How to 'Conference' like Nobody's Business
I spent this past week in Goldsboro, North Carolina for the state's Main Street Conference, (say it with me!) THE LARGEST STATE-WIDE DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION CONFERENCE IN THE COUNTRY! I don't know if they are so proud of it being the largest because of attendance numbers, how many days it spans, or what, but I do know that the quality of what they delivered can't be beat.
This was my first North Carolina Main Street Conference, so I wasn't really sure what to expect when I agreed to come as a speaker. I was unprepared for how incredibly valuable, fun, and engaging it would be. If you ever want to put on a conference, I highly suggest you talk to Liz Parham and her people - they absolutely know what they're doing! They know how to throw a conference like nobody's business.
What did I get out of it? Probably way too much to include in a blog post, but I'm going to try. I guess I could summarize it and just say it's all about the people. The people I met were phenomenal in so many ways. Here's what I mean:
1. Before my presentation on Board Engagement I decided to find the venue I was speaking at. It's a church, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, to be exact. With too much time to kill I decided to just hang out in the lounge I found inside and clear my head, settle my nerves and just 'be' (om...). As I sat there, a man with a white collar walked in. Busted!, I thought. He introduced himself as Father David and told me to make myself at home. I get to my presentation and immediately realize I am facing a very large gold cross at the back of the room. Dear, Lord, I prayed, please don't let lightening strike me! Fast forward to the end of my presentation, I turn around and Father David is behind me, where apparently he caught the last five or so minutes of my speech. He was very excited and said my message was so appropriate for his board as well and mentioned that I could easily be a senior pastor. Dear Lord, I prayed, please don't let lightening strike us both! We had a lovely conversation - he was so sweet and supportive - and the irony isn't lost on me that the Jewish girl sought sanctuary in a church. Good people who encourage and support are everywhere.
3. During my speech, near the beginning, I decided to ask audience members to participate and I began with the woman in the first row directly in front of me. The man behind her, said something like, "Oh, crap! Then I'm next!" and took off like he was running for the exit. He was joking and it was perfect! I knew I had someone I could play off of, someone I could pick on. He was the most engaged person there. Well, except for a few others. One brave Board President responded voluntarily to one of my questions and part of her response was in praise of their Executive Director. "And she's here...back there!!" she says and points to a woman halfway back in the audience. So I plopped myself down next to this poor ED, handed her the mic, and asked her to share some of her board engagement strategies with us. She was great - especially for someone who didn't come thinking they were going to be in the spotlight. It turns out that all three of these rock star audience members who contributed to my presentation were there representing the same town and Main Street program. AND it just so happens they will be hosting the 2025 North Carolina Main Street Conference (let's say it again - THE LARGEST STATE-WIDE DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION CONFERENCE IN THE COUNTRY!) in their sweet Downtown Mooresville .
I knew I loved them after talking (a LOT of talking partially due to a bit of drinking at the after-hours cocktail party we made up!) but I loved them more when I got a copy of their newest issue - it's rack card sized, fits in a man's jeans pock perfectly (Lisa measured to be sure!), and has the tag line "We tell you where to go!"5. I saw a lot of cool things on the downtown Goldsboro tours I took. Best was the effort they made to dress up their vacant store fronts. It's okay to have empty properties (it happens) but to see a town working to make them attractive.,.or at the very least, not a detractor from the aesthetics of the downtown is golden! I especially loved the ones that had photos from the building's past and all the lives it has lived. The Vault in the old bank building, which now serves as home for the Arts Council, was really cool. But haunted. Pretty sure evil spirits are there. How do I know? Well because the first photo I took just looks ghosty. As I got closer (but not too close, because my claustrophobia said, "Girl, do NOT step over that threshold, the whole thing will close up on you and you'll be locked in forever!")
He told me it's too expensive for him, but insisted I should go visit his home town. As I left he handed me the hand-written bill and on the back was the name of his place of origin. "You go!" he said.
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