170 Texans descended into Grapevine, Texas, an area in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex near the airport with one Aussie: me! Grapevine is a cute historic town which has been well restored and maintained. Being near the world's third busiest airport means lots of convention traffic- the town seems to hum with visitors.I was the keynote speaker for the 20th Annual Texas Volunteer management Conference. Interestingly, leading Volunteerism consultant, Susan Ellis had been the first speaker at the first one two decades ago.
This was the first year that the Conference team had made the event two days long with a first day "Advanced Workshop" held at the historic Lancaster Theatre with 70 people. What started as an experiment with the target of 40 people grew into a bigger situation and was capped at 70! An exciting time!Issues that emerged:
- how hungry people were for knowledge, training and tips
- the low status of volunteer management and managers in the sector
- the aging volunteer force
- rules and regulations regarding volunteering
- the new technologies and medias
- how few men are in the sector
Check out Flickr for Conference pictures. Below Conference co-convenor Lorrie Anderson and I cut the 20th Birthday cake! - Very delicious.
