NGLCC Conference in Seattle - May 2009
I just returned from the NGLCC Conference in Seattle these past few days... it was a roaring success, and larger than it ever was with companies ranging from UPS to Office Depot to Wells Fargo Bank and many, many more global companies continually making outreach and great strides in embracing the GLBT business community. It also had a very strong contingent from the local community, led by Louise Chernin of the local GSBA (www.gsba.org). The event began Wednesday evening with a GSBA Mixer at the top of the Space Needle in downtown Seattle. I missed this but everyone who attended found it to be an incredible experience and a great start to the week's events.
The main events began Thursday morning and continued on with a variety of educational workshops throughout the next few days. I had the opportunity to do a workshop on social network marketing to the GLBT community, which seemed to go over very well and was standing room only. The best part of this was the interactivity of the audience, who asked some excellent questions and even helped each other in some of the answers.
The evening receptions were a blast as well, and the attendees, all professional networkers in their own right, knew what to do and mingled and schmoozed the entire time. The cocktails were open bar and the hors d'oeuvres flowed all evening. One reception was held around the GLBT Marketplace, where the various companies had booths set up to better present their companies... a great way to kick this event off as the Marketplace was then open the entire next day for folks to come back and spend even more quality time with the various attendees promoting their companies.
In the meantime, several of us hit the local scene after-hours as well, checking out The Elite, Purr and The Cuff throughout Saturday night. The Elite on Thursday evening was fun as half the crowd was our group and the other half were locals, making for an excellent evening pub affair that kept everyone rather "reasonable" so that they could pace themselves for the following two days of work, networking and fun. I also had the opportunity of dining at Wild Ginger, a famous downtown restaurant with some fantastic Asian cuisine.
Overall, the event was a complete success. Check out some of the photos found below, and if the GLBT business-to-business marketplace is your scene, be sure to attend the conference in 2010 in Washington DC.
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