Blessings for ACTE Conference

It's no secret that I haven't loved going to work conferences in the past. I don't like missing class to go to conferences and I don't love giving up weekends for conferences. When it's a local conference, I always end up having a great time connecting with friends in my field. I should love going to conferences out of town because I get to stay in nice hotels and eat good food and see new places. 

Well, it was time to go to ACTE conference in Phoenix in late November. I was not excited about it. I was happy that I got selected to present at a round table, but I still didn't want to miss 2 days of class. The TAs and Starlyn covered for me and class went well. They even played the movie "Elf" for my 110 students while they made candy. Well, the day before going to the conference, I called Kelly and told her about my puzzle. She gave me some great tips. First, try to meet new colleagues. Before a conference, I can look at the presenters and see if anyone stands out as someone I could meet and collaborate with. It was too late for that advice, but the other piece of advice was easy to apply. She said that if there wasn't a breakout session at a given time that didn't interest me, to just go back to the hotel or to the pool or something. WHAT? I didn't even know that was an option. I had a new attitude about the upcoming conference. 

When I got to the airport on Wednesday to fly to Phoenix, I saw some teacher friends from Ogden who were also going to the conference. Becky Sagers is in Debbie's ward and knows Jenny and Scott, Rebecca Haacke took my place as president of UAFCS, and Melissa Judkins is president-elect of UAFCS. They were with Tena Pate, an FCS teacher in Ogden, and 2 business teachers - Alaska and Jessica. We talked at the gate while waiting for our plane. They told me they had a rental van in Phoenix and invited me to join them on excursions. Wednesday night after we got settled, I joined them to see the Gilbert and Mesa Temples and to grab dinner. Becky had a list of places she wanted to see and food she wanted to try. The Gilbert temple is beautiful and it was so fun to walk around the grounds of the Mesa temple. Rebecca served her mission in Arizona and spent time at the visitor's center during Christmas time. It was a great evening. 

At a delicious farm to table place. Tena, Rebecca, Alaska, Jessica, Melissa, me, and Rebecca

I forgot how beautiful Christmas is in warm weather. Stunning!

Thursday, I met up with Natalie and some other FCS teachers, Becky Cox, Pepper Poulsen, Rachel Gonzalez, another Becky, and Kamiko's athletic training teacher Becky Bailey. They are also very nice women. We went to breakout sessions. I brought beef sticks and protein bars to have for lunch. Thursday night I went to Scottsdale with my Ogden girlies. The lights were so pretty. Every restaurant we tried had a long wait, so we ended up eating at PF Chang's. We went to Jeni's Ice Cream for dessert. I got to know Tena and Melissa especially well as we walked and talked. They are all so nice. 

Look at how cute Scottsdale and we were!

My TA Morgan's mom is always at ACTE conferences. I hadn't met her until this one

Friday was the last full day of the conference. There weren't a lot of sessions that interested me, so I had a long lunch midday with Natalie. We went to a breakfast place that the Ogden ladies recommended. I got a delicious veggie and pesto sandwich. Natalie had to go to some meetings, so I went to my room to work on some letters of recommendation and other items for work. I even took a nap. We were hoping for warmer weather than we got, but it just wasn't meant to be. Too cool for the pool or patio. I stayed at the Hilton, right across the street from the conference venue, so I could come and go as I wanted. It was great. I felt so blessed to have Kelly's advice and to have connected with friends. Friday night I went with Natalie and her gang to eat dinner in Gilbert at a place called Culinary Dropout. The food was delicious. It was a very big restaurant with lots of customers. I got to know those women better, too. They are a bit more intimidating than the Ogden women. They are quite involved in state and national professional organizations, which is impressive. They had awards dinners to attend, etc. which is why I had time to spend with the Ogden ladies. We are the underachievers. 

Saturday I went to a quick session about work styles. That session helped me better understand my co-workers and my work style. It was very beneficial. Natalie gave me a ride to the airport. We got delayed about 20 minutes behind a huge religious parade of Native American Catholics celebrating the Virgin Mary. 

Uneventful flight home. Got home around 6:00 pm, after stopping for groceries. I can't help but feel extremely grateful that Heavenly Father gave me individualized help for the conference. I told my Ogden friends over and over how grateful I was to be invited along with them. I had taken my swimsuit and walking clothes. I was fully prepared to spend every evening alone in my room, bored and watching TV. It turned out so great and I expect future conferences will be great. I know how to do them better. I'm grateful Natalie encouraged me to get involved in professional organizations. Knowing people makes all the difference.