Last conference of 2017...

It's been a fun year getting back on the road a bit more for work. I obviously miss my family while I'm gone but since I work from home it is energizing to get out and about with colleagues and customers. My last conference of the year is always one of the most fun events of the year as well. I missed it the last two years so I was excited to get back to it. 

It was the International Maintenance Conference (IMC) and it is always held at the Hyatt Regency at Coconut Point in Bonita Springs, FL - not a bad spot to be in December. However, it is always a little sad being away from home during the Christmas season so my colleagues and I decided to bring a little Christmas to our exhibit booth. We decorated with a poinsettia and lights and for the opening reception we all wore ugly Christmas sweaters that we had purchased that day at Target - gotta love Target! We were the hit of the conference and it actually helped drive traffic to our booth - winning!

Of course the bonus of being in Florida during the December is that it's warm enough to be outdoors which worked out nicely considering we signed up to play in the golf tournament. Now, the golf left much to be desired, but the time spent out on the links with two of our top customers sharing lots of laughs (at each other's expense for the most part - I told you the golf was bad) made it all worth it. We even saw a few gators and some less scary Florida wild life as well. 

The highlight of the conference is always Casino/Karaoke night - it never disappoints. It was a great way to wrap up the fall conference season and with the folks in our industry every event is really like a big family reunion - I'll look forward to meeting up with them all again in 2018!