Soon after arriving home from San Antonio, I found myself sitting in my office with the lights off staring into space. I had an overwhelming sense of fulfillment, both personally and professionally. My mind began to wander. I first thought about all the great experiences we had in Texas. For some reason, I started to remember specific details like the inspirational notes written on bananas, creating Peace Flags, the music of Shira Kline, and the bus trip from Dallas to San Antonio
Then it hit me. Those great experiences and everything else that occurred did not happen by accident. It took a year’s worth of strategizing, planning, executing and coordinating. Imagine how many (wo)man-hours it took to come up with a theme, locate and book a hotel, find keynote speakers, set up 27 different breakout sessions, develop webpages and emails, plan and coordinate meals (including addressing special dietary needs), plan Shabbat and Havdalah services, set up and run registration, provide nightly gifts like lavender oil, and the list goes on and on.
It was a total group effort, with many, many people helping out. Numerous sub-committees comprised of dedicated volunteers ironed out and pieced together all of the many details. The countless volunteer hours of intentional planning and hard work made the conference a meaningful experience.
While there are so many people to thank, let me just say that it was a pleasure working collaboratively with April Schafer, VP of Conferences and Biennials, and Fern Katz, First Vice President, for their vision and leadership throughout the entire process.
For those who attended, I hope you left the conference feeling renewed and refreshed, and with the tools and mindset to bring Peace in our Time to your family, community, congregation, school, and students.
