Chic-ahhhhh-go! Messages profound and clear came home from the IABC international conference

Communication World, August-Sept, 2002 by Trish Lester

Monday night's Gold Quill banquet, sponsored by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, was a swanky scene, with attenders decked out in formal attire. A jazz band and accomplished vocalists entertained, and the salad course was garnished with a bit of quirky hometown education from Chicagoan emcee Lou Williams Jr., ABC, APR. Excellence and merit award-winners in the renowned annual competition collected their trophies and, of course, applause, and the beloved Don Ranly, Ph.D., was honored as the newest IABC Fellow.

"When Les [Potter] called me about this award, I was speechless...and I cried," Ranly admitted. "My wife asked me why I was crying and when I told her, she said, 'That's a good thing, isn't it?"' Good, indeed.

TUESDAY

Tuesday's general session, sponsored by Buck Consultants, featured an extraordinary speaker with a near-Shakespearean delivery style. "Lifesmith" Christopher Nevill from the Harlequin Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, addressed the hushed and riveted crowd with a passionate soliloquy, "New values for a new work place."

The speech was almost a plea, an appeal to corporations to place their emphasis on humanity rather than financial profit. The oration was punctuated with pauses--deep breaths for the speaker, "soaking" time for listeners.

"When I look our over this audience, I see a reflection of my own inadequacy and fears," he began. [pause] "But I also see a reflection of my own magnificence, beauty, the outstanding qualities that are equally my birthright.. .and I know I have something to say."

Nevill shared his belief that society will be richer as business mobilizes around our common human values, and that communicators are well positioned to lead this shift.

"We do have a responsibility as communicators, and it's been called into question a great deal since 9/11," commented Kathleen Aswell, from California. "There is a call to action...it's different from before." She felt that Nevill was a good follow-up to Andrea Mitchell.

Nevill's speech got Allan Jenkins, from Copenhagen, Denmark, thinking about the challenges all communicators face. "What Nevill demonstrated is that we have common values, no matter what country we're in or what industry," he said. "The dangers and opportunities that face us are the same."

After the day's educational sessions, it was off to the exhibit hall for a networking reception. More than 50 exhibitors showed off products and services designed to help communicators solve problems and achieve goals. Soon conference totes were bulging with literature, CDs, samples and ad specialties--stress balls, Legos, LED key chain flashlights and more.

At the "Internet Cafe," sponsored by Root Learning, a bank of computers with high-speed data connections was a popular attraction. Lines were three deep and longer, as conference-goers checked e-mail and online news sources. No time for games of solitaire here!

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday's top attraction was conference programming built around some of the highest-rated speakers from the past five years. Twelve "All-Star Sessions" featuring presenters such as Les Potter, ABC, Don Ranly, Ph.D., Shel Holtz, ABC, and Jerry Tarver, Ph.D., captivated audiences, as always.