Reflections on Co-Hosting the H&V Leadership Conference

By Christine Griffin, Washington State H&V

In 2018, during the Hands & Voices Leadership Conference in Wyoming, I said, “Someday, I’d like Washington H&V to host.” Sometimes no one hears me when I say things like this. To my surprise, someone replied, “Why not ask Kim Shauer in British Columbia to co-host?” Moments later, Kim appeared, and we exchanged a look: “Could this really happen?”

Kim and I connected via email after returning home. We had a few brief conversations, and Kim checked on hosting requirements. Neither of us were ready to commit, so we put the idea on hold. A few years later, with the support of an enthusiastic parent in Washington willing to help get things started, I reached out to our BC neighbors again. To my delight, British Columbia  Hands & Voices eagerly accepted.

The Application

Once we agreed to a joint application to host the conference, having one person dedicated to exploring locations, travel details, and making calls to various venues was invaluable. This assistance made all the difference in getting the planning off the ground.

Lanya McKittrick, a Washington H&V board member, offered to research possible locations for the conference and we brainstormed together. Lanya thoroughly analyzed venues, using her event planning expertise to evaluate each location. As noted in the application guidance, she considered travel costs, accessibility, and attendee experience. Ultimately, her research produced detailed proposals for two potential venues in separate cities.

This planning phase also allowed us to brainstorm creative themes to suggest. We knew we wanted to honor and highlight our Native American and Aboriginal heritage, a shared connection between our chapters. Inspired by the Chinook word Illahee, meaning “land” or “place,” we chose to reflect the spirit of Indigenous peoples, whose deep relationships with each other parallel the connections between our chapters. In the spirit of Illahee, we aimed to create an opening night connecting leaders from diverse backgrounds to each other and these lands.

Planning

Planning began in earnest that January, with monthly meetings for BC and WA leaders hosted by H&V HQ staff to shape conference logistics from opening night, Uptime activities, and volunteers to sponsorships and access services.

H&V HQ staff hosted a theme brainstorming, and “Weaving the Threads of Leadership,” drew from First Nations traditions of weaving, storytelling, and art, setting the tone for the conference. Opening night featured participants sharing stories in small groups, weaving ribbons symbolizing their lived experience into a collective project, a powerful metaphor for resilience and unity. We displayed the projects throughout the conference, reminding us that we may face challenges but through them develop empathy and strength.

Volunteering

As co-hosts, we were required to recruit volunteers for various tasks, including room monitoring, registration support, tech assistance, and the opening night kickoff event.

Volunteering offered a unique opportunity to experience the inner workings of a conference. To ensure we had enough support, we worked closely with Sara Kennedy, H&V volunteer coordinator, letting our staff/board members attending know early on that taking some shifts would be part of their responsibilities. Having a large delegation from each chapter assuredly proved that “many hands make light work”, It also gave more people a taste of Hands & Voices in person and in a large scale.  

We also organized Uptime events. (While many at a conference want “downtime”, we put fun and connection together in “Uptime” events one evening.) After a site visit, Jeannene Evenstad and Brooke Montgomery shared some local activities that showcased the area’s history and landmarks. Together, we prioritized activities that didn’t require payment in advance or long travel. Final selections were made based on expected attendance and the number of our leaders available to guide each group.

Financing

Fundraising played a crucial role in ensuring we could send as many of our board and staff as possible to the conference. We received valuable tips and ideas from the executive directors of previously hosting chapters. We began by creating a budget goal based on the individuals who had confirmed their attendance, including registration, lodging, meals, and transportation. In hindsight, it would have been helpful to also account for staff hours in our planning.

Next, we set out to create promotional materials for our first-ever independent fundraiser, Raise Your Paddle for Washington State Hands & Voices. We plan to continue this event annually to generate operating funds. We got some inspiration through the H&V Region 9/10 meetings, and volunteers helped us develop the promotional materials. One key idea: each board member filled a $600 Bingo Blitz card. They raised donations in amounts of $10, $20, and $25, with some donors contributing more to fill additional squares on the cards. Raise Your Paddle took place throughout July, raising just over $8,000. Additionally, we sought sponsorships for registrations, and we were able to send five more parents through these sponsorships.

Outcomes

I’ve had the great honor of attending the H&V Leadership Conferences since 2008 when I raised funds to attend with members of our newly formed chapter. We were so eager to learn more about the Guide by Your Side program. The conference was unlike any I had ever experienced. Parent and family leaders presented topics directly relevant to my journey as a parent leader.

For many of our chapter’s leadership, this was their first Leadership experience, and it was inspiring to see their excitement of connecting with others in similar work across the country and beyond. Board President Laura Gramer valued collaborating with BC partners and reuniting beyond events and Zoom meetings with our far-flung WA team.

Professionals also left deeply impressed by the power of parent leadership, which I am seeing continue to ripple across Washington’s family support systems. Since the pandemic, this was the first time many of our state’s providers have been in the same room with one another.  The Hands & Voices Leadership Conference stands as a powerful testament to the strength of parent leadership. For our small but mighty parent-driven chapter, the effects have been both immediate and lasting. The experience has left parents and professionals asking together: “How can we infuse more parent-to-parent support into the services offered for families in our state?”   ~

Editor’s note:  Interested in having your chapter host an H&V Leadership Conference?  Contact our Conference Director, Jeannene Evenstad at jeannene@handsandvoices.org

H&V Communicator – Winter 2024/25