The Venterra Leadership Conference has always been a great way for our team leaders to learn about the latest industry trends at our tradeshow, celebrate successes over the last year, get a refresher on best practices, and hear from a variety of speakers within the organization. In years past, the annual event has happened over three days with all our leaders under the same roof, but this year things have looked a little bit different.
For 2021 we’ve gone to a virtual format and, instead of packing everything into three days, we’ve spread the event over the course of the year. Last Wednesday marked the start of the festivities with Community Managers, Maintenance Managers, and corporate leaders logging onto our virtual VLC platform to engage with one another, learn, and, of course, have a blast along the way!
Going virtual definitely hasn’t kept us from enjoying some of the same perks and fun as a traditional conference. Between swag bags full of goodies sent out to attendees in advance of the event and plenty of prize giveaways, this year’s VLC is still packed with the excitement that Venterra leaders have come to expect from events in years past.
The day kicked off with our VLC tradeshow! An event typically held in an open space where Venterra departments and vendors set up in booths to meet and greet with our team members, this year our leaders were able to explore a virtual map and join our vendors for video chats and exchange virtual business cards. The setup was a great way for us to network and learn more about vendor products and services and catch up on the latest and greatest within our own departments.
Following the tradeshow, we heard from our Sr. Vice President of Property & Asset Management, Bryan George, who discussed the importance of walking the talk when it comes to delivering an amazing experience for the people we serve. Central to our culture and success, it’s an overarching idea that has also inspired this year’s VLC theme, and is summed up with the simple but meaningful motto: “Care means more here.”
After Bryan’s presentation, we heard from Venterra CEO, John Foresi. His talk centered around the obstacles of 2020 and the opportunities that they’ve presented to our leaders and our organization. Talking points included powerful ways to prepare for and cope with challenges of all types, the importance of maintaining a long-term mindset as an organization, and the evolution that powerful leaders experience over time.
While we’re all looking forward to getting back to enjoying VLC in person, based on the feedback we’ve received from our leaders, the virtual format has proven to be a great alternative. A huge thank you goes out to all of our 2021 VLC sponsors, including our Diamond Sponsors, CBRE and Walker & Dunlop, for helping to make the virtual leadership conference possible.
We’ve got more virtual leadership conference action planned, so keep an eye out for updates to come!