2007 SLC Blog

Ok! I was unable to write a blog daily while at the Forum and the SLC. But, here are some comments/thoughts per day on a five day journey to Pittsburgh!

Day one, it is 1:00 AM and I can't go to sleep! I need to be up at 5:30 AM because my team will be ready to go north at 6:30 AM, so I'm planning to be at UWA building by 6:00 AM. Well I was able to accomplish getting to the office by 6:10 AM. I needed to stop at Starbucks to buy some gifts we are going to exchange/raffle with the Financial Management and Human Resources Planning Committee and Forum members. Mission accomplished, I arrived at the office on time for our group departure. Ken was driving one of the minivans and Evelyn (VP HR) was driving the second minivan with UWA staff members. We stopped only once, in PA, for some breakfast, and then Chantel and I took a nap on our way to Pittsburgh.
We were in the city of bridges by 11:40 AM. Arrived at the Omni hotel and then went directly to the convention center. Immediately started working with the FM & HR Forum bags and presentations! All done in record time because of the team effort by the UWA staff and planning committee members.

Day two for me started at 5:00 AM, by 6:00 AM I was at the Convention Center and the Forum started sharp at 8:00 AM. I was happy to see many familiar faces and new staff attending the Forum! I was not able to attend Session one, but I was told that the update from FIC, NPC Issues Committee and the HR Human Capital project was of interest to all.
Then the day started to go faster than ever. I was part of the UWA Reviews and Research session, where Karen Brunn made an outstanding presentation on the just "off the press" results from the 2006 Public Opinion Poll! Did you know that from the 6 brand value propositions/promises the two with the highest response rate are, in my opinion, related to accountability? First with 96% favorable rate is “UW makes sure money is well spent” and second with 89% is “UW let’s people know what’s accomplished”. I was able to give an overview of the 990, Financial Statements and UWA Investment Form project, and Ken updated the audience on FASB, IRS Form 990 overhaul and other topics. The day went well and we finished all 17 session with great reviews. At the end of the day we were able to join the rest of the SLC participants on the convention center rooftop for a great welcome reception.

Day three, for me Mike Eskew’s speech was great, inspirational and full of energy! Mike is the CEO of UPS, a great UW partner in the USA and across the globe! If you have a chance, see the podcast of this session by visiting the following link: http://online.unitedway.org/site/vopenfile.cfm?fid=2913891

Day four, both of the Business Challenge Institutes; “Back Office–Debunking the Myths” and “Changing the Focus of Your Metrics” were great! I helped with the session on changing the metrics. WOW!!! What a session! I found a quote from Bill Kitson, CEO UW Greater Toledo that I’ll make a tagline in future conversations, "The real story of this campaign's success is not told in dollar figures alone, but in the lives changed."
In essence we need to get away from staking our value proposition on low overhead. It's not about how much money we spend. It's about the value we create and the lives we change!
Then in the afternoon we conducted 3 more sessions, I personally attended the “Risk Auditing Standards” and the BoardSource session!

Day five was all about ethics and how we can use the 7 pillars of an ethical workplace to better our organization(s). As the closing session from the SLC goes on, our team is working on gathering materials and equipment that will return with us to Alexandria, VA. Last member to join us for the trip back is Jenny Palazio. Jenny has been working behind the giant screen of the main stage for the past three days! All onboard the Membership Accountability and Human Resources team begin their journey back to VA!

Almost 5 hours later we are moving luggage into our personal vehicles heading home for a short weekend before we need to start another week! In general the Financial Management and Human Resources Forum was a great success and the unique experience for new staff to attend some of the SLC events was fulfilling!

We are working on uploading all PowerPoint presentation to United Way Online. Please check Breakfast with United Way for more details! We’ll see you next year at the 2008 Financial Management and Human Resources Forum!