NAPEO Conference
The following post was from an eMail to the members from NAPEO’s President, Mr.Pat Cleary regarding the status of upcoming events and the status on in-person attendance.
Ten months ago to the day, I sent an email stating that due to COVID-19 and the associated risks that the committee voted against having the annual SAGE event and conference. It was a heartbreaking email to write, in that the conference was a speck of hope for us all, something out in the far distance that we all looked forward to, when this damned thing would be over. But it was not to be. I attached the email here because re-reading it today, it’s a bit of a time capsule, and reminds us of a low point that we experienced – and survived – together.
So today I’m writing with some very good news: I just this hour signed our contract with the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country to hold our conference there – in person – on September 27 – 29 this year. Just about every conversation I have had with any NAPEO member over the past few months has included a discussion of when we would be able to meet again in person. We are all suffering Zoom fatigue, that’s for sure. Looking at the email below, I said, “We want to gather with our members, and as soon as it’s safe to do so, we will.” Every organization has its own level of risk tolerance. Our litmus throughout has been the health and safety of our members and of our team here at NAPEO. Comforted and fortified by the upward trend in vaccinations and downward trend in cases – and the slow easing of restrictions – we will hold our first in-person meeting, our CFO Seminar, at the end of June (location TBD) and hold our Georgia Leadership Council Forum in-person on June 28. And the conference in September.
I’ve said so many times that the arc of meetings during COVID was like this: Plan the meeting, book the hotel, promote the meeting, watch the registrations climb, meeting draws near, registrations begin to cancel, then the meeting cancels. We did that dance too many times in 2020. For our November Board of Directors meeting, we asked our 24 Board members if they wanted to meet virtually or in person. Twenty two said they wanted to meet in person, so we planned the meeting. The week before, in the face of too many cancellations, we moved the meeting to virtual. It was a discouraging, defeating, and tiresome cycle.
So if the cancellation of the 2020 in-person conference was a sign of despair, let this now be a sign of hope, of light, and of hopefully reaching the end of this pernicious thing that has dogged us for so long. As I said in the email below, “The sun will shine again.” And indeed it will – in San Antonio, in September.
I want to thank all of you who have stood by us, who have gamely pivoted with us to the virtual world. It wasn’t a world we wanted, but it was the world we were handed. I want to especially thank our associate members. The face to face meeting is their lifeblood, an option they didn’t have for the past year. They, too, stood with us, and we are grateful. And finally, I want to thank my team here at NAPEO. I use the royal “we” all the time, but the truth is they are the ones who are doing the innovating, the pivoting, the work.
As I always say, this thing isn’t completely over yet, but we appear to be moving in the right direction. I look forward to seeing – and celebrating with – you all in San Antonio.
All the best,
Pat Cleary
President & CEO
NAPEO
707 N. St. Asaph St.
Alexandria, Va. 22314
703-739-8163
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