Acronym

The following is a guest post from Lowell Aplebaum, director, member relations, Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society.

What about #asae11 has me ready for Annual Meeting & Expo 2012?

1. Learning Opportunities. With diverse educational approaches, opportunities for presentations, panel discussions, small groups learning, and more, the formal learning opportunities presented in St. Louis were so much more than sessions. Whether speaking one-on-one with a facilitator, articulating themes and points of priority to colleagues who attended other sessions, or brainstorming a concept for implementation back home every moment provided the opportunity to learn.


2. Redefining Locations. This was not my first time in St. Louis, but after the 2011 Annual Meeting & Expo my image of the city has been completely redefined. I did not realize when I boarded the plane for the Conference what red carpet, VIP treatment St. Louis had in store for us. Some of the best stories I will share will be because of the host city this year - and if the promo for next year is true ("If you haven't been to Dallas lately, you haven't been to Dallas") then I am sure Dallas will have all new meaning as well.


3. Tweetups. Having too many sessions that you want to attend is a good problem, but the solutions are few and far between. Session hop? You may miss the best part of both sessions.  Split sessions between people? You may get content, but risk missing the "Aha" inspiration. The #asae11 twitter stream this year went leaps and bounds towards solving this dilemma. From whichever session I was in I could follow along with the highlights, driving points and discussions happening in concurrent classrooms. Many of these Tweeters were my best teachers during the conference, and being able to meet them face to face will make our ongoing conversations (140 characters or less) richer moving forward.


4. The Unpredictable. Having read his bio and book review beforehand, there was no way to know just how amazing Peter Sheahan's presentation would be. While in line to have his book signed I found myself standing next to an ASAE Board member who introduced me to a member who I had wanted to thank in person for all the hard work they put into making the conference an amazing experience. And to think two hours earlier I was just looking at lunch as another item on the schedule. I already wonder what unplanned moments of connection and insight will happen in Dallas.


5. The People. Business cards, LinkedIn connections, new people to follow on Twitter - introductions abound at ASAE. Yet, the real currency that I feel like I am taking home is a host of new colleagues and friends with whom to continue the conversations we started in St. Louis. These are people who also want to become CAEs, or have become one and want to give back.  These are colleagues handling issues of membership numbers and dues, governance, growth, and foresight - who want to work together so we can all be better association professionals.  These are people that I feel honored to call not just colleagues, but friends. I look forward to seeing them all in Dallas next August, and to meeting many more.