It was the Ad 2 National Mid-Year Retreat. Not only would this be my first-ever national conference, but my first time in San Diego! I was traveling with 4 other Ad 2 Orlando BODs: Will Royall, Kristen Zucks, Lindsey Levy and Ashton Dunn, who was on the same departing flight, Nashville-bound for a Jay Z concert. Overall, a damn good crew, I’d say.
We arrived in California late afternoon with one thing on our minds… The San Diego Zoo.
Giraffes
Saturday was next. Starting at 9 a.m. with breakfast and ending at 6 p.m. with a “shot of Kool-Aid”, we fit in a whole national conference in the remaining 8 hours. This included 2 ice breakers (Chubby Bunny pic below) the introduction of 35 National Ad 2 members, a presentation on The History of Ad 2, an open-topic Q and A session, a lunch presentation, and 2 separate break-out sessions. It was a long day, but having met so many new friends, we were excited and rejuvenated for the non-work portion of the conference; a stress-free evening in Downtown San Diego.
I shall title the night “Balloon Animals in Mexico”. Sounds strange but the fajitas were delightful and the company was even better, featuring Ray Cashbaugh from Ad 2 West Michigan, who moonlights as a balloon artist. By the end of dinner, we had a special creature on each of our heads.
Jeni Gammichia, President-Elect Ad 2 Orlando