This year I attended the Michigan Association of REALTORS® 2010 Annual Convention and Expo held at Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant. I was held September 30th through October 1st, and it 
was the first time I had ever attended.
It was both an exciting, and educational experience for me. I do have to admit, it perhaps was very different for me than the average first time attendee. You see, I was awarded REALTOR of the Year at my local board, the Battle Creek Area Association of REALTORS®, and I had to arrive early to attend a special luncheon and partake in practice drilling for the big on stage event where they announced Michigan's REALTOR of the year.
So I arrived after a two hour drive with my wife, after having gotten lost by our GPS when we arrived in Mt. Pleasant, and eventually finding where we had to go and making it just a few minutes after the lunch started. At the luncheon they gave us each this nice Michigan Realtor of Year award for being a nominee, which I have included a photo of here.
Then the rest of the first day was a whirlwind of rushing around and being practiced drilled for the event, then standing up on stage when your name was called along with the others nomine
es from all over Michigan. It was quite an interesting experience, but an exciting one. I was so honored to be on that stage with all those amazing people. 
The second day of the convention was all educational really, with continuing education classes running all day long. I took mainly social media classes, but did attend one regarding wet basements and crawl spaces which was really enlightening.
Now I mentioned that the Michigan Association of REALTORS® 2010 Annual Convention and Expo was held at a casino. I know many spent time in the casino in the evenings and during the day. For some reason this casino did not appeal to me as much as others I have visited. Have you ever noticed that it is very difficult to take a digital photo of a casino floor? All the lights make for a blurry shot most of the time. 
I found the hotel to be very nice and there was one great place my wife and I ate at for breakfast every morning we were there. I
included one of my breakfasts that I snapped a photo of as it was so aesthetic I almost did not want to eat it.
The final day of the convention I served as a delegate as the incoming President of my Board for 2011, and we took part in a vote for two open seats for the National Association of Realtors representatives. This too was an enlightening experience, with all the great briefings and news we were given from around the State. All in all it was a great experience, and I will definitely be attending next year.
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