Coming off of what was simply an outstanding event, the 15th annual NSCA Business and Leadership Conference, I was asking myself what presentation was the most influential. I couldn’t really pinpoint the exact session as they were all so impactful and well connected with one another. I concluded that all the sessions were great and that the primary take-away for me was how incredibly close and tight-knit this “community” has become.
I am so fortunate that I’ve been allowed to share the challenges of so many of our members. They look to NSCA as an outside advisor on so many things and not just business related. To me that is the best feeling in the world.
Somehow we have developed a sense of belonging and a sense of mentorship amongst one another. This community genuinely cares about one another and can express their gratitude openly for the many friendships they’ve built along the way. The best thing about our conference is that it has become your conference. The systems integrators themselves help shape this event and strategically plan the fantastic networking sessions. Our team simply facilitates the learning and interaction.
One of the greatest things about our community is the diversity. At our networking events we see multi-million dollar corporate executives sharing laughs with first time attendees from start-ups. We see people sitting around the fire pit or the lobby bar talking about life and not just about work. They talk about their parents, their kids, their worries, the future of our society and everything real friends talk about.
The diversity comes in many forms, but our community is open and honest with each other and egos are left at the front door. So much conversation and friendship was created this past week, the resort told us that the first time ever – they ran out of both Miller Lite and their finest single malt scotch. We’re honest and we’re excellent consumers! NSCA is a strong community of like-minded people – all focused on being successful business professionals. We thrive on the fact that this community enables us to become a single voice when needed. Our community requires evidence, information and strategies to build a better business. Our community seeks out NSCA to be a credible and trusted advisor for companies who need our support.
So I am grateful… for our volunteer leaders, our staff, our attendees, our sponsors and this community we serve. I’m very grateful for how much involvement and engagement our members demonstrated this past week. I’m still not exactly sure how I got put in charge of this outfit, but I’m sure grateful that I am. CW