Making the Most of the SDML Conference
Before you go Bring a good idea from home to share and a supply of business cards. If your city has promotional stickers or pins, bring a supply to share to make your hometown visible and help you make connections. Make a plan When you arrive, review the full program of sessions. Map out the sessions you will attend. If others from your community are attending, decide together who will go to what. Your municipality will gain the most when attendees divide and conquer. ALL MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO ALL ATTENDEES. Orientation If you are a first time attendee, plan on going to the “Orientation for New Attendees” session on Wednesday morning so you can learn more about the conference and the League, as well as meet other first-timers. Attend the sessions All sessions listed on the conference program are open to ALL conference attendees – you do not have to be a member of the affiliate group to attend their meeting. For the Elected Officials While you are welcome to attend any of the meetings you see in the program, the elected officials are especially invited to join the SD Association of Code Enforcement to hear about Cadillac Code Enforcement on a Clunker Budget to learn tips on how to maximize code enforcement resources, get the most bang for your buck, and attack problems in new and innovative ways. Elected Officials on Thursday have their own session dealing with budgeting and fiscal responsibility and data security.
All SDML Annual Conference information can be found at www.sdmunicipalleague.org.
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Take notes Good session notes – complete with notations of who you want to share the information with after the conference and ideas the information generates – will be invaluable when you prepare a summary. Plan to share it with other municipal officials, citizens and appropriate staff. Daily review Each evening as you wind down from the day of sensory overload, review your session notes and jot down the top three discoveries. What were the most important, pertinent, useful or amazing discoveries that day? How are they significant to your municipality? Write them down. And – on a specific day in your calendar – note an idea you want to pursue. Network Make it a habit to introduce yourself to others around you at session and events. Have plenty of business cards to share. You can start conversations by asking questions. What part of the conference have they enjoyed most so far? How long has he/she held his/her position? What are the biggest issues the community faces? You may have common concerns to explore, or solutions that your community has developed. Visit the exhibits Exhibitors have a lot of experience with municipalities and are experts in their field. They can be great sources of information and solutions for municipal concerns. Exhibits are open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursday. Policy Committees If you serve on a Policy Committee, those meet on Wednesday afternoon. If you are not on a policy committee, this is an excellent opportunity to sit in on one that is of interest to you. Policy Committees shape the Statement of Policy that guides the League’s legislative agenda for the coming session. Vote Make sure your municipality has a voting delegate at the business meeting on Friday morning so your voice is counted SOUTH DAKOTA MUNICIPALITIES
