I am having a hard time sleeping after presenting my Creative Confidence keynote at the Nebraska MarketPlace conference in my hometown of West Point, NE. There’s just so much running through my mind right now. I visited with people I had not seen in years! I met new people. It was fun!

Of course you think of things you forgot to say or could have done better. After one person asked where they could get a copy of my book, I realized I did not tell people it was available on Amazon!

My visit was also a reminder of hometown hospitality and family. On the way to West Point, I broke a tooth! Seriously, I put a piece of gum in my mouth…then, crunch!!! Ahh!!!! A portion of one of my back teeth broke clean off and was soon in the palm of my hand.

I walked into West Point’s amazing Nielsen Center and told the conference organizers my story. Chris Kreikemeier, manager of the center, asked if he should call a dentist. Judging from the faces of the other key conference organizers who included Shawnna Slivius, founder of eVentures Marketing and Kathie Starkweather, Director of Opportunities and Stewardship at the Center for Rural Affairs, I thought about the seriousness of my broken tooth. Shawnna and Kathie invested a great deal of their time, energy and creativity into MarketPlace. I had to be able to deliver my keynote and workshop the next day. They had helped me prepare for the conference, and I was going to do everything possible to make the day great!

I agreed with them, visiting a dentist ASAP was a good idea. Chris called the Family Dental Center, and my tooth was as good as new in less than 1.5 hours.

My hometown is a special one. When we lost Mom unexpectedly, the support from friends and family was overwhelming. Many of the Main Street businesses helped us through that difficult time. People step up and go the extra mile to help others in West Point and throughout this wonderful, wonderful state. Nebraska is amazing! Today’s MarketPlace Conference was a huge success and represented the awesomeness of our great state! The energy and enthusiasm was electric, and I know many of the attendees are already taking action as a result of participating in MarketPlace.

Thanks to all who worked hard to make MarketPlace a success, and thanks to all who supported, presented and attended this amazing event. Thanks to West Point for doing such a great job hosting the event and being one of the world’s greatest communities. A very special thanks to my Mom and Dad for being such great parents. You gave me such a great start in life, and I pray I can do as good of a job with my own children. Thanks for coming today Dad. It was great having you there with me-just as you have been every step of the way in this wonderful journey we call life!

Much love and gratitude,
Connie