I just got back from my first conference, and it was certainly a new and enjoyable experience.
So we got back from my very first conference on Tuesday. A few of my colleagues, Casey, Joe and I attended the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Mid-Year Conference. NCAI was founded in 1944 in response to termination and assimilation policies that the United States forced upon the tribal governments in contradiction of their treaty rights and status as sovereigns. NCAI stressed the need for unity and cooperation among tribal governments for the protection of their treaty and sovereign rights. Since 1944, the National Congress of American Indians has been working to inform the public and Congress on the governmental rights of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
This year’s conference was held in Rapid City, SD at the convention center. Since we are close enough to drive, we left on Sunday for the five-hour drive at 6 p.m., and we arrived at our destination about 11:30 p.m. because Joe kept directing us to go in the opposite direction that we needed to go.
Utilizing the work ethic at Handel, we woke early the next morning and were one of the first exhibitors to have our booth fully setup and staffed, ready for the ensuing crowds who would be seeking out our information.
Besides having three stunningly handsome men tending our booth, we held a modified blackjack game for the two days to attract interest from new contacts. This is how it worked: to anyone who came to our booth the first day we gave one playing card and instructions to come back on day two for their second card to complete their Blackjack hand.
We met quite a few of our current contacts, and I was pleased to be able to put a face to a voice and have real human interaction instead of e-mails or phone calls. We were also able to visit with some of our current customers which let us just catch up on a personal note without having to talk about business or scheduling an on-site visit.
Having three of us in the booth made it very convenient for each of us to attend different panels without leaving the booth under staffed. When not sitting in on relevant panels, we were also able to network with our fellow exhibitors (or as Joe’s nametag said, exibitor) and we met some good acquaintances to keep Joe in a constant supply of chocolate candy.
We didn’t complete any full 21’s, but we did have a tie with two hands of 20 which was fun. We finished off our day by taking down our booth, saying goodbye to our next door neighbor booth friends and heading out.
On the drive home we had a wonderful time driving in a very heavy and windy thunderstorm; which even while going 65mph against the wind took an hour to get through. We reached Laramie at about 10:30 p.m.—perfect timing to grab a light dinner and get to sleep for work on Wednesday.