The daily blog posts started off ok, but then life got in the way. I am going to try for once a week.

Becoming a vegan is still a goal, but it is going to have to be 90% vegan as the goal. I can reach that. The problem is cheese, eggs,  milk chocolate in Snickers bars, and dairy/egg in foods that I might mindlessly eat at work during meetings. I am working on this one.

Exercising regularly and losing weight. I have a better chance at that one in 2012.

I am sure there were more…

My company’s PMO blog (#15)  is included in this list.

Constructively “saying no” is a cooperative and beneficial activity if born of confidence, experience, and shared values. However, be wary of obstructionists who masquerade as cooperative helpers when their primary goal is achieving personal political gain or creating factional advantage.

So let’s all start defining those requirements and learning the art of saying “no” and balancing it with yes based on the goals of the organization.

I downloaded the app on my Android and it has these sections:

• Search – In application search.
• Schedule – The conference schedule in a calendar.
• Program – The program listed by category and then title with time.
• Speakers – A list of all of the speakers, their bio, and some include website and emails. Additionally, you can add notes for that speaker and tag them as favorites.
• Expo – A list of all of the expo participants.
• Media – PowerPoints for the presentations.
• Maps – A map of the convention hall.
• Twitter – a Twitter feed for #tk11.

It is a very good app and is giving me a few ideas!

I would like to purchase a tablet. It will possibly be an Android based tablet. I rather like the idea of having magazines on that tablet. I can download copies of ASTD’s T+D Magazine and PMI’s PM Network since I am a member of both organizations. The problem comes when it is time to read the magazines on my Droid 2. The screen is a nice size for most things, but I just can’t seem to want to read the magazines on my phone. The screen needs to be BIGGER.

In fact, when I get this tablet, it will help me move to the paperless revolution that was started so long ago and never actually materialized.

Ted Leonsis, a “student of happiness,” answered questions presented by Kevin Keagan and the audience.

I am not going to try to quote all of Ted Leonsis’ presentation but there were a few lines that he said that I liked:

• “Young people can smell BS a mile away.”
• “If you speak to people in an unfiltered way, people believe you.”
• “Talk to employers and customers like they are friends or family members and good things will happen.” There will be no need to fear a WikiLeaks expose.

There was much more and it can be read about in Ted’s book the Business of Happiness. Create your life list at http://www.businessofhappiness.com.

His blog can is located at http://www.tedstake.com/.

You can watch free documentaries from Ted’s Snag Films “filmanthropy” website: http://www.snagfilms.com/.

Thank you to Laura Mendelow, her husband, the camera woman, Deadra Welcome, Lisa Cohen, Kathy Reiffenstein, and Michelle Proulx for helping to make this a successful event hosted by the Metro DC ASTD Chapter (http://www.dcastd.org) and CBODN (http://www.cbodn.org/).

No matter your political leanings, if you really listened to this speech tonight and have a heart, it was an excellent speech and hopefully resonated within as being words of truth.

I am not sure where the speech will be posted, but it may possibly be located at the White House Speeches and Remarks site at a future date.

The five elements of a perfect blog post | Social Media Today.

Everyone was greeted with the sounds of Michael McDonald Motown Two. The center provided breakfast and Starbucks coffe and drinks.

During our meeting I gave a brief speech about what we were going to do for the day and introduced Jeff McCall, Sales Manager, who provided all of this through their sponsorship of the chpater. I also introduced Greg Spillman, Director of Sales who said a few words of greeting. Jeff McCall guided me through the whole process from initial inquiry through the events of the day. Sharon, Director of Catering helped along the way also. They service they provided was first class all the way.

The next phase of our meeting were presentations of the Directors. Everyone presented on where we are, best practices, research on various questions, and thoughts on what we can do. Each presentation was great and I believe we are going to have a great year because this is a great board of directors!

We then had a presentation from Carolyn Skinner, CPA and Bert Swain, CPA from Goodman and Company. Their firm does a lot of work in the non-profit sector. They talked to use about Non-Profit basics and the responsibilty of board members. This presentation was very enlightening for all of us.

It was then time for of conference center tour and lunch. Jeff talked to us about the center which was formerly Xerox’s training center. We took a tour of the ballroom, auditorium, multiple meeting and classrooms, and two of the hotel rooms. The center is perfect for hosting meetings and conferences and even weddings. If you are interested in more information please go to http://www.conferencecenter.com.

After our tour we had lunch in the dining facility. Lunch was delicious, including the cake!

So finally we got back to our room which was setup in a 17 person U with 4 rounds for small group sharing. The group started to work on goals and action plans. The energy was high and very collaborative.

Of course we were then presented with our afternoon snack of M&M’s, gummy bears, various mixes, coffee, sodas and bars. I think we all enjoyed that!

Overall I personally feel that the day was successful all around from our sharing, learning, planning activities, accommodations, and food selections. It was a great day!

This is my personal endorsement of the National Conference Center and Goodman and Company.

For more information on the Metro DC ASTD Chapter or any organization mentioned in this post, please contact me at president@dcastd.org.