2023 FEDA ANNUAL CONFERENCE October 24-26, 2023
A FEDA Conference Designed for the Highest Level of Networking and Business Possible
The new Omni PGA Resort in Texas is the perfectly sized destination to facilitate business connections.
As I hope you’ve heard, the 2023 FEDA Annual Conference will be presented Oct. 24-27 at the new Omni PGA Resort in Frisco, Texas. I also hope you’ll attend this conference, as its location, format and content will epitomize what FEDA has learned from attendees over the past several years (and the last 30) regarding what they really need and want from the FEDA conference. I’m eager to share how the journey we’ve been on is shaping where we’re going for this important annual conference.
In the past, FEDA’s conferences By Tracy Mulqueen 32 FEDA News & Views
were spread over too many days and the weekend. Historically the conference was a family event, so this worked. However, over time, FEDA members’ preferences shifted to focusing on business while they were at the conference and vacationing with their families separately. As a result, the FEDA conference now takes place over about three days instead of the previous five. The previous conference duration also made it difficult to continue the popular FEDA golf event, as it was traditionally held on Saturday. In 2022, we reintroduced the golf outing and moved it to a weekday at the beginning of the conference, enabling attendees to enjoy an elevated golf experience at legendary venues like Torrey Pines. In addition, attendee consensus is that the opening night dinner is situated perfectly as a prelude to the rest of the week and that member recognition at the FEDA Gold Awards Breakfast is a positive and worthwhile conference activity. Further, FEDA’s conference attendees feel the legislative presentations and receptions for congressional members and their
staff during the conference are essential to support the association’s mission to advocate on behalf of the industry. With those things said, here are some of the challenges we’ve had and the resulting changes we’re making for the 2023 and future conferences based on final attendee feedback, including requests to return to some popular activities from years ago that were lost over time. First, it’s important to talk about the historical and recent locations of the FEDA conferences. FEDA conferences were presented for more than 30 years at the sprawling resort properties of one hotel chain. This long-term relationship with one chain was problematic in terms of cost management and client control over the venue. The enormous size of those properties also made it difficult to allow for new committees, activities and projects. There simply were not enough human beings to staff and manage all of these new concepts at such large venues.
Being at a resort wasn’t the problem. Being at such large, unaccommodating resorts at such a high cost was. This led us to try some new urban locations for
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