussion and feedback throughout the conference. About 8 hours later, my co-presenter and I received an email from a retired music therapist who has been published numerous times and has held extensive leadership positions. This MT lives on the east coast and did not attend our conference... but they heard from another MT who was there. Word travels fast. I feel honored and humbled that this great brain in MT wants to talk to us. We're currently trying to schedule an online conference call  for the next week. Wow!

3. I got to catch up and spend time with friends that I only get to see once or twice a year. There were plenty of shenanigans. There were moments during the conference wrap up Sunday night where we laughed so hard that it hurt. I even got to see some of the city too. Its rare that I get a chance to wander out of the conference hotel.

4. A couple of other presentation ideas have arisen from this conference.


I've just about wrapped everything up from conference, wrote my thank you notes, and submitted my documentation.
Now I'm moving on to the next few projects - a ton of piano gigs (theater and otherwise) and some possible private clients that have come from referrals.
I'm just trucking a long. :)