This last week I was able to attend my first conference as a manager for my office. My industry’s professional organization holds their annual “Summit” conference every fall, often in Chicago.
The goal was to arrive mid-afternoon Sunday to allow for some sightseeing (never having been to Chicago), and to get settled in before the conference started Monday. After a four-hour delay in leaving Anchorage, we finally arrived in Seattle, only for my rebooked flight to be delayed another hour. Then when we arrived in Chicago, our plane sat on the tarmac for an additional two hours while we waited for a gate to open up! Needless to say, I didn’t get into the hotel in downtown Chicago (an additional hour drive from the airport) until 10 pm that night (Chicago time, a full three hours later than the Alaska time my body was used to)! I hadn’t slept in a bed since the short nap I took midday Saturday!
Despite the lack of sleep, I got up early Monday to do some exploring and shopping. I had done some previous research to discover that my hotel was a 20 minute walk away from The Container Store - this neat freak’s dream store, so I headed there first thing! It was lovely exploring the rows of organization - especially after the hot and humid walk there (it was already in the 70s that morning). When I started getting hungry, I realized it was time to move on, so I headed back towards those hotel and hit up another non-Alaskan store, Trader Joe’s, for some grocery shopping, and then Five Guys for a quick lunch! After a quick walk back to the hotel to drop off my quickly-warming groceries, I changed into some work clothes (that were thankfully less sweaty!), and headed downstairs for registration, the Summit welcome, and keynote speaker.
The keynote speaker was a self-proclaimed charity nerd and was an excellent speaker. He made his topic (one I thought would be very boring) interesting and entertaining. We then had two afternoon breakout sessions - as my mind continued to be blown and grown. It is so wonderful to be in a room with people who speak the same jargon you do every day and experience the same challenges and joys you do! I hadn’t been to a conference in almost a decade and had forgotten how wonderful it felt. It was also so great to grow my knowledge base as I spoke with others who have found solutions to challenges we have and assist others myself.
After the afternoon sessions were over, I changed and decided to explore the area. We were on S Michigan Ave, and right on the edge of Grant Park and Lake Michigan, so I explored the area’s parks and walked over to the iconic Cloud Gate (often called “the Bean”) and Millennium Park. As the sun started to set, I grabbed some dinner (always striving to hit places we don’t have in Alaska - Jimmy John’s this time!) and headed back to the hotel to catch up on some work emails - and watch some chick flicks.
Tuesday was a full day of breakout sessions (six in total!) and the organization’s annual business meeting was held during lunch. This event, the previous morning’s keynote speech, and the final day’s closing sessions were all held in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom. It was VERY grand! As an Alaskan, I feel I have a special appreciation for historical architecture - as we don’t really have any at home! Tuesday evening involved walking in the hottest heat of the trip (89 degrees!) while taking in some much needed clothes shopping and a final dinner in the city.
Wednesday morning involved a morning group session on industry trends, two more breakout sessions, and a closing group session (I was sad not to have won any of the Bingo prizes or the free registration for next year’s Summit). After a not-so-quick Uber back to the airport (city traffic is terrible in the middle of the day!), I headed back to nice, cool and rainy Alaska!
While it was nice to experience a new city, my brain is filled with so much insight and many ideas (my poor team has no idea how many “ideas” I have for us!) - and I have also gained some great professional friendships that will no doubt be great assets in the future!
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