As I write this month’s article, it has been about an hour since Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl in 10 appearances on arguably the sporting world’s largest stage. To top it off, Brady also was Super Bowl LV’s Most Valuable Player at 43 years old! How in the world does an athlete compete at this level and this age and consistently excel to the likes we have never seen before? The dedication this quarterback has to all aspects of playing professional football, preparation, and the sacrifices he must make personally to achieve this greatness is incredible. We are all witnessing something that may never be repeated at this level again in the future.

Shifting gears back to reality – something I hope I never have to repeat again is experiencing a pandemic. This time last year, we were all planning to go to Alabama for a great conference in Orange Beach. Little did any of us know but the world was going to change, and that change was going to be significant. Fast forward to today, we have had to cancel our face-to-face conference in Palm Springs for 2021 due to our changed world. However, thanks to the preparation of our great NACE staff we are in a better position this year to experience a virtual conference platform. Staci Morgan, our conference director, plans to launch registration for NACE Virtual 2021 on March 1. Please “save the date” for April 19-22! NACE Virtual 2021 will be presented as a 3.5-day fully interactive online event that is designed to deliver a live conference experience without the added expense and logistics of travel. Speakers will share their presentations via live webinars, delivering amazing content right to your living room, office, or wherever you choose to join. And finally, NACE’s Annual Business Meeting will be the highlight of the virtual conference with our NACE Awards and the Officer installation. Stay tuned for more details!