Staff members from around the country and the globe traveled hundreds of miles, some braving ice and snow, to attend the annual Best Buddies International Staff Leadership Conference in Miami from January 18-21, 2011.  The Conference this year, themed “The Big Picture”, had a state/country centered approach. 

The 2011 Conference featured two keynote speakers from outside the organization.  Deborah Reidy, president, Reidy Associates from Holyoke, Massachusetts, and Stephanie Small, chief synergist, Synergy Partners Consulting, shared their time and expertise both in general sessions and in breakout sessions with the management and development staff.  Other speakers included Richard Berman, a Best Buddies participant and board member from Boston,  Massachusetts, and Richard Lydon, a consultant from the Chicagoland area.   All of the speakers were highly engaging and mission focused.  Each made great contributions to the Conference through their training, insight and practical tools.

The staff awards dinner and celebration took place on Thursday, the final night of the Conference.   Supervisors and human resources recognized staff for their tenure and outstanding performance in 2010.  Highlights of the awards include Daniel Blair as HQ Employee of the Year, Annelise Barron as State Director of the Year, and Bill Maurer as Overall Employee of the Year.  Attendees and local Best Buddies participants celebrated the award winners and our collective success in 2010 with a karaoke party. 

Another highlight of the Conference included the addition of a committee planning structure, involving an array of staff in the planning process.   Committees included education teams for each segment of training – programs, management and development, as well as evening programs, workshops and, likely the most popular, staff appreciation.  The staff appreciation committee did an outstanding job of ensuring all attendees were appreciated through a variety of staff awards, swag raffle items, and an outstanding staff bag received by each attendee.  All staff members serving on these committees made a great impact on the Conference and we look forward to developing the committee planning process in future conferences. 

We hope that all attendees went home with new ideas and renewed motivation, and are ready to collaborate with their teams for even greater success in 2011!