Well, I’m back from Miami and while I think it’s too hot down there, it’s getting sort of chilly up here! I was in Miami at the Opportunity Finance Network‘s 2007 Annual Conference and I thought it was great! The Opportunity Finance Network acts as a national trade organization for the CDFI industry (CDFI = Community Development Financial Institution).
I attended sessions on New Markets Tax Credits as well as charter school financing. OFN also offered plenaries and panels on industry-wide issues and the current credit mess. All in all, it was a great conference. The Wachovia NEXT Awards were given out for the first time on Wednesday night and I was absolutely floored at how the main dining/meeting room was turned into a night club setting complete with couches, lounge areas, a live band, and bar stations. I’ve never seen a room transformed into a night club at one of these events! Not only did the room look great, but the awards ceremony was awesome and a fun time, too.
As for the rest of Miami, I had a chance to visit South Beach as well as the Lincoln Road outdoor mall. It was nice to see from a tourist’s perspective, though I do not believe that it is a place where I would visit over and over again. One of my co-workers put it right when she said that the Downtown and South Beach areas are more of a fantasy world whereas there are other places in the state (and in the country) that are more “real life!”
All in all it was a fun trip, but I’m glad to be back home!
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