Business, Blizzards and Birthdays
A Story in Photos
Amanda, Cara and Kelli hit the road Monday night for (and in) a flurry of activity. The Adirondack Destination Marketing Summit was a success, with robust attendance in spite of the blizzard. We shared our stories and insight during the “What We Learned About Millennials” presentation. We were thrilled to hit the stage again with the inspiring Hillarie Logan-Dechene, Director of Philanthropy at the W!ld Center, with the addition of new voices—Stanzi McGlynn (Digital Content Fellow, W!ld Center) and Kathryn Reiss (Owner & Operator, High Falls Gorge) who both shared stories of how our Millennial Toolkit helped inspire their social media and marketing efforts, and the success that they’ve witnessed firsthand.
We started the day by listening to the opening segment delivered by Jasen Lawrence from ROOST—the room was packed, just as the first snowflakes started to fall.
Our neighboring booth at the Conference—it was great to see Shannon Oborne in attendance from Paul Smith’s College, and our collateral making a big impression.
Meeting Stanzi McGlynn, our co-presenter from the W!ld Center, in person for the first time.
Fierce women before a fierce presentation, just as the room began to fill. Hillarie referred to us as a team, which was a recurring theme through the Summit as speakers encouraged collaboration.
The dynamic Hillarie, and soon-to-be birthday girl, opening the presentation, “What We Learned from Millennials,” as well as sharing new information about the China Ready initiative.
Cara with Kathryn Reiss of High Falls Gorge, all smiles after our talk.
Snowflakes the size of quarters were falling from the sky, and we couldn’t resist exploring Lake Placid amid the flurries. We quickly slipped back in time, feeling like kids again, throwing snow in the air and laughing as we struggled through knee-high snow. We bravely trekked through drifts to meet Hillarie for dinner in celebration of her birthday—we enjoyed the extra time spent with her family, getting to know her as not just a client, but a friend. Sharing stories by the fire at The Mirror Lake Inn as we watched the unrelenting snow is a memory that we are surely never going to forget.
High kicks and hijinks as we romped in the snow, which you should know was not uncommon on the streets in Lake Placid.
Cara’s striking resemblance to the snow atop the staircase at Mirror Lake Inn.
Looking in amazement at the parking lot Monday night, wondering which car was ours and how exactly we were going to get out in the morning.
Winter Wonderland, as we took a (very) slow descent down through Keene Valley.
Feeling thankful for our safe and successful time in the Adirondacks. Not without a significant amount of gratitude to the workers who cleared the roads, the travelers who stayed off the roads, and to the hosts in Lake Placid who welcomed all of us with open arms.