Reflections on the 2003 Fall Conference

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There was a treasure trove of development tools for the payroll professional at the 2003 Northstar Fall Conference.  150 people attended the event, which was held on October 2^nd at the Edinburgh USA conference center in Brooklyn Park.  This year’s theme was “Secure your Payroll Future with the Keys to Success.”  In her opening remarks, Conference Chair Sheri Beck CPP noted that her committee focused on three main keys to success in setting up the workshop—the right vendor partnerships; networking; and above all, ourselves.  With regard to the latter, Sheri referred to cultivating our own sense of fortitude, confidence, and a willingness to change.

The day started with a terrific vendor fair.  Twenty-two vendors joined us this year, allowing chapter members a look at a host of payroll products and services while they enjoyed a continental breakfast and a “key word” scavenger hunt.  Prize drawings for hunt participants followed, along with drawings for several very nice vendor-sponsored prizes.

As the general session got underway, Sheri introduced Donna Phillips CPP of the Siouxland APA, our new sister chapter based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  Donna quipped that the Northstar chapter is “just what we want to be when we grow up.”  She went on to discuss their group’s development, and noted that in their short history they’ve enrolled 44 members and have $950 in their treasury!   Check out the photos taken by Terry Meggitt CPP from one of their recent meetings.  They are also in the process of developing their own website--www.apasiouxland.org.

Following Donna, special guest Bruce Beckman spoke of the many benefits of joining the national APA (www.americanpayroll.org).  Along with the numerous seminars, publications, and online training tools APA offers, Bruce noted that attending their annual Congress event is an education and networking experience beyond compare.  The next Congress will be held in late April 2004 in Nashville, Tennessee.  Bruce also mentioned that APA is developing a new education center in Las Vegas to compliment their state-of-the-art facility in San Antonio.

The keynote speaker of the day was Jill Spiegel, the best-selling author of “Flirting for Success” as well as several other books and cassettes.  Jill gave a high-energy talk with several themes.  Initially she encouraged us to reach out and talk to strangers in our daily lives, and to know that we have something in common with everyone.  She mentioned that if we don’t get positive responses from others we interact with, we must understand that this is a problem of theirs, and not a problem with ourselves.  Jill also recommended keeping these types of people in our outer circle of relationships, and only allowing those who can reinforce our own positive self-esteem into our inner circle.  She encouraged us to actively listen to our own instincts, as they will usually lead us in the right direction.  A final note of hers was that everything happens for a reason, and we should recognize that the magic of life’s plan is working for us.  Jill cited several amusing examples of her flirting philosophy from her own life.  To learn more about her publications and current projects, visit her website— www.flirtnow.com.

Following the morning session, attendees were treated to lunch and another terrific speaker, Dr. Mari Shaw, who is currently the Business Education/Technology Instructor for the K-12 school district in Wisconsin Rapids.  Ms. Shaw’s list of credentials could fill pages, and she gave a fascinating talk on team building through the understanding of peoples’ mind/learning styles.  She noted that we as individuals all fall primarily under one of four Gregorc learning styles, which really have nothing to do with personality, and she cited several entertaining examples to elaborate on this model.  I’m sure most attendees weren’t too surprised when Ms. Shaw politely suggested that the majority of payroll professionals are likely to have been “gifted” with the Concrete Sequential mind style!  More information on the Gregorc styles model can be found at www.gregorc.com.   

The afternoon was filled with two breakout sessions, each providing the opportunity to learn more about one of three payroll-related topics.  The sessions were all conducted by a host of great speakers, including our own Robin Murphy CPP, who discussed transitioning to a PTO benefit hours plan.  Before we knew it the evening social hour was upon us, where everyone could discuss the new ideas they learned that day.  Hats off to Sheri, her entire conference committee, and all the volunteers who worked so hard to coordinate this fantastic event!

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