All Around Fantastic Conference Held in Falmouth

I couldn't possibly use one word to describe how great last week’s annual conference went. We had a venue that involved breathtaking water views, spectacular food, and a wide range of invaluable speakers.

Registration opened up Sunday afternoon, accompanied by a welcome wagon sponsored by ONLINE Utility Exchange, providing members with brownies, cookies and milk! Right after was the reception in the courtyard, which enabled attendees to take in the view of the Atlantic Ocean while eating dinner.

Monday started bright and early with breakfast and registration. Immediately following, the sessions began! The first session featured Tim Herbert, who discussed leadership challenges, and the second session showcased Monica Schmidt, who talked about sending the wrong messages to your board. Lunch was served, and Dr. Paul Powers opened up the afternoon session by presenting mastering behavioral finance: a leader’s brain on money.  Following this was the Annual Business Meeting and then the Board of Directors Meeting.

Monday night was NEPPA’s Sponsor reception and Awards Banquet. We had great views of the ocean while attendees feasted on filet mignon and shrimp, and listened to awards being given out to well-deserving members.  For a full list of winners, please go here!  Afterward, members had the chance to visit two different hospitality suites—sponsored by Energy New England and Invoice Cloud, Inc.

Tuesday's agenda consisted of Deborah Sliz, president & CEO of Morgan Meguire, LLC, who discussed energy policy and the 114th Congress After that, Tim Hebert, from Energy New England, spoke about natural gas/electricity & the public market. That afternoon, avid golfers took to Ballymeade Country Club to show off their skills and take part in some contests. To see these winners, please go here!

That night, we had dinner again in the courtyard and listened to Dr. Paul Powers speak about love and money: how to succeed at both while watching the gorgeous sunset. There was another hospitality suite that night sponsored by NextEra Energy Resources.

Also part of the fun was the Baseball Squares contest to help raise money for the Benevolent Fund. This charitable fundraiser aids public power workers and families that have suffered losses due to accident and injury on the job.  Brian Forshaw, from Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative, was the big winner of the IPad Mini and graciously donated it back to be auctioned off with the proceeds going to the Benevolent Fund.

I also wanted to send a big thank you to all the sponsors who took part in this years conference. You helped make it an unforgettable one, guaranteed to keep people talking for years to come!

Don't forget—next year is NEPPA's 50th anniversary and we have a lot of surprises in store for our members!! You will not want to miss out!