You might have heard the news - Western Region Credit Conference is in Salt Lake City this October. This is the first time our area has hosted this conference and we are quite excited. If you have not already registered and taken advantage of some early registration savings, I thought I would give you a few reasons you should attend.

This conference draws credit professionals from many states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. If you live along the Wasatch Front, Southern Idaho and Western Wyoming this is the closest a credit conference has been for many years. The cost savings of having a conference close is huge.

Below you'll find 10 additional reasons why you should attend conferences:

1.   Sharpen your skills - stay up to date with the trends and best practices

2.   Meet experts and knowledgeable people

3.   Networking - always undervalued until you need your network

4.   Learn something new

5.   Get out of your comfort zone you can get a different perspective

6.   Invest in yourself and your career

7.   Reminders of why you love what you do

8.   Peer to peer discussion what it is like "in the trenches"

9.   Earn accreditation credits

10. See new tools and technology

Often an employer or credit professional can be of a mindset in this wonderful age of electronics with the use of the internet and YouTube that attending a conference is not necessary. If that is the case you may be missing out on one of the best opportunities to take your work to the next level. Conferences provide unique learning and career building opportunities that you just can't find anywhere else. 

These conferences are a worthwhile investment in career building and added value to employers. This year I will be attending both the National NACM Credit Congress next month and the WRCC in October and look forward to finding and using the new tools and techniques I get by attending. I sincerely hope to see you at Credit Congress later this month or this fall at WRCC.