It's been a while since we've attended any conferences or trade shows, but now we're back! Executive Director James Workman is representing our organization at the American Fisheries Society's 145th Annual Meeting.

Wait...did that just say One-Hundred-and Forty-Fifth? Yes. Yes it did. So that is a historic and well-storied organization. And come to think of it, while we're on the subject of "well-storied", we have an AFS Meeting story of our own. A few years ago, we attended their (141st? 142nd?) Annual meeting when it was held in Seattle. I was the new guy, but I was impressed with the sheer numbers of people walking the floor, and with how many of them came up to our booth and said they'd attended our trainings over the years. But it wasn't only past attendees who stopped by to say hi. We also met, purely by chance, someone who has become one of our most popular and prolific instructors, Mike Fraidenburg.

Mike completed a 30-year career with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife after working up through the ranks from fish biologist to agency executive, and now he presents Facilitating Remote Meetings, Facilitation Skills, Collaborative Negotiations and Conflict Resolution, and Effective Speaking When the Heat is On. That's a lot of topics! They're some of the most in-demand as well, since in addition to the many live courses he presents, many of our private clients ask us to send Mike and his various materials to help their teams work better together, have more effective interactions in live and remote meetings, and build partnerships while negotiating.

So, since that chance meeting turned into such a positive collaboration, we're back again with two goals:

1. 1. To find out what new topics Environmental Professionals need training in most.
2. 2. To find some new instructors who can present timely, relevant topics that will be of interest to the thousands of employees and consultants who work with the government agencies, contractors, tribal groups, and state and local governments that we serve.

So far, it's going great! James reports that just like last time, people are approaching the table, sharing stories of workshops they've attended, and suggesting new ones. There are also a few prospects for new instructors already too! It definitely sounds like we made the right decision to attend, so if you happen to be at the meeting, stop by! Our booth is right near the CyberCafe...which everyone will want to pay a visit to after spending some time walking the trade show floor. James will be there until Wednesday (August 19, 2015), so when you go by, tell him you read the blog!

(Our booth, the morning of 8/17/15, before the conference opened. I bet it never looked so calm again.)

We're very glad this event is going so well, but we're not going to stop there. We want to hear from you about what topics YOU think are relevant for environmental professionals in various fields. Click here to email us your suggestions. We're reading and considering every one that we receive. And if you happen to be an expert in a topic that you think we should consider presenting, and you have some teaching experience, please let us know by sending your topic suggestion and credentials to this address. We'll be contacting those with topics we'd like to consider soon.

Who knows, the next chance meeting of a superstar instructor could be on the floor at the AFS Meeting, or in our email box. Either way, we're excited to get some new ideas and new presenters to present them!