It hardly seems like it was nearly a decade ago that I attended my first ICMA conference in Minneapolis, while I was an MPA student at the University of Kansas.  Now, I am a member of ICMA's Welcome Ambassadors Committee, sharing advice to first-time attendees. Clearly, a lot can change in nine years!

I can still remember, in the weeks leading up to our time in Minnesota, our entire class asking hundreds of questions about what to expect.  What do we wear?  What will the sessions be like?  How long does it take to get to Minneapolis?

When the time finally came to make the seven hour drive north, we packed three cars full of people and luggage, as well as a whole lot of hope that our first ICMA experience wouldn’t disappoint.  

After a Saturday night of exploring and dining in Minneapolis, we couldn’t have been more excited to begin the conference on Sunday.  The first day or so brought the regular nervous jitters that come with being in the middle of an unknown experience – such as wondering about which sessions to attend, or with whom to visit next, but by Monday afternoon I began to feel like I belonged. 

Everyone I met was so encouraging and had a true passion for public service, and it was clear that as an organization, ICMA wanted every first time attendee’s experience to be a positive one.  By the time I left on Wednesday, I was confident that I would always look back at my first ICMA experience as another confirmation that the city management profession was the right choice for me.

As I'm looking back, it is no surprise that my first ICMA conference was so impactful.  In those few days, my classmates and I had the opportunity to be inspired by incredible speakers, participate in sessions that provided real-life context to all of the courses we were currently taking, intentionally visit with well-respected leaders in the profession and attend receptions for first-time attendees and various state associations. We introduced ourselves to more people than we ever thought we would meet and handed out more businesses cards than we ever thought possible – especially given that some of us had questioned whether we even needed to buy them in the first place. 

And, perhaps most importantly, we got to know each other better and began to understand the true value that comes with building a strong network of peers who understand the dreams and challenges that face all of us who want to be local government managers.

So if ICMA's 100th Annual Conference in Charlotte will be your first ICMA experience, know that these few days will be filled with greetings, excitement, inspiration and – if you’re an introvert like me – maybe the recognition that it is okay to take a few hours of down-time to re-charge throughout the conference.

On behalf of the entire Welcome Ambassadors Committee, I am excited to welcome you to Charlotte and I hope you enjoy your first conference as much as I did mine!