It’s that time of year again — the one where I’m the person hiring speakers for a conference. Other than this one exception, I secure my favorite brother to speak for clients at events… rather than booking other speakers for an event I manage. I do this biennial 3-day event/expo because I made a friend at a Fortune Global 500 company who trusts me to handle the speaker line-up. In exchange, I get to treat my family to a vacation at the happiest place on earth.
Not my first rodeo, but it will be my last.
My friend will be retiring early 2026, so this will be his last big event… and mine! Negotiating, contracting, and juggling logistics and more for 6 speakers at the same time is like herding cats. It’s time intensive especially before the line-up is locked in, and also why my posts here are currently sporadic.
It’s only bad for a short time…
While the pre-event work is grueling, the event itself is a great time for attendees and speakers. I don’t show up for any sessions — not even to hear my own brother speak — but have been known to join the party hangout in the evenings for a drink and to socialize a bit.
Having finished my work, I’m there to enjoy the park.
My biggest concern this year isn’t what you might think.
Spending 1/2 million dollars of someone else’s money can be stressful, I’ll admit. But, that pressure isn’t nearly as bad as trying to figure out what in the world I’m going to do with a little shithead dog for a week to 10 days that hates every human on earth except for 3.
Now you know: In 2012 a woman discovered that her ex-boyfriend from 12 years ago had been living in her attic for about two weeks. Her adult sons & nephew found him asleep in the back of the attic which caused him to flee. They also saw he had rigged the ceiling vents so he could watch her in her bedroom.