Clothes? Check.
Laptop? Check.
Toiletries? Check.
Friday marks the return of an annual event that I haven’t been to since before the pandemic hit. I’m talking about the annual District 13 Spring Conference. I’ve missed tradition three out of the last four years due to work and COVID. I attended in 2021 but it was an online event. That was run very well by a dedicated team of Toastmasters from Cranberry. So it’s safe to say that I’ve earned the conference this coming weekend.
The last in person conference I attended was memorable as it had a great speech contest and the now famous DTM Huddle. That conference was held in Moon Township at the Airport Marriott. It was a great weekend and I took a lot from that event. One of the better conferences that I was at in my then eight years of Toastmasters.
Have things changed since then? Absolutely. This will be the first hybrid conference I’ve been to. I just hope that my interest in the organization isn’t really waning and this conference weekend is worth it. I still enjoy our twice a year club officer trainings at Westmoreland County Community College and learn a lot from the speakers and the club officer sessions. Last year’s Fall Symposium was one I was lucky to attend because of my schedule but I made it work. Winter TLI in December was my first in person since 2019, just before COVID hit. Thank you to my D13 Toastmasters family for not giving up on me, as it felt so easy for me to do in those trying times.
I would like to share a six pack of conferences with you. Three I enjoyed attending and three I wish I would have skipped.
1.) 2019 Spring Conference–The last great District Conference before the world went to hell. I loved everything about this weekend, including the speech contests where I got to cheer on one of our own in Greensburg. This is the conference where I coined the phrase DTM Huddle when I saw four Cranberry High Noon Toastmasters celebrate their big achievement.
2.) 2017 Fall Conference–This was a bittersweet weekend as an era would be drawing to a close. After so many years, the Fall Conference would be discontinued after the 2017-18 Toastmasters year so Districts could focus on growing clubs. Next year would begin a new tradition with the Fall Symposium.
3.) 2013 Fall Conference–This was the conference where the CEO came to speak. I was on another level at this event, flourishing in my Sergeant at Arms duties and, accepting the award for Select Distinguished District in 2012-2013. This Fall conference was held at the luxurious Nemacolin Woodlands in the Laurel Highlands.
4.) 2017 Spring Conference–This was an early conference held at the Penn Stater in State College. We had great keynote speakers but it wasn’t my best weekend. I did an area director visit in Elk County that Thursday night so I went straight to State College from there. Keep in mind the year as this is before the pandemic and before we had the option to attend online.
5.) 2018 Spring Conference–I didn’t attend District 13’s Spring Conference in Monroeville that May but I would have likely benefited more as I was healthier. I attended District 10’s Conference two weeks before in Akron. Great conference, but a bad idea as I was super sick. The event was already paid for so I didn’t want to waste money. I enjoyed meeting new people but it would have been better if I didn’t have such a bad cold. This was the start of two years in a row where I was sick at the beginning of May.
6.) 2012 Fall Conference–This was less about the conference and more about how I was feeling. I wasn’t physically sick, but emotionally sick. Add in an upcoming Presidential election, some negative opinions from people about other things beyond my control, and I was a wreck.
Remember now, these were pre-DTM, pre-blog, and pre-bag. I wasn’t slaying like I’m slaying now.
Where will the 2024 Spring Conference fall? I’ll be highlighting it all weekend and you will need to stay tuned.
Stylish 🍒 