My WEFTEC review.

Like every WEFTEC, it was a busy and productive week. This year I didn’t have as much physical fatigue of walking a show floor, but I still felt as if I wasn’t seeing it all. There were so many sessions and networking opportunities that made it difficult to get to everything. Also, everything in Eastern time totally threw me off. I now know how much pain I put Rebekah through on a weekly basis. The great thing about WEFTEC this year is that we can go back and view the sessions throughout the year, which is just excellent! That is something we need to look at for the future – for in-person events. Moving forward, this is going to be a staple. For example, in photo sessions with printed photos, we often ask for the digital versions so we can share online… this is one example of why digital is a must.

Here are some of my takeaways from this week:

1. Recorded presentations were a win!
2. The #OpsChallenge teams were inspiring – Each event, the judges would work with the teams to make sure they could get the right angle and visibility to judge properly. It was beautiful to watch everyone learning the technology (regardless if we like it, we now have educated the workforce on these tools) and another way this program is an educational powerhouse.
3. Networking Roundtable – This was probably my favorite. You did have to pre-register for these because of space (there was a limit of 50 people per roundtable), but I found the sessions on Diversity & Inclusion need to be in these type of forums so people can open up and share. The Women in Water session was one of my favorites. Seeing over 6 pages of people participating in this session made me truly inspired. We can make an impact on the water industry with this type of leadership being shown! Beautiful!
4. I enjoyed connecting with the exhibitors and attendees through the matchmaking tool. I didn’t set up one on-one meetings because I thought customers would need those times for their customers, but I showed interest through a virtual handshake (which I LOVED that it said someone gave me a handshake!) and I used the chat function to wish my customers a great WEFTEC week and to comment on their showcases. I am proud of the exhibitors who showed up and gave it their best shot to support this virtual WEFTEC. It shows their leadership is true!
5. My schedule was well… juggling commitments, and I could feel the pull of working in the business, on the business, networking, and my family commitments. So all-in-all it felt like a true WEFTEC week and I LOVED IT!
6. Learning about the water industry and seeing our industry friends gives me great joy, and I want to congratulate all who made this event possible. THANK YOU! YOU DID IT! YOU SHOULD BE PROUD!

Also, I was honored to be the winner of the “Get Connected” Virtual Networking Rockstar award! Make sure you go back and check out the hashtag #WEFTEC to see all the posts online!