Unfortunately, saying thank you seems to be an afterthought more and more. So at least once a month, I will take a few minutes to publicly appreciate someone that has had an impact on me.
This round: Conference Organizers
This is a general appreciation but also a specific intentional appreciation.
Conferences provide so many benefits, for example, opportunities for learning, expanding networks, and chances to share/impact. And there are so many more benefits. I truly contribute most of my career growth as a result of attending conferences. And conferences do not just magically happen without a ton of effort, much of which is behind the scenes. So I want to take some time to recognize conference organizers and all that do:
- The program consideration: There are a number of speaking slots. Who should get them? What are the factors that will go into those decisions (local, diversity, new, topics, etc)? There are always too many wonderful options for the slots available and that means tough choices.
- The space consideration: Organizers are constantly thinking about what the event space needs to be for everyone to get the most benefits. This is a huge spectrum of things from food/beverages, to sign placements, to seating arrangements to reserved spaces. There never seems to be enough room or budget for everything organizers want and that means tough choices.
- The in-the-moment considerations: Best laid plans but crap always happens. Organizers have to be constantly inspecting and adapting, open to feedback and reacting and responding to the unexpected (speaker not showing up, etc).
- The time investment: Often organizers are volunteers. They spend a ridiculous number of hours over a span of many months. This is time away from their day careers. This is time away from their family and friends. This is just a lot of time they invest because they want the event to be successful.
I know it can be easy to judge from a distance. And I know that sometimes it feels like you can’t win especially with things that may even be outside of your control. And I know that so many organizers read and feel everyone one of those judgements. But know there are more of us that are extremely grateful for all of your passion, dedicated and efforts to providing these opportunities. Thank you!
