Dad 2.0 Summit in Washington, D. C. Was Awesome!
Dad 2.0 Summit in Washington, D. C. was my second dad conference! Until my first one last year in San Francisco, I had only attended mom conferences and had mostly mom friends. That has started to change now that I have two dad conferences under my belt.
I have had to grow up and face my own personal fears by hanging out in this crowd. It is easy for me to hang with moms, but I admit to being intimidated by the dad crowd. That is because of my own issues. I experience personal growth when I exit my comfort zone, and that is what the dad conferences provide for me.
I also stepped out of my comfort zone by participating in various video projects. I even posted one on Facebook. I have been working on my self esteem for a few decades, and it feels great to be able to push through the fear! Kia provides cars for the dads to ride around town, they are a huge sponsor of the event, and I was taped during my ride, chatting about parenthood. I almost participated in an Esquire interview, but I ran out of time in this short, two day conference, but I vow to do it next year. These are areas of personal growth that all of us dads have an opportunity to experience at the Dad 2.0 conference, and for that I am grateful.
Every year there are wonderful sponsors that provide amazing experiences for all of us, including the moms that attend! Kia doesn’t just provide the opportunity to ride around town, they also help out by using their cars as airport shuttles which is a cost savings to those of us flying into town. Best Buy had a four hour excursion where 50 of the attendees got to fly real drones around a farm and get videos of ourselves in the process!
Lego rented out one of the Smithsonian Museums for an evening party, yet another once in a life time experience that they have provided (last year they took us to the Lucas Film campus!). And as I wrote about earlier, Dove Men+Care, the title sponsor, goes above and beyond for the dads with a full barbershop, much swag, and an opportunity to share inspirational tweets. These are just a few of the amazing occasions that the Dad 2.0 sponsors provide!
And there are a myriad of contests! Best Buy provided several different pieces of electronics to win, Lee Jeans sponsored a photo contest with a $250 gift credit for their products as a prize, and responsibility.org ran an Instagram contest pre-conference for those that talked about responsible drinking and their kids. All engaging and productive opportunities for the dads to express themselves! Plus a generous amount of swag for all of us to remember these great brands throughout the year!
And of course there was the working part of the conference, the round table sessions, the speakers, and the workshops. We listened to Michael Strahan talk about fatherhood, and we got to listen to, and participate with, an extremely dynamic speaker, Derreck Kayongo. An African man who saw how much soap was thrown away in American hotels and started a charity that recycles this leftover soap to bring to Africa to save lives. I have simplified his experience, but trust me when I tell you that his chat blew away all of the audience.
It is impossible to walk away from this conference without being incredibly inspired. I am grateful to have attended and met the terrific men who make up a large part of the dad blogosphere. There were a host of other brands and organizations that participated with which I hope to work with during the year, this is how we all make it work!
And I have already purchased my next years ticket for the Dad 2.0 Summit in San Diego.
Sounds like you had a great time.
I do this often , send when I am not finish I wanted to remark on how clear your picture is.
This sounds like an experience of a lifetime. I am astounded by how many events and activities you were able to fit into just a short time. What an adventure.