So it’s been a week since I returned to work after attending my first AIGA Leadership Retreat. Chattanooga, TN was (I’m sure) a relatively quiet city until nearly 300 devoted AIGA leaders descended. Our chapter was able to send 5. We arrived early in the morning, just in time to grab a couple hours light sleep before beginning what would become, for me, a weekend filled with inspiration, instant friends, and too many late nights in a row.

Some of the highlights included the button exchange at the opening social; 2 truths and a lie with AIGA President, Debbie Millman; meeting Wes from New Orleans, whose toe-headed son is named Arlo; local bars and their beer; seeing the beta launch of thelivingprinciples.org; the closing party by the Minnesota chapter; and, of course, all the great ideas for our local chapter’s continued success. Every group session, breakout session and lunch was filled with passionate people looking for the best ways to keep their chapters improving and growing.It was a revelation to see so many people experiencing and overcoming similar obstacles to membership, attendance at events and keeping involvement high in their local communities.

Like-minded individuals all gathered to help support each other toward a common goal: making AIGA’s mission mean something more than just words on a page.

The trick has been, and will be, to carry over the same level of passionate excitement to our local chapter’s retreat in mid July, but overall I’m looking forward to being a little more involved in shaping the programming here in Salt Lake.