By Caitlin McDiarmid

Our 18th Annual Conference and Exposition has come and gone, and I am proud to say it was our biggest success, personally and professionally. It’s been a tough year, and I have to toot my own horn, I f***ing kicked its ass! But I also didn’t do it alone, and a lot of the people who take care of things at Conference took care of me this entire year.

Throughout the year, I felt their love and their support. I got their cards and their presents during a tough time. They were strong, positive, and present. They shaved their heads, they got tattoos, they visited. This year—more than ever—I needed them and Conference. I needed all of the hugs, all of the laughs, all of the quiet talks in the wee hours, and all of the frantic moments solving problems as a team. I needed to know I mattered, that my work mattered, and I needed to know my team could step up and take on just a bit more and still shine, still produce a brilliant event. They could and they did.

I was so happy that I made it this year: happy and grateful.

Moreso than in years past, I need to thank the Board of Directors and the Officers of the APP for their support of me and my family. There really is no way for me to express how much having an employer with a heart can mean in times of need, and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.

I also need to thank all the attendees for their warmth and recognition. So many strangers come up to me these days at Conference and thank me, and it makes all the work worth it.  (I’ve received thanks at the Banquet Dinner before, but this year it really was something special.)

This year all the “Super” volunteers went through advanced online training—some more than one session—and many of whom pitched in to help with review of schedules, organization, and training. This year, we added four “Super” volunteers and three “Supers in training” (Al D.’s that we felt were exceptional last year). The Supers really are the backbone of the team; they do all the heavy lifting (so-to-speak) at Conference, and I have learned the more I stand back and let them do their work, the more successful they become—and the better the Conference is.

Registration Supers:

• Alexander Kumaritakis

• Anna York

• David Kelso

• Kendra Berndt

• Theo Sheffler

• Marah Kelso

Booth and Classroom Supers

• Aaron Foster

• Casey Hosch

• Zane Nichols

• Tiana McGuire

• Kenny Hughes

• Chadwick Jackson

• Luna Duran

• Autumn Spinks

• Danielle Greenwood

• Jezebel Voulé

• Kristin Young

Our AV Supers

• Gus Diamond

• Allen Falkner

• Brian Moeller

• Badur Ramji

Supers-in-training:

• Ken Seyler

• Andrew Rogge

• Monica Sabin

Special thanks to Will Spencer and Sarah Wooten; they are both “Super” volunteers and serve on the Conference Committee. They are my friends and work extremely hard in their respective areas of Speaker Wrangling/Registration and Raffle; they have my back all the time, and I could not do this job without them.

We were graced this year with another outstanding group of Al. D. Scholars—they rivaled the “dream team” of 2011! They were extremely excited, incredibly humble, warm, and hardworking. Many of them gave impromptu thank-you speeches at the shuttle stop, and all of them grabbed the Conference experience with both hands and dove in.

• Mike McInnes

• Shorty Calma

• Frankie Pistone

• Nathan Grosvenor

• Apple Murray

• Dianna Brown

• Jacob Spjut

• Jane Marie Ravelo

• Parker Webb

• Ryan Feagin

If that list seemed longer than usual, it’s because it was. Thanks to JD Lorenz and Industrial Strength Body Jewelry, the funds for two additional full scholarships were made available—in Shannon Larratt’s name.

Believe it or not, I have a few more people to thank. In fact, I have more people each year approaching me to volunteer, and I hope that means that we are doing things right—that volunteering isn’t seen as a burden, and that people are beginning to understand that acting in service to the organization at Conference brings about a different level of joy.

This year’s love volunteers were:

• Shannon Dey

• Madicken  Engström

• Brianna Belladonna

• Kelly Zeien

• Megan Naito

• Chris Smith

• Eric Grippe

• Jared Silverman

• Mark Montgomery

• Marley Cote

• Mike Araya Baker

• Seven Wolfe

• Justin Naffziger

• Shea Derifield

I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank Courtney Maxwell and all of the mentors who—hopefully—made Conference a bit easier and more welcoming for our first-time attendees.

A special thanks to:

• Gus Diamond – for giving “T” the tour, and for being you.

• Sarah Wooten – for never ending hard work, showing that you’re human, and for introducing me (and others) to Bouchon.

• Jezebel Voulé – for saving my ass before Conference and for making it sweat after (paddleboats).

• Theo & Kristin – for schlepping me around Vegas.

• Jacob Spjut – who got it, truly got it, this year—and shared it with me, so I knew I was doing things right.

• Will Spencer – for stepping in and up on a moment’s notice when needed.

• Courtney Maxwell – for showing grace and strength; for showing me how to fall down, get up, make the most of it, and turn it around so fast and beautiful it made my head spin. Now that’s a teacher!

And finally, every year I thank the two men in my life—Paul King and Thaddeous (“T”) Love—and this year is no different. Without these two guys I would not be the person I am, or be able to do the things I do. I was lucky enough to share part of my Conference experience with “T” this year, and I thank all of you for welcoming him, razzing him, hugging him, and making him see how wonderful it all is. (Thanks babe, for being there through all of it.)  And Paul, we’ll always have Paris.