May was a super busy month for ATD – both on the local and international level! I would love to share some of my experiences from being both a leader for ATD Dallas and a member of our amazing international professional organization.
2023 AXIS Awards
The AXIS Awards is one of the highlights of the year for me! Not only because I get to be in the company of such innovators who are changing their organizations for good, but also because I have so many wonderful memories tied to this signature event of the chapter…all the way back to when it was called Best Place to Learn!
But do you know why it is now called the AXIS Awards? Because organizations REVOLVE around people. And YOU (all those TD folks) are the ones developing those people!
This event could not have happened without the hard work of volunteers! A big thank you goes out to Jamie Cook and Halima McWilliams for co-chairing the event this year. And to Steff Allison, Laurie Lumston, and Susan Brookshire for providing their weekly support too!
I also want to recognize the 18 individuals that served as judges this year to select our 2023 winners and those that were onsite as “day of” volunteers. A big shout out to the 2023 Board of Directors that served as award presenters this year too!
And of course, we want to continue to celebrate the companies and teams that received awards this year! Some categories were extremely competitive! We appreciate the time our judges took to review the redacted applications and score each one against the published rubric to ensure a fair process.
2023 ATD Chapter Leader Conference
The annual ATD Chapter Leaders Conference (ALC) brings together chapter leaders from across the country to learn from one another. Current and incoming board members network with other chapter leaders as they share best practices for running an ATD chapter. This year I was joined by Cheryl Zobal (President Elect) and Karen Clem (VP Professional Development). We attended a welcome reception and a full day of sessions in the days leading up to ATD23 in San Diego. We had fun seeing our friends from ATD Fort Worth and making new connections with leaders from Houston and San Antonio too!
ATD23
For 80 years, ATD has hosted conferences to educate and inspire professionals in the talent development field. I attended my first ICE (International Conference & Expo) in 2013 when it was in Dallas. I learned then that you could volunteer one day and then receive a complimentary day, so I followed that same plan in 2023! Plus, I don’t know if I can go to an ATD conference and not volunteer! Too many SWLS’s under my belt, I guess.
The two keynotes that I was able to attend were quite insightful – Adam Grant and Priya Parker. And Karen and I learned that Chapter Leaders have a special section up front in the large auditorium, so we were sitting on the second row! And since it was the 80th anniversary, they had a live band playing fun 80’s tunes to warm up the crowd! We were definitely singing along!
My other highlight was getting to meet and have conversations with some of our industry’s titans that have shaped my knowledge through the years. I was lucky to be the volunteer in their session rooms or to catch them at the expo.
Karen and I were able to spend a good hour with Kassy LaBorie as we talked through her upcoming L&D SIG with the chapter on June 30th and the exclusive opportunity to obtain her Virtual Facilitation Certification starting in August. We even recorded a quick promo video that you can check out. She is super fun and has so much wisdom to share! Hope everyone registers for one (or both) of these events.
Hello June!
As I said at the beginning…May was a busy month! But June is an important month too! You have to submit your “request for proposal” to speak at Southwest Learning Summit 2023!
- What impactful work are you doing in your company that others can learn from?
- Or what have you discovered from another TD colleague that they should share with our community?
- The deadline to complete the online application is June 30th.
Also, take advantage of Early Bird pricing that is currently available for #SWLS2023. Register today! We will see you at the Plano Event Center on Thursday, September 28th!
