Opening night featured a performance by singer Eddie Money, which literally had the Washington Convention Center "shaking to the beat of the night". Day two presented a strong stream of visitors to the many exhibitor booths spread out around the convention center floor. It was great to finally put a few client faces to the many voices that we speak to regularly. We met a number of new credit unions that were interested in our solutions for managing risk and active planning. It was fun being able to run our Financial Compass model for these individuals, right there on the convention floor. Some really seemed impressed by our ability to quickly provide a two and three year rolling forecast for their organization. Impressive perhaps, but after all, "the future is ours to see".

My personal highlight was the opportunity to see former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, speak to the standing room audience. While we were busy managing the Plansmith booth, former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, addressed the convention crowd and, from the reviews we heard, she provided some really interesting dialog as well.

Day three offered more opportunities to speak with many additional conference attendees. I still find it funny how a free pen and a bowl of mints will get the people talking. By 5:00, I was tired and all I could think of was American Airlines…"take me home tonight" …to the cold and snow of Chicago.

Over all it was a very fun, successful, and satisfying three days in Washington.