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Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the 2010 Administrative Professionals Conference at Bridger Field House. Our audience was made up of Administrative Professionals from WFU, WFU-Health Sciences, WSSU, UNC School of the Arts and Forsyth Technical Community College. The majority of the audience was female, but there were 2 males at the conference yesterday! We had 260 attendees, which was up from last year since we did an early bird conference rate this year.

I have been on the Administrative Professionals Committee for 7 years. This was my second year updating and adding new pages to our web site: http://groups.wfu.edu/adminprof/ I was also on the registration sub-committee. I helped check-in attendees at the door. Each attendee was given a goodie bag when they checked in.

We had 3 great speakers! All three tailor-made their presentation to our group!

Speaker 1 was Laura Hamilton, her topic was “Listening Skills and Conflict Resolution.” She was a very dynamic and exciting speaker and kept everyone engaged! She spoke about the stages of conflict.

Speaker 2 was Shari Peace, her topic was “Tap Your Hidden Talents: How to Build Your Value, Visibility and Job Security.” Shari read my write-up from last year’s conference and contacted me about coming to the 2010 conference! Shari spoke about what a person’s strengths are made up of: Talents, Skills and Knowledge. One of my favorite quotes from her presentation was “if you don’t blow your own horn – there won’t be any music.” She also spoke about discovering your interests and gifts and maximizing your contributions to your organizations success. Most effective ways to feel better fast: 1. resting/napping/sleeping (not recommended at work) 2. tending to chores 3. Talking to someone 4. Listening to music 5. exercising

Speaker 3 was Sandy Geroux, her topic was “It’s My Dream…And Who am I to Stop Me?” Sandy sang us a song that she wrote about Administrative Professionals called “Man! I Feel Administrative!” It was really entertaining! She spoke about critical mindsets and habits of high achievers. High achievers dream BIG! High achievers are not afraid to talk about – and ask for what they want. High achievers also connect with their passion and values. They are also not afraid to take reasonable and appropriate risks along the way. They are also persistent. Of course, dreams were a big part of her presentation. We made a list of our dreams and why they were important to us.

The speakers and food were great! River Birch and Midtown Café catered our lunch again this year! Chick-fil-A (on Peacehaven) donated breakfast and door prizes! The Chick-fil-A cow was also present!