Pulse Legacy Archive July 2012 | Page 90

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“The road goes on forever
and the party never ends.”
PHOTO © TIFFANY BROWN

—The Road Goes on Forever by country singer and songwriter Robert Earl Keen

I

’ve taken several road trips in the past but the best ones are always in the
company of great friends. Last year, en route to the annual conference for
the American Society for Association Executive (ASAE), the association
for association professionals, I took the road with ISPA Vice President
Becky Brooks and Associations International’s Director of Business

Development Keith Howard (you probably know Keith as the “infectiously funny
guy” who works his magic each year at the ISPA Foundation Auction).
Now, imagine being confined in a vehicle for hours on the road with Becky,
who’s got stories to tell, and Keith, who seems to have a pitless supply
of sarcasm and jokes, and you have exactly a moment described by
country singer Robert Earl Keen: a road that goes on forever and a party
that never ends!
Even when we’ve arrived at our destination at the ASAE Conference, it
continued to feel like a journey as we listened to great speakers, one of
which was Peter Sheahan, one of this year’s ISPA Conference keynote
speakers and this Pulse Conversations’ innovations expert (see page 22).
It was refreshing to hear an amazing keynote speaker who left me energized and wanting to hear more. Immediately after, I knew we HAD to
have him at ISPA Conference this year! We scrambled for our phones to
book him immediately before all other association executives in the
room could beat us to it!
I hope that this year at ISPA Conference & Expo, you’ll find yourself on a great “road trip,” just as I always do when I am in the
company of great friends and great speakers. More importantly,
whether you plan to fly or drive your way to Gaylord Palms Resort &

Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida this year, think of ISPA Conference not
as a destination, but as a road where friendships are built and rekindled, where
lasting memories are made—and yes, where “the party never truly ends.”

—LYNNE McNEES, ISPA PRESIDENT

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July 2012