October Chair's Column: Conference Time

What does this title mean to you?  Some of your thoughts immediately go to football season and the SEC or the ACC, or even the Big 10 (why, I don’t know! 😊).  Some of your minds go to IAMC (Industrial Asset Management Council), the SIOR (Society of Industrial and Office Realtors), the NAIOP (National Association for Industrial and Office Parks), the IEDC (International Economic Development Council), or one of many other fine organizations.  However, what I am focused on is the GEDA 2018 Annual Conference, Living or Leaving a Legacy of Excellence. This is our flagship event and what a fantastic one it was.  Thank you, Chris Pumphrey, Dorie Bacon and all of your committee!  Thank you also to all of our sponsors, who made this great conference possible!  If you were able to make it, I think that you’ll agree that it was excellent.  For those of you who didn’t make it, you missed something special.

The Annual Conference (AC) is special since it is our largest-attended event and it is spread over three days.  As the first time at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa, it went well.  We are looking forward to returning there next year, too.  The AC allows us to renew friendships and acquaintances and make new contacts, all in a relaxed setting where we can spend more than a few minutes catching up.  The monthly meetings are great, but they are so short and so compact that it is not as easy to meet and greet, as you can do at the AC.  Also, the speakers are top-notch and quite varied that we are offered something for everyone.  We were very fortunate to have the quality of Matt Munson, Jody Lentz and our two gubernatorial candidates.  I must say that I was impressed that so many of you stayed to hear from these two candidates.  It made my heart proud of GEDA members.  We also had some of our own speak in a number of formats, and I liked the GEDA ED Talks a lot.  The top two elements of our Mission Statement, networking and professional development, are front and center at the AC.

Conferencing is important to our association, but so is our membership and our involvement in GEDA.  Pat Merritt, Vice President of Community and Economic Development at Georgia EMC, and our GEDA Chair-elect has appointed new or renewed Chairs of our Committees and Shared Interest Groups for next year and we will be meeting in a couple of weeks after our monthly luncheon to have a Board Retreat.  Be thinking of an area that you would be interested in serving in order to learn and make GEDA a better organization.  We want your ideas, we need your energy and we must have your commitment to make this organization the best that it can be and maybe the best in all of our land. 

Yes, this is conference time for a number of reasons and I love it.  I hope that you enjoy this time of the year, too.  Be sure to take a few minutes and take stock of where you are in your job and career and make plans to learn and grow as an individual, an organization and as a state.  We are only as good as the sum of all our parts.  You are a key part of this organization and for that we thank you!

See you in October at our Site Selector Consultants’ panel at the Marriott Marquis on Monday, October 15.  Register now, if you haven’t done so already.