For those of you with children under 12, it’s likely that you’ve seen at least one of the 14 Shrek movies since 2001.  If so, you probably recall the celebration scenes at the end of the movies where orges, dragons, gingerbread men, donkeys, princes, kings, etc. dance, feast and celebrate with one another.  In the aftermath of the 2009 Annual Summit, I’m ready for a Shrek-style celebration!  If I only weren’t so exhausted.

It was a Summit to be remembered.

What a great surprise to poll the audience on the first morning and see that more that 60% of the attendees are optimistic about the upcoming holiday season.  As I shared with the audience, this is the same level of optimism that existed in 2003 (admittedly, it’s all relative, and expectations are most certainly lower than they were 6 years ago).  But, still, for a group of people who have been battling the worst economy in 70 years, this says something about the resilient nature of the digital retail industry and the people who are part of it.

This optimism and enthusiasm continued throughout the Summit.  It was a joy to be around the best and the brightest in our industry and see everyone ready to take on any challenge placed before them.

I am very excited that the attendance grew 9% overall compared to last year, including 16% more retail attendees.  And, looking at the evaluations scores we’re receiving, the consensus is that the Summit provided great value to the more than 2,600 attendees.  Nothing is more important than bringing ROI and value to attendees.

Thank you to the many members of the Shop.org community who helped make this year’s Summit the best ever – the Board, the Content Committee, the many speakers, Dr is In participants, roundtable facilitators, and our amazing sponsors and exhibitors.  I also want to thank the Shop.org and NRF team members, who did a fantastic job.

After the final session ended on Wednesday, the Summit team gathered in our staff office for a champagne toast.  The team that produced the Annual Summit, hands down, is the best team in this business.  I am honored and privileged to work with them.  Below is a team picture taken just after the Summit ended, and I’d like to recognize the individuals who make up this incredible team.

Top Row – Left to Right
Levina Coleman, registration goddess and accounting extraordinaire
Monique Suggs, registration goddess and membership retention guru
Rachel Weintraub, operations maven
Dana Madden, exhibit services expert
Libby Landen, Marketing genius and chief optimist
Terry Young, operations goddess and purveyor of lobster tails
Esther Huggins, exhibitor services black belt
Sara Greene, community center builder and membership recruitment champion
Sandra Carvajal, registration queen and Refuse to Lose spirit keeper
Stacy Cornell, exhibit and sponsorship sales don’t-take-no-for-an-answerer
Artemis Ebneyousef, content queen and official Shop.org fashion consultant

Bottom Row – Left to Right
Margaret Strong, registration goddess
Mark Bogdansky, Expo Hall visionary
Josh Greene, Member Services Visionary and bronze medal winner of the Summit swimming contest
Me – fortunate to work with a great team
Larry Joseloff, Content King, bass jam master and chief beer taster
Fiona Swerdlow, high priestess of research
Ellen Davis, PR visionary and chief blogger

Not pictured (but whose contributions are top of mind)
Victoria Laudati, marketing guru and program guide super-genius
Mike May, high priest of marketing and twitter feeds
Kathy Grannis, PR manager and media gatekeeper
Joan Broughton, internet strategies queen
Diane Collins, registration goddess
Daryl Everett, registration king and executive afternoon taserer
Kelly Gilmore, ambassador of retail CMOs