By: Judy Miller, Channel Account Manager at NCR Corporation
“Live the Power of Transformation”
Transformation (definition) – an act, process, or instance of transforming or being transformed
Transformation was the theme of this year’s conference and I admit, I felt transformed as I left the event in San Antonio. Four days of being immersed in technology, networking with professionals across generations, having the opportunity to hear great speakers and attend many educational sessions will transform just about anyone.
While RSPA’s President and CEO, John Kirk kicked off the general session, he spoke about taking your top 3 liabilities and transforming them into your top 3 strengths, I was all in. I have never been one to make New Year’s resolutions, but I like this and am focused on the “top 3”. John is always inspiring to listen to.
Following John, Bob Goldberg – RSPA General Counsel, focused on “The Times They Are-A Changing”. Bob’s session was excellent as he presented ways to protect your businesses in the rapidly changing landscape we are all faced with today.
The team at RSPA is a great one and I’ve had the opportunity to work with and for, many of them in previous years. There is a unique inspiration this team brings to the community and once again exhibited a commitment to social responsibility through “Blessings in a Backpack”. On the show floor we all had an opportunity to give back by stuffing backpacks for elementary school children to provide food on weekends, when they might otherwise go hungry. 1,000 backpacks were stuffed to present to the organization.
W2W Committee hosted our annual community event – Generational Perspectives from a Female Work Force. This event was a hit! Kelli Stewart and Linda Sudderth moderated over a panel of 6 brilliant women from the industry that included Ann Klein, Emily Wright, Mary Harris, Michelle MacKeith, Jules Curs and Allie Haskell. The attendees were all very engaged during the conversation that included topics such as male/female bias in the workforce, constant job changes that differ among generations, women working in the technology space today and how can more women be brought into retail technology.
During the event, wine and cheese were enjoyed and amazing door prizes were presented. Thank you to our sponsors Blue Star and APG Cash Drawer.
A special shout out to W2W committee member Linda Sudderth from Epson America for winning the 2019 W2W Leader of the Year award. This award was created to recognize a woman in the Retail Technology Industry who is determined to reshape the industry and create a smarter and more inclusive future. This honor also recognizes a woman who has demonstrated key characteristics of a pioneer paving the way in Retail Technology. Congratulations Linda!
The RetailNOW Expo Hall remained busy throughout the event where new technology was on display, with close to 150 exhibitors. The Expo wound down on Tuesday with a show floor reception.
This event was a huge success from my perspective, one of the best I’ve attended over the many years spent in this industry and I for one will be looking forward to 2020 RSPA Inspire in the Bahamas.
About RSPA’s W2W Community
W2W was created to provide a support network and resources for women as they enter and continue to advance in the retail technology industry. Any and all retail technology women professionals can join W2W as it is not exclusive to RSPA members. By joining you will receive information about this group, upcoming events and networking opportunities. The committee advises on content development and presenter selection for the W2W event at RetailNOW and also provides content for the Community Connection e-newsletter.
