Wow, I can’t believe it. ASAE & The Center’s 2007 Annual Meeting has come and gone. In many respects it seems like a blur. That’s not to say that I didn’t get a lot out of the entire conference experience, especially many of the Thought Leader sessions and a few of the Learning Labs, but it wasn’t only about the “official” part of the conference.

I had the opportunity to meet, hang-out with and get to know a number of folks (bloggers) that I have only known in the virtual sense. That served a number of purposes for me. First, it made me realize that regardless of who you work for (association, vendor, AMC, consultant, etc.) your position, or your personal thoughts and opinions, we are really part of something much bigger than any one of us. I also realized that it’s thanks to folks like Jeff DeCagna, Jamie Notter, Ben Martin, Zach Wilson, Fred Simmons Mickie Rops, Greg Fine, and the countless other folks who really are working at all levels to advance the association field / profession. Finally, I realized that despite our growing dependence on technology to facilitate discussions, relationships, community and communications, nothing solidifies a relationship (professional or otherwise) like actually meeting someone and interacting to them in the “real world”.

I have a lot that I need to reflect on from the conference, not the least of which is all of the great ideas that I need to put into action, or figure out how to put it into action. I also have to get back into the blogging routine and hope to use the past weeks experience as a perfect reason to do so.

Thanks to all for such a great experience.