5:00 am…Why do you haunt me so? Thank goodness the Rosen Shingle Creek, one of the nicest places I have ever stayed in by the way, is equipped with a coffee shop serving Starbucks – thank you coffee gods!
Up early for an 8:15 am general session with a keynote by the Honorable Alexis Herman. I worked with her backstage to make sure she was set for her speech and didn’t trip on any wires. What a sweet, intelligent and prolific woman. Most remember her as the 23rd United States Secretary of Labor, serving under President Bill Clinton but as she described, her story has much more to offer. Her address touched on how she incorporated her interest in non-profits, government and the private sector into an amazing career. Herman also stressed the importance of mentoring, especially in the workplace.
As the last attendee exited the general session hall our amazing team from PSAV and the Rosen began resetting for our Tuesday night event – Vegas Night! (more on that later) I quickly exited backstage and checked up on the tweets for #SHRMFL. Everything was turning out great – lots of tweets from inside sessions and lots of tweets from those HR pros who couldn’t make it this year. To take advantage of the massive exposure we were getting on Twitter I ran into the expo hall with my camera and started to snap shots of some of our incredible sponsors and exhibitors who went above and beyond to help us pull of this conference. Later that afternoon attendees gathered back in the expo hall for all of the fantastic giveaways. The fun doesn’t end here!
Friends from SeaWorld Orlando
Next up members of the HR Florida State Council held our quarterly meeting with special guest Dorothy Hill, Field Services Director for SHRM. Dorothy touched on the changes coming to SHRM and how they would impact the state and regional level. She also announced SHRM India – WOW! In addition 2009 HR Florida State Council President Kitty Fields announced the 2009 HR Florida STP/ATP (Serve the Professional/Advance the Profession) awards. I am happy to report that Big Bend SHRM won for Membership and Workforce Readiness. What makes me even more ecstatic is that this is the 3rd consecutive year that our chapter has one for our membership efforts!
From our council meeting we all made our way to Vegas Night with Dr. Scott’s Outrageous Hypnosis Comedy - who was by far a huge hit! Participants volunteered to take part in this hilarious show impersonating famous musical acts like Britney Spears, KISS and Michael Jackson. Following the hypnotist attendees flooded the dance floor and made their way to the casino tables for an evening of fun with friends new and old. A big shout out to the 2009 HR Florida State Conference Entertainment Chair Marc Grad – this is the most fun I’ve had at a conference to date!
