I let my Istock subscription expire and they removed 250 image downloads I stored up. Then I tried some AI art and it was a racket. I’ll come up with a better solution later.

If you’re a long time reader, you’d know I’m a capitalist. Money follows effort and people are paid appropriately. Very seldom will I spend my time on an effort where I don’t get paid. However, for an inexplicable reason, I am the President of a non-profit association. This weekend was a bi-annual conference and I knocked it out of the park.

This conference had 64 attendees. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get people to go to an event? Especially one that is focused on slate roofs? Advertising this conference started months ago to a list of 500 people. People don’t like commitment. They like waiting to see if any opportunity comes along that’s better and it’s frustrating to anyone planning. Being good at convincing people to come is a skill in itself. This weighs on you months prior to the event.

Planning for 64 people sounds like a pittance but I suggest you try to cater for an ever changing number. Will you have enough food for all if unexpected people show up and start eating? Next comes the timing of presentations / events for the conference. There is a semblance of a schedule (that I created) and I was in charge of having it come together. A presenter runs 15 minutes overtime. The Q/A from the presentation is taking forever and they don’t stop asking questions. It falls on one person, me, to make sure we have handle discussion without cutting it short, while keeping in mind people have flown hours to come and present. It’s not easy.

How do you get 65 people from location to location? Try telling them to split into groups. Explain to them how to walk to a location. They ask you questions all the time because they think you know the answers. It’s an excruciating process that lasted 2 full days and I was great at it. This is to go along with personally making presentations and introducing every new presenter. I’m ecstatic it’s over so I can move on with my life.

The man presenting that piece of slate is the President of a European roofing association to which I’m heading next week in Innsbruck, Austria. He’s a relatively big deal in the industry and as I the President, I get the photo op.

No one has given me a dime for my work for the association. I complain about it. Too much effort. Not enough compensation. However, now that it’s over, I don’t regret putting in the time. I proved to myself that I can lead an event from start to finish. People tell me they had a great time. That feels good. It’s another feather in my cap and I’d imagine makes me better off for it. Thanks for reading this humble brag post about how good I am.