21 April 2009: Views from the Chair - Walk into a storm
Do you know that feeling of relief when the tension and anxiety has been building for months, and then it is finally released? This was my experience yesterday as I listened to Pam Birtolo deliver the opening keynote address. I was engaged and smiling from ear to ear with the realization that it works. A virtual conference works. Now, I’m not so proud to think that I’m the first to ever do anything like this. NCDLA conducted a virtual conference a number of years ago. My realization was that the way that we conceived this virtual conference was indeed going to work.
I’ll share something with you all here. If our president can be open and honest about his business, then I can do the same. There have been glitches. There will be glitches. When you have more than 650 registrants, it is to be expected. Further, informal polls yesterday indicated that this was the first conference for most attendees. Hmmm . . . what might that mean?
I must say that yesterday was a great success and I am energized for what is yet to come. What we’re doing here might serve as a model (for someone) as a way of conducting virtual conferences or meetings. I hope that all those associated with this event can appreciate the challenges it brings, but the opportunity and insight we gather by attempting something new. As Sojourner Truth once said (if memory serves), “If you want change in your life, walk into a storm.”
Bobby Hobgood, Ed.D.
NCDLA 2009 Conference Chair
