Directions – Lauren Harbert
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.” – Oprah Winfrey
Hello LTEN community and happy August! I hope you’re enjoying your summer – I’m doing my best to be grateful for the sunshine in the heat of this year.
Gratefulness has been on my mind lately. As I write this, we’ve just recently wrapped up #LTEN2023, the 52nd LTEN Annual Conference; this issue recaps the event, shares photos and hopefully inspires everyone while we begin preparations for #LTEN2024.
So let’s talk about gratitude. Of course I’m always most appreciative of blessings like my family and good health, but other good things come to mind as well in the wake of the conference.
- One of the many things I’m grateful for is our incredible LTEN member community. LTEN is a network, and we’re all in this together. Seeing more than 1,000 people come together, share and learn from one another is beautiful.
- I am thankful for our Board of Directors and Advisory Council. Both groups go above and beyond to support the association, the members and our staff.
- I’m also thankful for the Preferred Industry Partner community. It is their expertise, energy and support that allowed the conference and all our events to be successful.
- Last, but definitely not least, I am thankful for the LTEN staff. This team goes above and beyond every day to ensure our LTEN members have everything they may need right at their fingertips!
You know what’s better than me being grateful? Knowing that I’m not the only one sharing these positive thoughts.
For the first time this June, the annual conference hosted a Gratitude Wall in the LTEN booth. We invited members to share who or what they may be grateful for, and many of you did. Figure 1 shows a sample view of the Gratitude Wall with some comments from the LTEN community.
But why stop there? We’ve kept the Gratitude Wall open, and it’s another way you can share with your LTEN community. Please visit https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/SSK1ZZkF
and tell us what you’re grateful for. It’s a great way to get to know one another, to network and to work as an extended team.
Later this year, we’ll share more of your gratitude here in Focus. I look forward to learning more about you; that’s often where inspiration and innovation begin.
In the meantime, it’s beautiful weather outside (what heat?), the workday is nearly done here, and I’m looking forward to dinner with my husband and kids. While I appreciate the moments, let me offer a suggestion I hope you’ll be grateful for: Make some memories with what’s left of your summer!
Lauren Harbert is executive director of LTEN. Email Lauren at lharbert@L-TEN.org.
