Her Glass is Half Full!

Sometimes don't you wonder if it all boils down to your perspective on things? You know "Are you a glass half full or glass half empty type of person?" As many of you know, there were plenty of things that weren't exactly perfect about our grantee conference this year. As is evident here, I'm trying to maintain a sense of humor about most of them and know that there are always lessons to be learned for next time.

Well here's one thing I know for sure: Jeanette Phillips with Mountain View Youth and Family Services is definitely a glass half full kind of gal! Bless her heart, Jeanette does a bang up job with her grant funded program in Carroll County, reaching every 6th and 7th grader with the LST program.

She also has been a great resource at our conferences the past two years - speaking at a "Spice Up Your Programs" break out session in 2008 and providing a grantee exhibit in 2009. Evidently Jeanette has a good deal of patience too. Miss Jeanette came home with conference stories of her own including room service that runs an hour late and water glasses with cracks and lipstick imprints on them. YIKES!


All I can say is "Thanks for enduring, Jeanette!" And yes, we'll probably know which evaluation form is yours when we read it. :)


Thoughts? Similar conference nightmare stories? Photos? Send 'em on or comment here!

Grantee Conference Wrap Up

It was great seeing all of you wonderful SW grantees in Richmond earlier this week! I hope your travels home were safe and that you gained some new information and resources as a result of our event. I definitely learned a few things at the 2009 VTSF Grantee Conference and I couldn't wait to post at least a few of them here:

10. If ever you are asked to serve on the Audio/Visual Set Up Team for a conference of 200+ of your favorite colleagues and esteemed co-workers, be sure to smile politely, say no thanks and RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN in the opposite direction!

9. If you actually end up serving on said Team, be sure to wear sensible shoes.

8. If you are a die-hard Coke drinker and stay at the Downtown Marriott in Richmond, you should probably plan to pack a cooler or be ready to spend much of your time tracking down vending machines on Broad Street.

7. If you ever find yourself working on AV and trying to track down a Diet Coke simultaneously, keep up with your wallet.

6. Cold tortellini in alfredo sauce is not all that tasty.

5. Prevention conferences are always made more interesting when elderly folks from a neighboring meeting room (can anyone say Family Reunion?) wander into break out sessions and offer their assistance.

4. When hosting a tobacco use prevention event that also includes obesity information, it is just plain TORTUOUS to be meeting near groups that have candy bars and cheesecake offered during breaks.

3. Consult your hotel floor plan promptly upon arrival. Otherwise you could be schlepping A LOT of AV equipment A LONG WAY in very uncomfortable shoes.

2. Even the brightest of yellow folders, can and do end up MIA sometimes.

1. Despite the ups and downs of conference planning, a few logistical nightmares and some just plain blonde moments, this week was a good one and I'm thankful for the fine folks I work with (and especially thankful for their patience with me)!

Have a great story you'd like to share from our conference this year? Leave a comment or email me.