On the road - Phoenix, Arizona

Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

Good morning! It is good to go away and good to be back in my own bed. I whisked directly from an action packed day at work on Friday to hop on a plane to Phoenix, Arizona to attend the gathering of the clans of managers of volunteer programs in healthcare. It is an annual conference which I missed last year because of hurricane Matthew. Luckily my tuition rolled over to this year's event and saved a few bucks.

My meetings were held at the Sheraton at Wild Horse Pass so it was more of a conference center setting. Normally I like to dash out between meetings and see new sights and the setting made that impossible. My daughter had given me the heads up on the Desert Botanical Gardens so I rallied a few companions and caught an Uber cab. It was such a treat! We were there for sunset with desert mountains around us walking along paths with giant cactus and desert flowers.

The final night (last night) we moved into a hotel next to the airport and luckily landed near the cool Tempe neighborhood. We were able to walk around and sit outside enjoying the wonderful weather.

The conference was worthwhile and I am bringing home some creative ideas although the general impression is that nothing, I tell ya, nothing, gets easier. Everything requires more paperwork, more documentation, more meetings to document safety of volunteers in healthcare. I am grateful that I have such a wonderful team of dedicate volunteers who have been willing to jump through the required hoops to offer the service that they are so known for.

I am off to today to catch my breath and back on the bandwagon tomorrow.