The First Day

April 22, 2014

Many of you have heard this story, but for those who have not: It was September of 2000 and I had just become a father for the first time to a little boy by the name of Christian. I had also just accepted a “big boy” job at Butler Community College in Kansas. Upon signing my contract, I was offered an opportunity to travel with my new marketing team to a conference in Lincoln, Nebraska. So I packed a single bag (which hasn’t happened since I started my family 13 years ago), kissed my 2-week old son and loaded into a college van with a bunch of yahoos I had never met before. On the first evening of my first day of work, I sat in the back row of the conference welcome and keynote session (because all of the cool people sit in the back right?) and I heard my name called out above the crowd. It was then-District 5 Director Heather McDorman (who later became NCMPR president) calling me out. What the heck had I gotten myself into? Over the next few days I sat around conference tables, dinner tables and hotel lobby bars connecting with two-year college marketing professionals from all over the upper Midwest. It wasn’t long before I realized that I had landed exactly where I needed to be. And those connections -- they, along with many new ones, are still a valuable part of my life today. They are both friends and colleagues. There have been many NCMPR stories since this one, but I won’t share those until you come visit me at a conference and help me make new connections.

By Dewey Price
Director of Institutional Marketing
Butler Community College
El Dorado, KS