I’m a Beyoncé fan. She’s a great singer who knows the meaning of showmanship. As a fan, I’m not in love with her new record, but I have develop a fondness for her current radio hit Best Thing I Never Had. The song tells of the virtues of finding out that the love of your life was a complete jerk before it was too late. I was listening to this song earlier today and made a striking observation.
I have back to back conferences starting with APA11 in DC on August 3. On August 6, I take off my staffer hat and put on my member hat as I head to St. Louis for ASAE11. At ASAE11, I will be giving an Ignite presentation and one other presentation that I’ll keep as a secret for now ;). With those activities, my DELP commitments, sessions, and networking, ASAE11 will be four days of utter chaos for me.
If you remember from a previous post, I submitted a proposal for a session at ASAE11 that was eventually rejected. Looking back, I’m so happy it was. If it wasn’t for the rejection, I wouldn’t have challenged myself to do the Ignite presentation. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, presenters have 5 minutes and 20 slides (auto advanced every 15 seconds) to make their point. This is a much riskier proposition than my proposal which called for a three-person panel talking about government relations.
I’m a firm believer that things happen for a reason. The jobs I didn’t get led me to APA. The boyfriend who didn’t love me enough to marry me led to a very fulfilling life. The rejected proposal led to a bigger challenge that forces me out of my comfort zone. I still plan to submit proposals for future ASAE annual meetings. However, for ASAE11, it’s 5 minutes of going crazy and partying like it’s 1999.
Association Advocacy Chick 