41st Blacks In Government National Training Institute Conference Recap 2019
Written by: Michelle Clark
At the 41st Annual Blacks In Government National Training Institute (BIG NTI), approximately 2,000 attendees filled the exhibit hall and ballrooms at the Sheraton in downtown Dallas, TX from August 5th through the 8th. Management Concepts was a proud Gold Sponsor, furthering this year’s theme, “BIG NTI: Your Benchmark for Achieving Excellence in the Workplace.”
Monday, August 5, 2019
The conference was kicked off with a series of inspiring welcome speeches from Dr. Doris Sartor, President of BIG, and Hon. Darlene H. Young, Chair of the BIG National Board of Directors.
Margaret Weichert, Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Acting Director at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) spoke about strides in the Federal workforce represented by African Americans and the importance of growing that representation, especially at the SES level.
Keynote Address
The keynote speaker, Hon. Johnny Ford was a 6-term mayor of the city of Tuskegee, AL, and holder of multiple offices in state and Federal Government, among many other accolades and achievements. Mr. Ford’s inspiring words focused on the accomplishments of the African American community, and continued strength, leadership, and effecting change into the future.
These themes were reflected by the passion and purpose of everyone in attendance. The workshops, presentations, ceremonies, and speakers encouraged all in attendance to be agents of change, for their growth and success as well as for their colleagues and the missions they serve.
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Management Concepts built on the success of last year’s debut One-Day Leadership Course, Fostering Motivation through Engagement, led by expert instructor Margaret Eggleston. This powerful interactive session was again filled, despite increasing the number of seats to accommodate 50 attendees. The modules explored in this course were selected from our Professional Government Supervisor Program, a customizable and comprehensive supervisory skills solution mapped directly to OPM’s supervisory framework.
President’s Reception
Several sponsors, including Management Concepts, were recognized for supporting Blacks in Government, many of whom have returned for several years. Michelle Clark, our Director of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships, acknowledged our President Steve Maier during the acceptance speech and thanked him for attending his first-ever BIG Conference. She said, “It’s one thing for your senior leadership to approve a budget for an event, but it is another when they also show up to support the event.”
A key take-away from this is that partnerships build relationships, extend your o
rganization’s ability to achieve goals, maximize ROI, learn new skills and develop new knowledge, extend the reach and benefit of your organization’s work, increase diversity, and increase synergy. The key to change in government is incremental change, brick by brick. When we share the work, we share the credit.
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
In conjunction with the BIG NOW Generation, Management Concepts was proud to sponsor the “Munch & Mingle” networking event for the fourth year in a row. This popular event for young professionals boasted a registration of almost 200 attendees who are committed to their professional development. We also debuted our “#THINKBIG with
Management Concepts” pins at this event which participants proudly wore throughout the conference.
Exhibition Booth
Throughout the NTI, we sought to engage, inform, and interact with attendees at our booth in the exhibit hall. Here we were able to participate in many conversations with attendees who wanted to learn more about Management Concepts products and services and share their current professional and organizational needs.
With such a productive week, we are already looking forward to the next BIG NTI – see you in Tampa!
