Japan Midwest Conference a Success!

Well, I finally have my life back!!! I don't know how many of you were aware of what I have been working on at my job the past couple of months. My boss and two Japanese co-workers have been furiously working on pulling together an extremely important annual conference that is only held in Indiana every 18 years. It was really the first time any of us had ever done anything like this and I had to learn everything really quickly. We had about 600 participants along with 5 US Governors and 2 Japanese Governors. There were many super high level speakers and many company presidents from Indiana, the U.S. and Japan. it ran for 3 daysn (Sept. 10-12). To be honest there were many times that I thought we wouldn't be able to pull it together because the task was just too daunting and too big. But through all of our hard work and the hard work of a 70-person volunteer staff and others we not only pulled it off but it was a great success and many people said it was one of the best ones in a long time and we doubled the attendance of last year's conference in Cincinnati.
Damien and I worked 17 hour days the past 5 days without a break and my mind and body have never been so taxed in my life. But now that it is over I think it was the single most exciting, challenging, important thing I have ever done and I hope it represents a turning point in my job life as well as a new view of what I am capable of doing. And this goes for Damien as well. Many people were very impressed by him and he was as indespensible as any of us and was thrust into a position of leadership and took to it like a duck to water.
This morning after 13 hours of rest I began looking at the reviews and articles written in the newspaper and on TV and the internet and am beginning to see even more how important this event was to the people of Indiana and the future of the relationship between the US and Japan. I feel very proud we had such a direct and visible impact on so many people in such a positive way. The future of many companies and many employees of those companies and the reputation of the the State of Indiana and my office, the Japan-America Society of Indiana, was on the shoulders of little old me!
I also want my friends and family to know that I have wanted so badly to contact them and get together and hang out during the past few months but this conference preparation just didn't allow it. I haven't been ignoring you and now that it is all over I can enter the real world again.
I hope everyone is doing well and I will start being in touch again soon!