Were you unable to attend the 6th Annual GMN Conference?  If so, this article is being written for you.  I want to describe what you missed and hope it will “spur” you to plan to attend next year’s conference in beautiful San Antonio, Texas.

I just knew this would be an interesting conference when Bill Gates, Sr., in his opening plenary, asked if the conference theme’s “Brewing” reference was to coffee or beer!  While there was plenty of coffee available during the day, there were also fun evening opportunities to enjoy one’s favorite brew and socialize with old and new friends.  While some people might think grants management is a relatively unexciting profession, we know better! 

There were 465 registrants for the conference – the largest ever – can you believe it?!  That alone says something about the role and status of grants managers.  Of course, the exciting city of Seattle, a center of technology, brew capital, home of “grunge,“ and Pike Place Market, was the perfect venue – and even the weather cooperated. 

Another thing that made this conference special is that this year is the 20th anniversary of Margaret Egan and Ann Gael’s first meeting to discuss grants management functions, which led to the formation of the New York regional grants management group and eventually to the Grants Managers Network.  It was great to have both Ann and Margaret at the conference.

So what else did you miss?  Well, with six learning tracks and 45 sessions, 2 plenary discussions, roundtables, and both a pre- and post-conference event, there was plenty for everybody.  You can now download the session handouts from the GMN website, which will give you a flavor for the conference and enable you to take advantage of the learning opportunities provided.  The exhibit hall also proved to be a busy place with the largest representation of vendors yet.  And of course the host event at the Seattle Space Needle, sponsored by KPMG, gave everyone a chance to relax and connect or reconnect with colleagues from around the world – yes, not only were there several attendees from neighboring Canada, but also represented were China, Brazil, South Africa, Tanzania, Latvia, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico – and I thought I had a long flight!

Per usual, one of the main events during the conference was the GMN Annual Meeting.  When GMN Executive Director Michelle Greanias updated us on the accomplishments of the past year, I was amazed.  From a growth in membership to over 1,700, the publication of the Body of Knowledge (BOK), an updated GM Guide, to the release of the Project Streamline Assessment Tool and the greening report, Beyond the Recycling Bin (and more!), I felt such pride in what we have achieved.  We elected six new board members, all of whom have impressive backgrounds and will help the current board move GMN to even greater heights.

This year’s conference Co-Chairs, Kris Schoenow and Melanie Matthews, and their committee, as well as staff, consultants, sponsors, and exhibitors made this a conference to remember.  A lot of very hard work, tough decision making, skillful negotiating, and expert logistical and planning abilities go into putting together a conference of this magnitude.  I am so proud to say that I belong to the Grants Managers Network.  If you feel the same way, I hope you will make every effort to join us in San Antonio next year.