BEEP…BEEP…BEEEEEP! Snooze. 

That would be the sound of my 5:00 am wake-up call and me not wanting to get up!  Luckily our rooms were equipped with a coffee pot and supplies – just enough to get my caffeine fix before starting another long day.  After getting the #SHRMFL hashtag started with some early morning tweets I dragged myself to the conference center.

I made my way through the hustle and bustle to a session I have been waiting for for quite a while – “Blogging and HR:  Can the two peacefully coexist?” – where I finally met a few idols of mine for the first time:   Kris Dunn, Jessica Lee, Michael VanDervort, Laurie Ruettimann and Michael Long.  The coolest part of all of this is that they knew exactly who I was thanks to my presence on Twitter and Facebook – quite an honor.  Next up – general session.

As the doors opened at 10:00 am sharp for the first general session, attendees were greeted by members of ZANCOS, a stilt walking and power skipping percussion ensemble from SeaWorld Orlando.  These guys rocked the audience who remained on their feet cheering throughout the entire performance.  It was truly spectacular.  Attendees were welcomed by the conference emcee, Wendy Chioji, former anchor of NBC’s WESH 2 News in Orlando, FL.  Her debut as conference emcee last year was a huge success and it is great to have her back for a second go-around with HR Florida.  After a message from Carol McDaniel, 2009 Conference Chair, HR Florida President, Kitty Fields introduced a recorded welcome message from Governor Charlie Crist, whose poignant message regarding the economic impact of the recession on the state of Florida was well received. 

Next up was  a keynote presentation by Dr. Christine Dumas, a lifestyle, consumer health and fitness reporter, and author whose stories are featured regularly on NBC, Weekend Live on Fox News, the Sirius Stars Network, Oprah and The View.  Dr. Dumas kept her audience engaged as she spoke about transformational health care and its impact on the workplace.  At the conclusion of the general session attendees were ushered to the sold out expo hall for lunch and networking with over 150 exhibitors and sponsors.

Later on that afternoon was the official “Grand Opening Reception” for the expo hall – complete with live entertainment, drinks and tasty hors d’oeuvres!  If you didn’t get a chance to try some beef wellington, you don’t know what you were missing (as I drool thinking about it).  Onlookers watched as Jeff Civillico performed a vegas style act, complete with juggling and audience participation.  Jeff did an awesome job!

Bloggers: (L-R) Kris Dunn, Mike VanDervort, Michael Long, Laurie Ruettimann, Jessica Lee

Last but not least I made a stop at my favorite conference event so far - the official HR Florida State Conference TweetUP!  A big shout out to Mike VanDervort of The Human Race Horses for setting it up for us.  At last count we had over 30 attendees, including our celebrity blogging panel and a few new friends.  I had a blast meeting fans of HR Gumbo and sharing experiences with them.  It was pure gratification to see all the hard work I have put in developing a social media presence for  Big Bend SHRM, HR Gumbo and HR Florida pay off.