2012 Show Wrap-Up: A Must-Sea & Hear Event

Training 2012 began with a bang and finished with a splash—literally. The Drum Café got participants’ blood pumping with rhythmic tribal music early in the morning on the first day of the conference, February 13, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The drum leader established the beat and invited attendees to join in on drums scattered throughout the room. The energy was palpable as the crescendo neared, and Conference Sensei Tony O’Driscoll showed his creative moves alongside the drum leader (for more on the Drum Cafe, visit http://trainngmag.co...). That creative energy infused the next three days of Training 2012, as 2,162 training professionals attended eight keynotes, 170-plus conference sessions, and 20 sponsored speaker sessions while visiting 98 exhibit booths. Some 100-plus learning and development executives shared their best practices, participated in an interactive discussion with author and motivation expert Dan Pink, and heard from a CLO panel at the newly revived Training Leadership Summit. A private Valentine’s Day reception at the Georgia Aquarium to celebrate the Training Conference’s 35^th anniversary capped off the days of learning, sharing, and networking.

Along the way, conference participants got to know each other through the Monday Night Meet-Up Mixer, where Jane Bozarth, cowgirl host of the Social Media Ninja Rodeo, and A.J. Ripin, sage of the Mobile Learning Experience, led attendees on an exploration of Atlanta’s modern side—including its wide assortment of restaurants and nightlife.

Throughout the conference, attendees had the chance to play Training 2012’s Crack the Code game. The mission? To perform challenges and answer questions through e-mail to unlock clues and solve the final puzzle by the end of the second day of the event. Clues were released each day through e-mail, Twitter, and the general session. The grand prize was a free registration to Training 2013 in Orlando. And the winner was...David Kelly.

Download the PDF below for pictorial coverage of Training 2012.