Four months until the NFPW conference and I’ve already booked my hotel and flight. Next I’ll register. Why I am so eager? The conference affords me many opportunities, including:

Stretching: At this conference, NFPW members applied to be speakers on various topics. I frequently speak on issues related to my profession, including on social media, branding and crisis communications. I agreed to be a panelist on crisis communications.

I also pitched a seminar on “The Brand of You.” I’m interested in coaching and decided that offering a seminar on this topic would force me to review all of my learnings, study some more and then create a presentation. My summer will be busy, and I hope it will be worth it to those who attend my session.

Networking: Our members have lots of knowledge and they’re just plain interesting. They also are always willing to share advice or simply listen. With social media, it’s even easier to stay in touch.

Learning: I’ve increased my knowledge about agriculture thanks to Jenni Latzke, Lori Potter and Barb Batie. The result is that for the past several years I have grown my own vegetables. This summer I may try canning. I’ve learned about book publishing and video editing. At an NFPW conference I first learned about blogging and thought, “I could never do this” and now I’ve been blogging for four years.

Exploring: One of the added benefits of NFPW conferences are the tours. The affiliates that host know the places to see and often can provide access behind-the-scenes. I’m looking forward to exploring Southern Utah.

Why do you attend conference? Please share as a comment to encourage others to attend.