All Sessions at Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce Office

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

1pm                         Welcome & Opening

1:15pm                  Meet Me around the Campfire with Libby Spears

How Story Bring Us Together and Bonds Us Forever

Stop and consider your interactions with friends, family, and colleagues—how many stories are exchanged in any given day? You will likely note that you hear hundreds of stories a day. Have you ever stopped to consider the VALUE of these stories?

Story connects us, helps shape our reality, and gives meaning to everyday experiences. Through story we come to understand each other and empathize with one another’s experiences.

It is STORY that moves people. It is STORY that bonds us.

You tell stories, but are you a GREAT storyteller?

In this Keynote, I share the POWER of story first by presenting a compelling BUSINESS CASE for becoming a better storyteller. Next I break story down into its pieces and parts, examining the inner workings of a story well told. Through the examination of a great story, I also reveal my CAREFULLY CURATED LIST OF STORYTELLING PET PEEVES.

To wrap up our time, I ask you to join me around the campfire while I share with you my most asked for story: The time seven-year-old me was asked to tell a joke to an audience of an in studio taping of a game show.

Don’t miss the chance to improve your storytelling skills and meet me around the campfire. I’ll bring the knowledge, you bring the hot dogs and fixins’ for s’mores.

3:45pm                  Spotlight on Our Sponsors

In this popular session, the spotlight will shine on our sponsors and exhibitors so you can learn a little more about their products and services that you can use for your chamber or personal growth.

6:45pm                  Night of Champions Dinner at AC Marriott Hotel

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

8am                         Light Breakfast

8:30am                  Storytelling to Sell with Allison Walden, CCE, CFRE, IOM

You may know your membership value proposition by heart, but are you speaking your customer’s language? Reframe your organization’s value proposition to better story tell the work of your chamber to different customer types for better sales and retention outcomes. Learn how the needs of members differ between active vs. passive decision-makers, and transactional vs. transformational leaders. And identify ways to share your story in a way that better resonates with their approach to your organization.

9:45am                  Doing Time in the Principal’s Office with Libby Spears

The Lasting Impact of an Emotionally Intelligent Leader

Ask any adult who knew me as a kid and I bet you a dollar to a donut the word BRAT will come up. I was a brat, so I hold no ill will toward their honesty. I am from the generation of corporal punishment at school; a paddling is what you had coming your way if you continuously misbehaved in the classroom. And despite how much time I spent in the office of my principal, Mr. Bill Roach, I came away with zero “licks.”

In fact, he never threatened to paddle me. Instead, he took time with me. I talked and he listened. He did ask why I kept showing up in his office, but the truth is a child has little understanding of the why behind their behavior. To say the time spent in Mr. Roach’s office positively shaped me as a person would be an understatement.

The term Emotional Intelligence would not be coined until 1991 when it emerged from the world of psychology and slowly made its way into the mainstream. Mr. Roach was the ideal model of an emotionally intelligent leader well before EQ was on everyone’s mind. And because of that, I am a better human. The positive impact an educator can have on a child’s development and life cannot be overestimated; my teachers were my angels. Mr. Roach was the head angel. We maintained our friendship until he died, tragically, in 2006. At his funeral, I had the (surreal) pleasure of reconnecting with ALL my elementary teachers as we celebrated the life of a man who changed so many kid’s lives at Bowie Elementary. Today, I understand Mr. Roach MODELED HIGH EQ LEADERSHIP and while it took years for it to fully bloom, he showed me what it looks like to BE a leader. He had a gentle approach, and I like to believe he knew I wasn’t a BAD kid, I was a kid that was bored and needed to be challenged. While I don’t want to give away all the BIG lessons that came out of our friendship, I will tell you this: Every kid needs a Mr. Roach in their life.

In this fun and thought-provoking keynote, I relay the SEVEN High EQ leadership lessons I learned from Mr. Roach. I hope to inspire and motivate, of course. We consider the role of your WELL BEING when leading self and others, you leave with my High EQ Leader Well Being Assessment to carry into your day to day and use to take measure of how you are doing.

12pm                      Lunch with ACCS Innovation Center

1:30pm                 Community Tour & Dinner on Your Own at Bridge Street

The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber team has put together a wonderful community tour for Wednesday afternoon. We will depart via charter buses for a tour of Downtown Huntsville, Cummings Research Park, The Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering, and HudsonAlpha Institute for BioTechnology. The afternoon will end at Bridge Street Shopping District for some on your own shopping and dining time. Shuttles will loop back to the chamber and hotel from Bridge Street.

Thursday, April 30, 2026

8am                         Light Breakfast

8:30am                  Membership Models with Allison Walden, CCE, CFRE, IOM

Fair share or tiered dues? There are many more membership pricing structures in the chamber world today. Learn some new ways to factor membership pricing and discuss the pros, cons, advantages and concerns of each model. Identify your current model and discover opportunities to adjust and modify your current model over time.

9:45am                  Conflict Resolution with Whitney Barlow

If you work with others, sooner or later you will almost inevitably face the need for conflict resolution. You may need to mediate a dispute between two members of your team, find yourself angered by something a colleague reportedly said about you in a meeting, or you may need to engage in conflict resolution with a client over a missed deadline. In organizations, conflict is inevitable and good conflict management tools are essential.

11:45am               Closing Lunch & Ask the Experts Panel

Have a burning question and not sure who to ask? Need some advice on an issue with your board? Want to ask about a membership recruitment issue? Now’s the time to ask. You will have an opportunity to submit questions for our expert panel prior to this interactive, open session.

1pm                         Conference Adjourns