Japi's Blog

And now... for something completely different: Sunday at the ASAE Conference

The opening event at the ASAE conference 2007 was phenomenal, as I previously posted.  So I was pretty excited about how the conference would move along - hoping I would have some valuable information and enjoy my time here in Chicago. 

Sunday morning's event was fantastic!

ASAE hired a PCI Communications to organize a three act musical that would be presented on Sunday morning, Monday morning and Tuesday afternoon at the ASAE conference.  PCI was given the task of hiring the talent, choosing the songs and changing the lyrics, writing a script and tying it to the association industry and creating a fun musical to inform and entertain the people attending the conference (WOW, that's a long sentence!).  The end product (so far) has been excellent!

Sunday, the musical covered the inner struggles of "The American Generic Society". The music was awesome with songs like "There's No Profit in Non-Profit" (sung to "There's No Business Like Show Business") and "A Committee" (sung to West Side Story's "I Feel Pretty").  They were able to tie in conversations with some of ASAE's leadership acting in the show.  VERY entertaining and I think most  of the audience loved it and walked away with some useful information.

The keynote speakers after the musical were just as wonderful!  Ann Compton of ABC News interviewed Bob Woodruff and his wife Lee.  The interview was very warm and emotional. 

Bob Woodruff has been a journalist for over 20 years.  In January of 2006, he was reporting from Iraq and he was seriously injured by a road-side bomb.  The interview offered us a glimpse into the nightmare that he and his loved ones endured.  He was in a comma for over 30 days; his wife and his mother were constant pillars of strength for the rest of the family; ABC News and the Disney Corporation were amazing throughout and continue to be this way.

The story was heart-wrenching and inspiring.

Bob is still recovering from the injury to his brain... but he has come a long way from not being able to communicate to now being able to do his work as a journalist.  He is an engaging speaker and now is a strong advocate for medical recovery of all the soldiers in this war.

I noticed many people in the audience engulfed in tears, but also laughing with the wonderful stories told by Bob and his wife.

If you ever have the opportunity to watch or listen to Bob, I highly recommend it.

ASAE Welcome Event - WOW!

I attended the ASAE Conference night-time event today and it was great!  They really went ALL OUT for this extravaganza.  The music was awesome, the food even better and the dancers.... WOW!!! Gorgeous.. no, not THAT kind of dancers.

I walked into the grand ballroom in the West building of McCormick Place.  The music playing was really fun and upbeat - the band members were spread out all over the place and they were on top of tall stage-like structures.  The center structure was the largest and had four bridges where these very pretty ladies were dancing.  It was fun to watch the dancers and listen to the cool music playing.

There was all kinds of food and drinks all over the room.  From beef to shrimp, from fruit to italian sausage.  The variety of food was matched by the variety of exotic drinks. 

The event was well organized, beautfully decorated and presented.  I congratulate everyone who was involved in putting this event together.  GREAT WORK!

Saturday in Chicago... ASAE Conference

My first day in Chicago has been fun... I went to McCormick Place early to register and was AWED by how gigantic this convention center is.  On the ride from my hotel, the taxi driver (in a strong slavic accent) kept asking me which building I wanted to go to... I didn't understand what he meant until we arrived... WOW!  IT'S HUGE (I can hear my 16-year old boy saying "that's what she said"). 

The taxi dropped me off at the main building and since the ASAE National Conference is expected to have about 7,000 attendees, I figured the main building was a safe bet.  But I later found out that this convention center could easily hold over 200,000 attendees.

NOTE for Houstonians reading this: McCormick Place Convention Center has 3 buildings (North, West and South - I imagine they are working on an East building)... and each of those buildings is larger than the George R Brown Convention Center.

I registered and looked at the event schedule.  The next session that pertained to me wasn't until 2:30 PM today - the first-time attendee orientation.  So I went back to the hotel to get my bearings on the surrounding areas. 

This was cool because I found out that 1 block from my hotel, the newest Batman movie (The Dark Knight) is being filmed.  So I walked over with my camera and took a few shots, check out my Flickr photos to see them.

I've organized my schedule for the next few days to optimize the sessions I attend.  Let's hope there's a lot of good information and I make great contacts at this event.