Well, it just seems like yesterday that we were in Newport Beach, Ca for our 2008 Annual Conference. Now, in just days, we will all descend upon Naples, FL for the 2009 Annual Conference.

Yesterday was the final planning meeting, keeping our fingers crossed - did we forget something? will we pull this off? Obviously, something will go awry but we're hopeful that every attendee will have a great time and take with them some valuable and useful information.

That is what this conference is all about. Networking! Sharing! Learning! Some of my best learnings were over coffee or lunch with a person that I had never met before. I love when the attendees post or share issues, concerns or best practices for all to see or comment on.

This year, we are also making sure our RPI members are following along from their desktops as we know not everyone was able to attend this year. We are on Facebook (Recognition Professionals International - Virtual Roundtable), LinkedIn (same name) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/recognitiontalk). We hope to keep everyone posted on the exciting things happening throughout each day!

I am looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones while at the conference. Odd that members that were of two competing organizations at this time last year, have merged and are now one organization - I look forward to meeting these new family members and connecting with those I've known only as 'competitors' in the past and reinforcing the new family we've now become.

We have lots of people signed up for our CRP courses on both Saturday and Sunday. We are also offering a special course for those that have secured their CRP designation with a panel discussion on metrics & measurement (most likely one of the most challenging issues in developing a solid employee recognition program) - its free and open to CRP grads. Also, this course is credited towards your recertification!

We are also hosting a Newcomer's Reception on Sunday afternoon - welcoming new attendees and members to RPI and our annual conference. Come meet our board of directors, planning committee and others. We will also be kicking off our RPI mentoring program and this is a great opportunity to partner with someone that can assist you with making the most of attending the conference, as well as the many benefits of being a member of RPI.

My real job beckons, so off I will go - but watch for more updates. Tomorrow I fly down to Naples and the real-work begins! "Talk" with you soon!