The first conference was in San Diego, CA at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina. Though my client wasn't as happy with the attendance as they wanted to be, the conference as a whole was a true success. This was the first time they were holding their annual conference off the world famous 'asilomar grounds'. Last year they began to outgrow the Asilomar Conference Center, so they decided to take it on the road to create the New Thought. New World. Annual Summer Conference--with the first year being in San Diego. Throughout the entire planning process there were a lot of hesitant participants, and some that resisted completely, but I do know that those who attended could feel the power of the conference and what an impact this conference could have in each city it arrives in.
My goal for this blank white tent (and the rest of the conference)--was to create a warm, exciting, and comfortable place where people could truly connect spirituality, with just enough newness to make them notice the professionalism that our team brought to the table.
I thought the tent came out great! And I can't wait to take this conference to Chicago in 2010!
The second conference was in Pacific Grove, California at the Asilomar Conference Center. This conference has been coming here for over 50 years which makes it easy and difficult at the same time. The reason it is somewhat easy is that it has a tendency to 'run' itself for the most part. However on the other end, participants expect certain things to happen or be allowed that happen 'every year.'
It has a jammed packed schedule filled with daily general sessions in the morning and evening, as well as workshops & meetings throughout the day in between. Besides the conference center not being like the 'high-end hotel staff' we are use to working with, the challenge with this conference was truly making sure each meeting/workshop/session was set correctly with what the facilitator requested.
I think there were a lot of questions from many people wondering if the conference was going to feel the same now that we were doing it...in the end, I think that the BDI team proved itself once again to this community. My goal throughout this event was to maintain those traditional aspects that people expect each year, but also put my own organizational, clean, and professional touch to it.
A few highlights from the week--1.) The nightly fires in the fireplace of our director's cottage...it was a great thing to come home to each night! 2.) Getting out surfing during the free day on Wed with our Sound Engineer Dan..we were able to rent a board and wetsuit at a stereotypical surf shop, complete with a 'bro' that cashed us out. Needless to say, the waves were awesome and I was actually able to get up and ride the waves in this time followed by a delicious lunch at a BBQ Smoke Chicken shack. 3.) Being in the middle of no where. 4.) The weather all week, and the incredible sunsets. 5.) Being able to get a pitcher of Diet Coke at lunch if we wanted to.
This was pretty neat...I could get use to this...
It was a great couple of weeks on the road. I really enjoyed working with both groups because in the end it felt really good to know how much each of these events meant to different people in growing spiritually both individually and collectively.
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