2009 ChainLink: Professional Development Day

The trek from the hotel to the Conference room where Professional Development Day was being held seemed to be miles long. Of course it wasn't, but it did seem that way. I arrived with plenty of time to collect my handouts from volunteers Tammy Hilderbrand and Amy Shelton of Crochetville, and to pull out my Commemorative Tote Bag and start collecting signatures -- which to my delight everyone seemed very happy to do. (Some inquired if the bag will end up on eBay; the answer is no. The bag is for my own personal use/collection.)

Robyn couldn't make it to the Conference so Drew the Crochet Dude filled in as emcee, and might I add, did an excellent job doing so! On the panel was Brett Bara, Edie Echman and Cari Clement. Also in the photo is Marty Miller, our VP. (unfortunately I used a new camera and A. did not read the owners manual prior to use, and B. cannot explain why there are so many "orbs" showing up in my photos. The orbs could be a lot of crocheters in spirit form who decided to attend, or the conference center was really dusty; I'll let you decide.) As we listened to the panel our tables were piled with yarn from Lion Brand and we spent the morning crocheting (or knitting) various sized hats that would be donated. I crocheted two chemo caps.

The Luncheon was held in the room next door, and while standing in line I continued to gather signatures on my bag. (Dee Jr. is telling me I collected a total of 107 signatures!) As we ate, Daniela Barbosa India Donaldson and Zontee Hou from Lion Brand provided a behind the scenes look at how the Lion Brand company runs: everything from marketing to how to submit design proposals to them.

The afternoon session of Professional Development day had what they call "breakout sessions." No, that is not where there is a mass exodus because everyone learned there was a Hobby Lobby just 10 miles away and the Vendors Market wouldn't open for another 24 hours... rather the breakout sessions are where the attendees could go and sit with a professional that would discuss a topic they were interested in. Each session lasted about 45 minutes, and the attendee could pick 3 sessions of their choice. I sat with Amy of Crochetville who discussed Using the Internet to Grow Your Business; with Sheryl Means who discussed So You Want to Own a Yarn Shop?; and with KJ Hay who discussed A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: The What, Why, When and How of Schematics.

After Professional Development Day was over, my family and I joined HHCC'ers Nancy and Kathy in the hotel's lobby. (It seems many crocheters took advantage of the hotel's lobby rather than journeying back to the Conference Center's lobby). Later we took a walk to a restaurant called "Bada Bing" for a simple dinner, then returned to the hotel and invited more crochet friends to join us in our hotel room to wind down a great day...

Journey to the Conference Center:
1. Take elevator down to lobby
2. walk through lobby and gathering area
3. walk behind the hotel's bar, rounding the outside of the dining area
4. go through glass doors to corridor
5a. at end of corridor go through glass doors ahead, cross road, go to #8
5b. or at end of corridor go through glass doors on left to remain inside
6. walk up flight of stairs or take elevator
7. walk across catwalk, then down long hallway
8. take elevator down or go down stairway
9a. if outside, walk around outside of building until main doorway reached. Enter through glass doors to be at Conference Lobby.
9b. if still inside, walk along corridor of classes, then go up short stairway to reach the Conference Lobby.

To get back, hail a taxi.