What happens in Vegas...

You know the saying...

What happens in Vegas... stays in Vegas...

Well...

call me a bit of a rebel

but I'm going to share just what happened in Vegas

and it's nothing like you are thinking I'm sure ;)

(view from my (amazing) room)

(Indoor mall- wow!)

Remember the Kmart Outdoor Living Makeover I did back in the Spring?

(For those of you who are new to my blog,

I was 1 of 5 bloggers who participated in an Outdoor living makeover with Kmart-

Just click on the photos below to see the posts)

Well, it turns out that the campaign was a big success

for Kmart and the social media company I work with
and they were nominated

for an award for the best campaign of the year.

:D

I know~

WOW!!

So a CMO of Kmart & Collective Bias were going to be speaking

about brand turnaround at a marketing conference

and asked if I could come and speak with them at the

WOMMA Summit in Las Vegas

about my role as a blogger in the campaign.

Whoa...

I type, I decorate,

paint furniture and move things around

A LOT...

but Speaking?

In front of A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE?

Uhhm...

But...

I have been working on pushing myself to get out of

my comfort zone and try new things recently...

Do you know 'Bob' in the movie 'What About Bob' ?

(Seriously one of my all time favorite movies!!)

I can relate to Bob.

I am a baby stepper for sure and I have been working on growing

and taking bigger steps.

I have never spoken in public-ever

- let alone at a conference ...

But after a pep talk

Promises of Dramamine

&

knowing that they would pick me up off the floor should I faint...

I said yes and I was SUPER EXCITED!

As part of the presentation

Brent and I were going to set up some examples of patio furniture from Kmart

We were thinking there would be a few boxes maybe..

a couple big ones-
a couple little ones...

Turns out- there were 2 pallets and some of the pieces

(a beautiful travertine table top) were enclosed in wooden crates

Oh my.

As well, the fork lift must have punctured the box and broke

the packaging with the screws in it...

they were all over.

With no power tools or tools of any kind, just 2 of us working

it was a little crazy but lots of fun

It took several hours but we conquered the furniture

and the finished pieces were beautiful.

They got lots of attention

and were being used by Summit goers' right away.

When it came time to speak... I nervously waited while the crowd
seemed to keep trickling and trickling and trickling lol in

During the Kmart Presentation- just listening to Brent and Jennifer talk about

thoughts, ideas, brainstorms of marketing campaigns and the behind the scenes of how

Kmart Outdoor Living campaign came together was amazing.
I learned so much about all the work and thought process that goes into a campaign
and how they were able to help make a difference in Kmart's revenues.
I was even more proud to be that very small blogger in a room filled
with marketing and social media professionals.

I was a small part of the presentation and

 basically talked a little bit about being a blogger who participated~
how the campaign affected my blog, what my readers thoughts were,
what my thoughts were about Kmart and the campaign in general.
It was neat to see my designs on the overhead projector...and it also made it much easier
to see some of what I could talk about if (when!) I got nervous.

A few questions from people attending and that was it.
  The presentation went great

and

I didn't need any dramamine

AND

I didn't faint!

(Haha! PHEW!!)

As well, Kmart graciously donated ALL of the brand new patio furniture

to Habitat for Humanity after the conference was done.

I came home exhilarated,

and  hugely grateful for the opportunity to sail~

it was just amazing!

Thank you so much Brent & Jennifer!!