Packing for RWA Conference

This is it, the last weekend before the RWA convention in San Diego.  My desk is littered with sticky notes reminding me to do everything from call the credit card company to write a short thank you speech – just in case I do get extremely lucky and win the Golden Heart.  I think there are several notes scattered around my house reminding me to practice my pitch.

The other item prominently displayed on my desk is a packing list of items to take along.  The last few weeks, I have seen several versions of lists floating around on various sites.  All of them have many useful suggestions for items someone spending long days walking around a conference might find useful.  Here are some examples of things I might have forgotten or simply never considered:

• Dressy purse for Awards Ceremony – Good thing this is on the list.  I have been so focused on the dress, I almost forgot about the purse to go with it!
• Comfortable shoes and gel inserts – Definitely a good reminder.  Comfortable shoes are a must!
• Pins for lanyard (PRO, chapter, etc.) – Another good reminder.  I don’t usually wear pins to conferences, but I am making a big exception for this one.  My chapter pin and PRO pin are in a box next to the new Golden Heart pin I showed you last week.  And when I get out there, I will get another pin designed specifically for this year’s group of GH finalists.
• Snacks for between workshops when you can’t stop for lunch – There is so much to see and do, so many people to talk to, I can well imagine this becomes an issue at times.  Duly noted.
• Plastic baggies or container – These can be used to stash fruit or other breakfast goodies to use later as a snack.  (See the bullet above.)
• Your own (recognizable) water bottle, or a way to mark the one you get there – Another good idea.  I sure don’t want to pick up the wrong water bottle by mistake.
• Your own (recognizable) tote bag or some way to personalize your RWA tote bag – Again, good idea.  With a few thousand people there carrying identical totes, it will be helpful to recognize mine if I set it down.
• A small case with aspirin, breath mints, band aids for blisters, safety pins, etc. to carry in your tote – It never hurts to be prepared, right?

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This wasn’t the entire list, but you get the idea.  Sometime in the next few days, I will go down the list and gather up everything.  (Except an umbrella.  I’m taking a chance I won’t need it in San Diego.)  The next time I blog will most likely be after I return home from the RWA conference.  I’ll let you know then how it went – or what I forgot to pack.