Bonnie Cranmer

Type A Parent Conference 2012 Moments

In my last post, I shared that I was headed to Type A Parent Conference last weekend. Well, I went and what a whirlwind! Arriving in Thursday rush hour traffic to downtown Charlotte was fun, HA! I managed to finally get to where I needed to be, parked and checked in, just in time for the Volunteers Orientation.

Amanda Henson is the Volunteer Coordinator/Manager/Cat Herder for Type A Parent Conferences. I worked with her back in 2010 when I attended the first time. She is totally organized, even if she doesn’t see it. The Swag Bags were in piles, our assignments were given and we were ready!

Over the next 3 days, I attended open sessions, workshops and outstanding keynotes from Chris Garrett at the beginning to Rene Syler at the end, who I must share is MY HERO! I prefer taking notes on paper so have several pads to go through from what I captured. My goal was to gather advice and strategies for branding myself, in a bolder way. I got that and much more!

The real advantage to attending Type A Parent Conference, both in 2010 and last weekend, has been the real relationships that develop in the conversations, in the halls, at the meal tables, and in the small sessions. I’m amazed at the value provided by every one of the participants, who all have something of value to share, whether they are presenters or sitting in the audience.

Two of the top experiences I had came unexpectedly. First was over lunch, when by chance I met Debbie Bookstaber with the Plan Toys exhibit space. Plan Toys is a Green Toy Company, with a line of vividly colorful toys created from sustainable materials, designed to be environmentally safe for young hands and stimulating for young minds. Debbie is an enthusiastic promoter and sold me quickly on the benefits of these fun toys! I look forward to learning more about the product line and the company for an upcoming green business profile.

When attending events, there is always that one popular exhibit that is always crowded, with a high volume of conversation surrounding it. I passed by the space several times before late on Sunday afternoon, there was no one there and I stopped at the Stow Company exhibit. I spoke with Mike Wolf about the three different organizing options they were promoting, Easy Track, ORG and Easy Closets. Clearing the clutter from any space is important, and I’ve struggled with this through the years so I’m always interested in tools for organizing. But the real ah-ha moment came when I asked my standard, “How green is this company?” WOW, ask and ye shall receive!!! ORG has a sustainability statement which they back up with recycling, environmental certifications and details on the products they install in homes and businesses.

So, even though this is just scratching the surface of my Type A Parent Conference adventure, I didn’t want to wait another day to share my experience. Kudos to Kelby Carr, creator of the event, and leader extraordinaire. I’m looking forward to growing the connections from this year and anticipating the 2013 gathering will be even better!