Following a full training day, we reconvened for the Glam and Glitz Gala. Since administrative professionals are usually the ones planning events, managing catering, speakers, binders, and AV/tech, it was wonderful to celebrate their learning achievements through a great event celebrating each of them as a stellar assistant!
In the lobby, guests walked a red carpet between tall red pillars while overhead, a marquee announced Office Dynamics International’s 25th Conference for Administrative Excellence. Guests had an opportunity to take photos and leave a video message about their conference experience.
Inside the ballroom, the meeting space had been magically transformed as only ODI can do, into a vintage Hollywood heyday event featuring Elvis, Michael, Marilyn (Monroe), Sonny & Cher, Peter Pan, Pocahontas, Mr. Mouse, Hans Solo and Princess Lea, and a cast of many others singing “Be Our Guest” near a huge lighted Hollywood sign!
The percussion band featured Rodney, who was amazing. We danced, we sang along, we participated in fun moments like an acrobat leaping over three crouching administrators!
We gathered at beautifully decorated tables in black, gold and red, to enjoy an awesome dinner!
Each of the dance entertainers provided a solo experience, and probably ‘Michael’ was the favorite, receiving a standing ovation for his dancing and choreography.
Next, a fabulous “True Lies Meets Bond” dance story featured the good guys battling the bad guys over the contents of a silver metallic briefcase. Luckily, (whew!) good triumphed over evil in the end: we watched “Bond” and his lady love walk into the sunset, rightful owners of the silver briefcase, harmony restored.
The entire event, start to finish, was high-quality entertainment befitting an event to honor administrative professionals.
Office Dynamics International is renowned for its annual Gala event featuring the highest-quality entertainment Las Vegas has to offer. We had a grand time networking and bonding, which enabled us to enjoy the new friends we’d made at the conference.
If you want to check out videos of this year’s Gala event, look on Twitter for #adminconf and #stellarconf. You will be amazed!
When YOU come to the conference, don’t miss the Gala event! It’s affirming, magical, high-quality, creative, innovative and rewards admins for their hard work, dedication to learning and achieving stellar status in their careers.
Friday morning began with a networking breakfast. On this final day, after sharing 2.5 days of learning, collaboration, networking, relationship building, concurrent sessions, and hands-on learning labs, admins happily exchanged business cards and contact information as we prepared to close out the event.
Attendee certificates were laid out for retrieval in the beautiful Success Store. The morning’s activities began with opening remarks by Joan Burge, CEO and founder of Office Dynamics International. She thanked everyone for coming and talked about the quality, dedication, perseverance and talent of the Gala performers, and how they, like admins, constantly honed their gift to keep learning and growing.
We then broke for the second set of concurrent labs, a final opportunity not to be missed, to learn and gain information to build our toolboxes.
The attendees returned to the main room for the final segment: turning to the 30-day planning tool at the back of our binders to record the biggest takeaways and goals to implement in the next month in each of the four areas of the conference theme: attitude, skill, teamwork, and strategy. Everyone diligently created an implementation plan to finalize their conference experience.
With the writing completed, the notebooks were safely tucked away to carry back to 327 offices located around the globe, where they will be read and re-read, and referred to many times over the coming years.
Another spectacular conference had concluded – the 25th Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence – focusing on The Stellar Assistant.
As I headed to the airport, I wondered how many lives and careers changed as a result of attending this conference. Throughout the event, I watched admins step out to courageously be interviewed on camera. I saw admins connect with others to share best practices. I heard people ask for help on daunting issues and pesky questions that troubled them. I noticed how attendees reached beyond their borders to network with others from across the world – finding similarities in their work and dedication to excellence. (Hello to Canada, Palua, Brazil, Liberia, Bermuda, UK, Barbados! And the wonderful new friends I connected with from South Carolina, Canoga Park, San Antonio, Minneapolis, and Murray.)
Thank you, Joan and your amazing team: Gina, Brian, Melia, Ernan, and Jill, for creating such an amazing, career-enhancing conference.
Your Reporter in the Field