At the end of May, a few of us took a trip to the “Best Coast” (arguably — East Coast pride!) and settled into San Francisco for a few days at PCBC. We always jump at the opportunity to break free from the day-to-day, celebrate success with our industry peers, and engage in thoughtful conversation. It doesn’t hurt if it’s in a cool venue with a fresh perspective and an overall positive vibe. If you’ve never had the chance to attend, the Pacific Coast Builders’ Conference is just that.
We started out the week with the Professional Builder Forty Under 40 Awards and reception. While we always applaud the recipients of this prestigious industry award, this year we were clapping just a little bit harder for our own Business Development Manager, Adam Van Bavel. He is definitely most-deserving of this recognition and an unstoppable rising star in the building industry. You can read more about the many reasons Adam made the coveted list in this blog post.
Thursday kicked off the first official day of PCBC and the Re-Think Conference at the Moscone Center in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco. One of the hallmarks of PCBC is their outstanding keynote presentations. For instance, the speaker for day one was Sekou Andrews, an actor, musician and two-time national poetry slam champion, not to mention a former elementary school teacher. In his introduction, CEO of DeNova Homes and CBIA Chairman, Dave Sanson, likened Sekou’s contagious energy to that of a cup of coffee. His message of disruption as a means to innovation surely seemed to resonate at a higher frequency with the audience of attentive building industry professionals.
Later that afternoon, Dennis O’Neil and Will Duderstadt from M/I Homes took the stage for their session “More Signal, Less Noise: Building a Practice to Evaluate Your Marketing.” Builders and marketers learned how to critically evaluate marketing opportunities within the context of their business goals and identify what part of the consumer shopping experience is supported by these marketing opportunities.
And did we mention that our rock star Digital Producer, Jenna Verrecchio was EVERYWHERE at the Moscone Center? A photo captured at last year’s event made for the perfect marketing materials without any need for stock photography. We think she deserves royalties!
Amidst all the knowledge absorption and networking at the conference itself, we find our most fruitful conversations happen over a good meal. Whether it’s a quick, 45 minute, between-session lunch break like the one at Thirsty Bear, a 3-course dinner with friends and clients at Prospect, or a 6:30 am wake up call for excellent conversation over crepes at Mo’z Cafe. Food may be the catalyst to get people together, but it’s undoubtedly the company and the communion that creates the experience.
All in all, PCBC never fails to disappoint and we’re certainly keeping next year’s event dates of June 10-11, 2020 on our calendar. For a peek at all our photos, hop over to our Facebook album. See you next year San Francisco!
