Heat Wave...

Back in June I was accepted to do a presentation at the NACCAP Conference (North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals) being held on a college campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I had attended the conference last year, so I was anxious to see some of my friends/colleagues and network with some new folks. There were a number of familiar faces on my flight from Chicago into Grand Rapids, so my excitement continued to grow. This was going to be a great conference…

Upon arriving in Grand Rapids -- I found they were having a heat wave. Phew, was it hot! While shuttling over to the college that was hosting the conference, I received a phone call from the gal I would be rooming with at the conference. She gently broke the news to me that the dorms were not air conditioned. My heart fell… All I could think to say was, “You’ve got to be kidding me?” Oh no, she wasn’t kidding. The dorms were like concrete saunas, something of which I could not do for 4 to 5 days. The school did offer us fans; however, you had to rent them! Again, I’m not kidding. PLUS, we were told we would have internet access and didn’t. Internet access is a must for me when I'm traveling -- I keep in close communication with the office via e-mail while I’m out of the office and I like to keep up with my e-mails. At this point, I'm laughing internally because it seems as though things just couldn't get worse. However, a lucky break was on the way.

Before I knew it, dinner time had arrived. I tried to freshen up, which seems almost impossible when you’re literally drenched. Oh well. I headed to the dining hall and met up with an admissions team from California that I had met on my flight earlier that day. They had glorious news -- the college had a hotel on campus. Here is where being the Director of Admissions and having a company card came in handy. Oh yes, I checked into the hotel and bummed a ride to the airport to get myself a rental car. What a day!

Anyways, the conference goes on and before I knew it -- the morning had arrived for my presentation. My topic was Bright Ideas, Brilliant Results: Creative Marketing and Strategic Networking. I was super excited and yet extremely nervous. Attendance was much, much more than I had ever anticipated -- approximately 80 people packed into that room. Oh me of little faith, I came prepared with only 25 copies of my handouts. LOL. The room was not air conditioned, so I ended the presentation just a tad bit early. As you may have already guessed, I don’t do well with extreme heat…. Overall, I was pleased with how things went. All of the attendees were asked to fill out evaluations, so I could only hope for the best. I received a number of praises, chatted with a few of the attendees then quickly returned to my air conditioned hotel room to cool off and check my e-mail. All was well!