Cape Cod in the Fall… New Orleans Just Ahead

It was my distinct honor to keynote the New England Water Works Association Annual Conference in Cape Cod, Mass this past week.  It was a truly uplifting and great experience from start to finish!  By far one of the best conferences I have ever attended!  Thank you to everyone up there who made me feel so welcome.  I know that most of them could barely understand my southern dialect but all were extremely friendly and made the trip a quite memorable experience… surely something I needed after the recent loss of my mother. 

Next week, I am in New Orleans speaking multiple times at the Water Environment Federation’s WEFTEC conference.  WEFTEC is the largest utilities trade show on the planet and, somehow, I managed to volunteer for more activities there than there are hours in the conference!  I’m speaking at a financial planning workshop, two technical sessions on HR subjects, an elected officials workshop, three committee meetings and at least two dinners out.  As much as I love giving away information, somewhere in all of that, I need to find time to gather information to help me and my utility out, too!  I hate to be short here, but I have a lot to do yet to be fully prepared. 

In my next post, I’ll explain why most utility companies and Lindsey Lohan have a lot in common… and that is NOT meant as a compliment!  Stay tuned!!

   

Tragedy... and an Unwelcome Metamorphosis

I apologize for taking some time off of my blog.  My mother recently passed away and that has literally consumed me for several weeks.  I survived as we all must but the whole reality of it all has yet to fully sink in.  A friend once told me that you never truly become an adult until you lose both of your parents and have no one left with whom you can become a child again.  In that sense, I guess I am now an adult.  Yay.

Blown Away by the Reception at ACE2012 Conference!

The presentation at the AWWA ACE2012 Conference went far better than I ever imagined! Thank you to everyone who attended. The reception was simply stunning! Standing room only and mobbed afterwards for copies of my "recipe card" hand-outs and business cards. I will have the slideshow posted on my share point site as soon as I return home and will be sending links to all those who left cards with me. If you did not leave me a card and want a copy, please drop me an email at rob@daphneutilities.com and I will get it out to you as well ASAP! If you need a dynamic speaker for your next conference, please drop me a line as well. I am trying to change our entire industry and spreading the word that "good enough" isn't good enough anymore is very much a crusade for me. I would love to help your conference be more successful and willing to help you if at all possible. I'll also be posting a quick synopsis of the ACE2012 conference presentation "How FoodTV Helped Transform My Utility From Kitchen Nightmare to Top Chef" here on my blog in the coming days. Looking ahead, please make plans to attend any of the multiple presentations I will be making at this year's WEFTEC coming up in New Orleans this October. Again, thank you so much for the warm reception! It was truly my honor to present to you. Now, go out and DO something with the lessons you learned!!