Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

WOW! Thank you once again for a fantastic conference. Even though I was late arriving on Thursday and missed some of the good stuff :( I had a fantastic time! Not only was the conference awesome, as usual, but the Stein Erickson (Whoa)!!! I felt like a queen.

I am so excited about Live Oak that I can hardly wait until implementation. Having been a subscriber for 6+ years, I thought I had seen BoardDocs go as far as it could go. I thought, what else can they do for us? Well, obviously, they can do a lot for us! I sincerely thank all of the BoardDocs family for their hard work and dedication to making my life, as a Clerk, so much easier. You not only follow through with our suggestions and ideas, but you anticipate them as well. As I have said in the past, I don't know of any other company that does what you do to make their customers feel so special and to meet their service needs.

I know I'm rambling, but I also want to thank all of my fellow clerks -- some that I have just met and some that I see every year. It is such a great networking opportunity to meet, greet and share with one another. I look forward to seeing everyone again next year in Atlanta!

P.S. BoardDocs folks -- get some rest -- you deserve it!!!!

Just Let Go

Well, back home now, I am reflecting on the time spent in Park City. Many of you knew that I had family traveling with me. My mom and my aunt joined me on this trip. While I was at the conference they were enjoying all that Park City had to offer. As they waited for the shuttle, they came across many of you coming and going as well. When asked if they were at the conference, they proudly stated, “We belong to Leigh.” I just had to chuckle. :o)

On Saturday, after many if not all of you had already gone, we spent time together perusing shops, taking pictures and just having fun. We ended up at Utah Olympic Park. As we toured the facility, the EXTREME zip line caught our attention. So, once we were finished learning about the park, we made a B-Line for the Zip-Line. It is the steepest in the world – and we just HAD to do it. So, my mom, aunt and I paid for our tickets and proceeded up the mountain on the lift. When we made it to the top, I was in awe of the vision before me. Indeed, we were at a high elevation. I felt so insignificant compared to the view. As we suited up my anticipation grew. Up until this point, I had been relatively calm. But now, in the harness, waiting for the door to open, I was extremely STOKED. Once all of us were ready to go, the door opened, and I just let go.

I was AMAZED.

October 28^th, you will be too. ;)

Well, here it is Sunday night, I've had a couple days with my daughter, a chance to relax a little and I've even unpacked my suitcase, something that usually doesn't happen for a least a week after I get home. I'm up and working, because there's server maintenance to be done, minor routine stuff, but it's all part of the job.

I'm not fighting that typical Sunday night 'the weekend is over' blues though, and I think it's because of the Workshop. I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow morning. I'm wondering who is going to call first. I'm excited that there's a chance I'll have just met whoever calls. I hoping a good chunk of our subscribers will remember having met me, and be just a little bit more likely let me help with a problem even though I'm not Leigh or Andrea.

But mostly, I'm excited because Live Oak is now a 'thing' instead of just being a 'idea.' We've seen huge parts of it work, we've heard more about what it will do for our subscribers, we've witnessed it in action, and we've been amazed. When I tell someone "well, right now you can only have ONE current meeting, but we're going to make sure that's not the case in the next version" I'll know there's a good chance the person I'm talking to has seen it work, or has heard about it from someone else, or will have a chance to see it soon in a web presentation. It's a reality now, and I think that's... well... neat.

And, yea, it'll be exciting to hear from all the amazing people I've met. I'm already looking forward to next year when I have a chance to hear about everything Live Oak has done for our subscribers.

BoardDocs Reflections

St. Louis is a 2 1/2 hour flight from Salt Lake City. As I rode back home yesterday, I couldn't help but replay the past few days in my mind.   We shared many things together in Park City at the beautiful Stein Lodge.  We watched and smiled as Ari gave a preview of what is to come in the New BoardDocs.   We listened and even shed a tear as Kevin Carroll shared his struggles when he was young.  He was such a inspiration to listen to and learn from.

It was so wonderful to see everyone.  I feel a special connection to our subscribers.  To echo Laura's comment earlier in our blog, we are the extended BoardDocs family!

As Laura, Ari and I travel to perform training on the New BoardDocs over 2010, I'll get the opportunity to work with a lot of you again!  I can't wait to get started and I know you can't wait either.  This was the best conference yet.  It also was a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow; I learned something new.....

I learned to find MY Red Rubber Ball.   What is it that energizes and inspires me?  As I thought about this, for me, it's not just one thing, but a host of things that allows me greet each day excited and full of life.

• I enjoy spending time with my family - It is a warm, safe, caring place and I'm loved unconditionally.
  
• I get so much joy from watching my two new kittens, Basil and Sage explore the new world around them. 
• I love the wind in my face as I ride my bike on the Katy Trail
• Driving my boat on the lake when the water is as smooth as glass
  
• Enjoying a quiet house, while everyone else is peacefully sleeping.  It's that special time for me every morning set aside to dream.
• I get an enormous feeling of purpose, accomplishment and satisfaction when I complete an Implementation.   I hear from so many of you about how much BoardDocs transforms your work, along with saving you so much time.  And the board members?   They just plain LOVE IT.

I hope all of you will find your Red Rubber Ball and learn to dream as well. 

Welcome to the Future

We have all been working hard for the last two years planning, designing, and programming for the future of BoardDocs. We told everyone prior to the workshop to “Prepare to be amazed.” Matt has been working overtime programming so that everyone at the workshop could get a good preview of the all-new BoardDocs. It paid off big time.

I was able to stand before over 100 of our subscribers and show them the future of BoardDocs. As a musician, I have been before much larger crowds, but never felt the energy and excitement that I felt when our subscribers finally realized what the future of BoardDocs is. WOW.

To everyone that was able to make the trip to Park City, thank you for your time. For everyone else, I am looking forward to giving you a peek at the all-new BoardDocs at one of our upcoming webinars where I will welcome you to the future.

Boarding call

You know that feeling after a great work out? You are exhausted, but proud of a job well done. That's how I feel sitting in the airport, waiting to go home after the workshop. I'm worn out, but so pleased at the success of the past few days (not to mention all of the hard work building up to the workshop).

It is always great seeing our subscribers, old faces and new faces - hearing all of the little tricks that people learn from their peers - watching the excitement about new features - getting updates on kids and grand kids. Such a nice mix of business and personal. It really is like a big, extended family.

For now, it is time to go home to my family. I might not see you until next year, but I'm sure we'll be talking as we coordinate all of the upgrades to the all new BoardDocs. Until then...

Big Sigh....

I'm sitting in the airport with Andrea, waiting for our flight back to Atlanta. I'm enjoying a cup of coffee because I am flat out tired. Tired but happy. I feel like we had such a great workshop. There were a lot of things I loved:

I loved the Stein.
I loved the beds.
I loved the tubs.
I loved seeing all of our subscribers.
I loved seeing our subscribers meet and greet each other and form friendships.
I loved seeing the excitement on everyone's faces about the new BoardDocs.
I loved having people come over to me anxious to get their name on the list to host an area conversion training.
I loved having dinner with our round table presenters and enjoying them sharing information with each other over a fantastic meal.
I loved hiking on the mountain with Andrea, Leigh and Brian.
I loved hanging out with my BoardDocs colleagues.

While I am having a little spell of "dancer's remorse", I'd probably do it all again, just to get a few people out of their seats and energized.

The coming months are going to be busy as we bring new and current subscribers to the new BoardDocs. It is going to be a very exciting time.

I think we are all ready for the ride!

Laura V